BackgroundTwo-dimensional shear wave elastography (2D-SWE) is a powerful technique that can non-invasively measure liver stiffness to assess hepatic fibrosis.PurposeThis study aimed to identify the effects of confounding factors, including anesthesia, breathing, and scanning approach, on liver stiffness when performing 2D-SWE in dogs.Materials and MethodsNine healthy Beagle dogs were included in this study. Hepatic 2D-SWE was performed, and liver stiffness was compared between conscious and anesthetized states, free-breathing and breath-holding conditions, and intercostal and subcostal approaches. For the anesthetized state, the breath-holding condition was subdivided into seven phases, which included forced-expiration (5 and 10 mL/kg), end-expiration (0 cm H2O), and forced-inspiration (5, 10, 15, and 20 cm H2O), and liver stiffness was compared among these phases. Changes in liver stiffness were compared between intercostal and subcostal approaches according to breathing phases.ResultsNo significant difference was observed in liver stiffness between the conscious and anesthetized states or between the free-breathing and breath-holding conditions. No significant difference was noted in liver stiffness among the breathing phases, except for forced-inspiration with high airway pressure (15 and 20 cm H2O in the intercostal approach and 10, 15, and 20 cm H2O in the subcostal approach), which was associated with significantly higher liver stiffness (p < 0.05). Liver stiffness was significantly higher in the subcostal approach than in the intercostal approach (p < 0.05). Changes in liver stiffness were significantly higher in the subcostal approach than in the intercostal approach in all forced-inspiratory phases (p < 0.05).ConclusionIn conclusion, when performing 2D-SWE in dogs, liver stiffness is unaffected by anesthesia and free-breathing. To avoid inadvertent increases in liver stiffness, the deep inspiratory phase and subcostal approach are not recommended. Thus, liver stiffness should be interpreted considering these confounding factors.

A 3-month-old intact male Labrador Retriever was presented for falling trauma and hindlimb ataxia. Radiography indicated radiolucent left sacroiliac joint with irregular margin. Computed tomography revealed thickened sublumbar muscles and hypoattenuated sacroiliac joint while magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated abscess at retroperitoneum and gluteal muscle. Ultrasonography showed lytic left sacroiliac joint with retroperitoneal fluid, and fine needle aspiration resulted Staphylococcus aureus. Hindlimb ataxia was attributed to infectious sacroiliitis and its secondary retroperitoneal abscess. As far as the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of multimodality imaging of infectious sacroiliitis with retroperitoneal abscess caused by S. aureus in a dog.

