Diagnostic Value and Application of Infrared Thermography in the Analysis of Circumanal Gland Tumors

In dogs, circumanal tumors are the third most common skin neoplasm. Circumanal gland adenomas (CAGAs) have a good prognosis. Contrastingly, circumanal gland adenocarcinomas (CAGAC) have high relapse rates and may be metastatic. This study aimed to investigate the utility of thermal imaging as an ancillary modality for the diagnosis of canine CAGA and CAGAC. We analyzed the following parameters: SpT, temperature measured at the tumor center; SpNT, temperature measured at a healthy sphincter skin spot distant from the tumor; TA, temperature measured at a tumor-encompassing ellipse-shaped area; and NTA, temperature measured at an ellipse-shaped area of the healthy sphincter skin distant from the tumor. In CAGAs, the mean SpT and SpNT temperature values differed by −1.45°C (p < 0.01) while the mean TA and NTA temperature values differed by −0.96°C (p < 0.05). In CAGACs, mean SpT and SpNT temperatures differed by −1.71°C (p < 0.01) while the mean TA and NTA temperatures differed by −1.69°C (p < 0.01). The mean SpT and TA temperature values measured in CAGAs and CAGACs differed by −0.10°C (p = 0.87) and 0.52°C (p = 0.38), respectively. Both tumors were colder than healthy sphincter skin. However, a substantial number of CAGACs were colder than CAGAs. Temperature differences ≥ 1°C between tumors and healthy sphincter skin increased the probability of CAGAC diagnosis by 17.45%. Thermal imaging allowed discrimination between healthy and tumoral tissues; therefore, it could be a good ancillary diagnostic modality.

Late-season Surface Water Induces Skin Spot in Apple

Skin spot is a commercially important disorder of the fruit skin of ‘Elstar’ apples (Malus ×domestica Borkh.). The disorder is characterized by patches of small brownish dots (“skin spots”) that usually appear on the skin after fruit are removed from storage. Water-induced cuticular microcracks are implicated in the etiology of skin spot. The objectives of our study were 1) to establish the effect of surface wetness on the severity of skin spot; and 2) to identify possible relationships between meteorological records of rainfall over a number of seasons and the severity of skin spot in those seasons. Surface wetness treatments were imposed on fruit using overhead sprinklers installed above trees grown under a plastic rain shelter. During early fruit development [14 to 44 days after full bloom (DAFB)], surface wetness did not affect the severity of skin spot. However, during the later part of the growing season (greater than 44 DAFB), increased surface wetness increased the incidence and severity of skin spot and also the severity of cuticular microcracking. Most skin spots and microcracks were already present at harvest before storage, but skin spots and microcracking did increase slightly during subsequent controlled atmosphere (CA) storage. Over a 9-year period, the severity of skin spot in ‘Elstar’ apples grown and stored locally under standard orchard and storage conditions was positively correlated to the number of rainy days. This correlation was greater for the period between 1 Aug. to harvest than for periods 1 June to harvest or 1 July to harvest. Fruit treated with 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) were more susceptible to skin spot than untreated control fruit. Calculating regression equations for the relationship between the severity of skin spot and the number of rainy days (period 1 Aug. and harvest) revealed that the (commercially important) threshold score for skin spot of 2 is predicted to occur after 44 rainy days for control fruit and after 34 rainy days for 1-MCP-treated fruit. Our data demonstrate that skin spot arises from cuticular microcracks, which in turn result from numerous exposures to surface wetness (rain, dew), especially those occurring during later stages of fruit development.