Differences in normal nasal computed tomography findings in different dog breeds.

Background: Computed tomography (CT) is the gold standard for diagnosing canine nasal diseases. However, it cannot easily detect minor abnormalities in inflammatory diseases because they are not accompanied by obvious morphological changes. Aim: The present study aimed to compare the differences in normal CT findings of turbinate structure and mucosa between breeds to establish criteria for CT diagnosis of inflammatory diseases of the nasal cavity. Methods: CT data from 77 dogs of 5 breeds without nasal diseases were retrospectively studied. The nasal air percentage, which reflects the volume of the nasal turbinate structure and mucosa, was measured. The nasal turbinate mucosa was measured for contrast enhancement reflecting blood flow. Measurements were performed in the ventral and ethmoid turbinate (ET) regions. Comparisons were made between breeds and sections. Results: The air percentage in the ventral and ET regions was significantly different between breeds. Contrast enhancement was significantly different between breeds only in the ET. Moreover, different breeds had different correlations between body weight, age, nose length, and air percentage. Conclusion: In this study, reference values for normal CT findings of the nasal structure and mucosa were obtained, taking into account the breed, measurement section, and patient factors. The results showed that the volume of the turbinate structure and contrast enhancement of nasal mucosa differed depending on the breed. The measured values also differed depending on the cross-sections and patient factors.

Quantitative evaluation of middle ear radiopacity in French bulldogs using X-ray imaging.

Background: Radiographic examination of the middle ear in French bulldogs can be challenging due to their small ear cavity and thick walls. Quantifying opacity on radiographic images is required to determine normal or abnormal results. Aim: To quantify the radiographic opacity of the middle ear in French bulldogs and create a threshold for objective diagnosis. Methods: A study was conducted on 32 French Bulldogs using radiographic images. Significant difference tests were performed on the ears of patients with unilateral and bilateral middle ear filling on computed tomography. A threshold was established for detecting left-right asymmetry in the same individuals. In addition, comparisons were made between the filling and nonfilling middle ear groups to establish a threshold of pixel values that could determine single middle ear filling and nonfilling for different patient images. Results: Significant differences were observed in the left-right difference in max, left-right difference in max-ave, and left-right ratio of max-ave between unilateral and bilateral filling groups. The max-ave left-right ratio had the highest area under the curve value with a cutoff of 1.077% and 92.3% sensitivity. The item that showed a significant difference between middle ear groups with and without filling was corrected for nasopharyngeal pixel values with a cutoff of 1.028% and 85% sensitivity. Conclusion: Pixel value ratios in the middle ear region can detect asymmetries in ear densities. The max value in the region compared to the same image's nasopharyngeal region can determine the filling. Combining individual ear evaluations and symmetry improves accuracy.

Estimation of discrepancy of color qualia using Kullback-Leibler divergence.

Qualia have traditionally been considered difficult to measure objectively, but with the recent spread of fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and other techniques, various experimental efforts have been made. In this paper, focusing on the qualia for color, we created 6 colors with different RGB values for reference colors of RED, light GREEN, BLUE, YELLOW, and PURPLE, and showed them to 306 subjects. For example, for RED and 5 generated colors, we asked them, "Choose a color that you feel is RED," and asked them to choose. A probability density function was defined for each of the five generated colors and the reference color, which is the primary color of RED, light GREEN, BLUE, YELLOW, and PURPLE, and the Kullback-Leibler divergence between the probability density function of the reference color and the generated color was calculated, the relationship between the number of samples of the selected color and the Kullback-Leibler divergence was obtained, and the difference in color sensation-qualia was calculated accordingly. As a result, it was confirmed that the larger the distance of the Kullback-Leibler divergence, the smaller the number of samples, but that the distribution shape in which the number of samples decreased for each color differed greatly. This suggests that if we see a color such as RED to PURPLE, we are randomly choosing a color that "feels."