Purpose: This study was conducted to develop a deep learning-based automatic segmentation (DLBAS) model of head and neck organs for radiotherapy (RT) in dogs, and to evaluate the feasibility for delineating the RT planning.Materials and Methods: The segmentation indicated that there were potentially 15 organs at risk (OARs) in the head and neck of dogs. Post-contrast computed tomography (CT) was performed in 90 dogs. The training and validation sets comprised 80 CT data sets, including 20 test sets. The accuracy of the segmentation was assessed using both the Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) and the Hausdorff distance (HD), and by referencing the expert contours as the ground truth. An additional 10 clinical test sets with relatively large displacement or deformation of organs were selected for verification in cancer patients. To evaluate the applicability in cancer patients, and the impact of expert intervention, three methods–HA, DLBAS, and the readjustment of the predicted data obtained via the DLBAS of the clinical test sets (HA_DLBAS)–were compared.Results: The DLBAS model (in the 20 test sets) showed reliable DSC and HD values; it also had a short contouring time of ~3 s. The average (mean ± standard deviation) DSC (0.83 ± 0.04) and HD (2.71 ± 1.01 mm) values were similar to those of previous human studies. The DLBAS was highly accurate and had no large displacement of head and neck organs. However, the DLBAS in the 10 clinical test sets showed lower DSC (0.78 ± 0.11) and higher HD (4.30 ± 3.69 mm) values than those of the test sets. The HA_DLBAS was comparable to both the HA (DSC: 0.85 ± 0.06 and HD: 2.74 ± 1.18 mm) and DLBAS presented better comparison metrics and decreased statistical deviations (DSC: 0.94 ± 0.03 and HD: 2.30 ± 0.41 mm). In addition, the contouring time of HA_DLBAS (30 min) was less than that of HA (80 min).Conclusion: In conclusion, HA_DLBAS method and the proposed DLBAS was highly consistent and robust in its performance. Thus, DLBAS has great potential as a single or supportive tool to the key process in RT planning.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a standard test for diagnosis and treatment planning in dogs with degenerative thoracolumbar intervertebral disc disease (IVDD). However, published studies evaluating three‐dimensional fast‐spin echo (3D‐FSE) pulse sequences for dogs with IVDD are currently limited. Aims of this retrospective, observational study were to compare findings from T2‐weighted two‐ and three‐dimensional fast spin‐echo sequences (2D‐ and 3D‐FSE, respectively) for a group of small breed dogs with thoracolumbar IVDD. Inclusion criteria were dogs with IVDD that underwent 1.5‐Tesla MRI using both 2D‐FSE and 3D‐FSE sequences. For each dog and sequence, five pathologic indices were recorded: epidural fat discontinuation, vertebral canal compromise, spinal cord signal change, disc degeneration, and nerve root compression. Two independent investigators also scored visibility of the facet joint, intervertebral foramen, nerve roots, spinal cord grey‐white matter differentiation, intervertebral discs, and epidural fat. The Wilcoxon signed‐rank test was used to evaluate the between‐sequence differences in pathologic indices and visibility scores. Interobserver agreement was measured using Cohen's weighted kappa along with 95% confidence intervals. A total of 21 dogs were sampled. The 3D‐FSE sequences had higher pathologic indices of vertebral canal compromise (P = 0.020) and spinal cord signal change (P = 0.046) than 2D‐FSE sequences. Furthermore, 3D‐FSE sequences had higher visibility scores for the facet joint, intervertebral foramen, and nerve root structures (P < 0.001). Findings from the current supported the use of 3D‐FSE sequences over 2D‐FSE sequences for the evaluation of IVDD and visualization of spinal structures in small breed dogs.

Chicken eggshell (ES) waste is a rich source of calcium carbonate (CaCO3); however, the potential of ES as dietary calcium (Ca) in old laying hens has not been explored. This study compared the effects of feeding limestone, cockle shell, oyster shell, fine ES, and coarse ES as the sole Ca source on production performance, egg quality, blood biochemical constituents, and tibia characteristics in old laying hens. A total of 450 ISA-Brown laying hens at 73 wk of age with similar egg production rate (EPR) were randomly assigned to 5 treatment groups (90 hens/group, 9 hens/replicate) for 7 wk. Dietary treatment groups comprised a corn-soybean meal based diet containing different Ca sources: (i) limestone (LS; < 2 mm and 2–4 mm mixed in the ratio of 3:7) as control, (ii) cockle shell (CS; 1–4 mm), (iii) oyster shell (OS; 3–16 mm), (iv) ES fine particles (ESF; < 1 mm), and (v) ES coarse particles (ESC; 3–5 mm). Results indicated that dietary inclusion of coarse ES particles significantly increased average egg weight (P < 0.001) and daily egg mass (P < 0.05), and decreased feed conversion ratio (P < 0.001) as compared with the other treatments. However, no significant differences in EPR, feed intake, cracked egg proportion, and mortality were observed among the dietary treatments (P > 0.05). Notably, the use of ESF led to a lower proportion of cracked eggs than ESC (P < 0.05). ESC fed hens produced the heaviest eggs whereas CS fed hens produced the lightest (P < 0.001); the particle size of ES also affected the egg weight (P < 0.05). The eggs from OS and ESC fed hens showed a greater albumen height in comparison to eggs from CS group (P < 0.05); but no significant difference was observed among the LS, OS, ESF, and ESC groups (P > 0.05). The yolk color was darker in the eggs of group ESF as compared with other dietary groups (P < 0.01). However, no significant effects on Haugh units and shell properties were observed among the treatments (P > 0.05). The blood biochemistry results were not affected by the dietary Ca (P > 0.05) except for lower levels of high-density lipoprotein percentage (HDL %) in OS and ESC fed hens (P < 0.05). The tibia characteristics including weight, length, width, and breaking strength did not differ among the dietary groups (P > 0.05). However, the ESC and OS fed hens showed higher tibia bone mineral density (BMD) than the other groups (P < 0.001). In conclusion, coarse ES as a sole Ca source had beneficial effects on the production performance, egg quality, and tibia BMD in old laying hens.