WorldWideScience

Sample records for underlying animal behavior

  1. Animal behavior models of the mechanisms underlying antipsychotic atypicality.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Geyer, M.A.; Ellenbroek, B.A.

    2003-01-01

    This review describes the animal behavior models that provide insight into the mechanisms underlying the critical differences between the actions of typical vs. atypical antipsychotic drugs. Although many of these models are capable of differentiating between antipsychotic and other psychotropic

  2. Compression as a Universal Principle of Animal Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferrer-i-Cancho, Ramon; Hernández-Fernández, Antoni; Lusseau, David; Agoramoorthy, Govindasamy; Hsu, Minna J.; Semple, Stuart

    2013-01-01

    A key aim in biology and psychology is to identify fundamental principles underpinning the behavior of animals, including humans. Analyses of human language and the behavior of a range of non-human animal species have provided evidence for a common pattern underlying diverse behavioral phenomena: Words follow Zipf's law of brevity (the…

  3. Behavioral ecology of captive species: using behavioral adaptations to assess and enhance welfare of nonhuman zoo animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koene, Paul

    2013-01-01

    This project aimed to estimate a species' adaptations in nature and in captivity, assess welfare, suggest environmental changes, and find species characteristics that underlie welfare problems in nonhuman animals in the zoo. First, the current status of zoo animal welfare assessment was reviewed, and the behavioral ecology approach was outlined. In this approach, databases of species characteristics were developed using (a) literature of natural behavior and (b) captive behavior. Species characteristics were grouped in 8 functional behavioral ecological fitness-related categories: space, time, metabolic, safety, reproductive, comfort, social, and information adaptations. Assessments of the strength of behavioral adaptations in relation to environmental demands were made based on the results available from the literature. The databases with literature at the species level were coupled with databases of (c) behavioral observations and (d) welfare assessments under captive conditions. Observation and welfare assessment methods were adapted from the animal on the farm realm and applied to zoo species. It was expected that the comparison of the repertoire of behaviors in natural and captive environments would highlight welfare problems, provide solutions to welfare problems by environmental changes, and identify species characteristics underlying zoo animal welfare problems.

  4. Identification of animal behavioral strategies by inverse reinforcement learning.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shoichiro Yamaguchi

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Animals are able to reach a desired state in an environment by controlling various behavioral patterns. Identification of the behavioral strategy used for this control is important for understanding animals' decision-making and is fundamental to dissect information processing done by the nervous system. However, methods for quantifying such behavioral strategies have not been fully established. In this study, we developed an inverse reinforcement-learning (IRL framework to identify an animal's behavioral strategy from behavioral time-series data. We applied this framework to C. elegans thermotactic behavior; after cultivation at a constant temperature with or without food, fed worms prefer, while starved worms avoid the cultivation temperature on a thermal gradient. Our IRL approach revealed that the fed worms used both the absolute temperature and its temporal derivative and that their behavior involved two strategies: directed migration (DM and isothermal migration (IM. With DM, worms efficiently reached specific temperatures, which explains their thermotactic behavior when fed. With IM, worms moved along a constant temperature, which reflects isothermal tracking, well-observed in previous studies. In contrast to fed animals, starved worms escaped the cultivation temperature using only the absolute, but not the temporal derivative of temperature. We also investigated the neural basis underlying these strategies, by applying our method to thermosensory neuron-deficient worms. Thus, our IRL-based approach is useful in identifying animal strategies from behavioral time-series data and could be applied to a wide range of behavioral studies, including decision-making, in other organisms.

  5. A new method for discovering behavior patterns among animal movements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Y.; Luo, Ze; Takekawa, John Y.; Prosser, Diann J.; Xiong, Y.; Newman, S.; Xiao, X.; Batbayar, N.; Spragens, Kyle A.; Balachandran, S.; Yan, B.

    2016-01-01

    Advanced satellite tracking technologies enable biologists to track animal movements at fine spatial and temporal scales. The resultant data present opportunities and challenges for understanding animal behavioral mechanisms. In this paper, we develop a new method to elucidate animal movement patterns from tracking data. Here, we propose the notion of continuous behavior patterns as a concise representation of popular migration routes and underlying sequential behaviors during migration. Each stage in the pattern is characterized in terms of space (i.e., the places traversed during movements) and time (i.e. the time spent in those places); that is, the behavioral state corresponding to a stage is inferred according to the spatiotemporal and sequential context. Hence, the pattern may be interpreted predictably. We develop a candidate generation and refinement framework to derive all continuous behavior patterns from raw trajectories. In the framework, we first define the representative spots to denote the underlying potential behavioral states that are extracted from individual trajectories according to the similarity of relaxed continuous locations in certain distinct time intervals. We determine the common behaviors of multiple individuals according to the spatiotemporal proximity of representative spots and apply a projection-based extension approach to generate candidate sequential behavior sequences as candidate patterns. Finally, the candidate generation procedure is combined with a refinement procedure to derive continuous behavior patterns. We apply an ordered processing strategy to accelerate candidate refinement. The proposed patterns and discovery framework are evaluated through conceptual experiments on both real GPS-tracking and large synthetic datasets.

  6. The effects of radionuclides on animal behavior

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gagnaire, B.; Adam-Guillermin, C.; Bouron, A.; Lestaevel, P.

    2011-01-01

    Concomitant with the expansion of the nuclear industry, the concentrations of several pollutants, radioactive or otherwise, including uranium, caesium, cadmium and cobalt, have increased over the last few decades. These elemental pollutants do exist in the environment and are a threat to many organisms. Behavior represents the integration of all the anatomical adaptations and physiological processes that occur within an organism. Compared to other biological endpoints, the effects of pollutants on animal behavior have been the focus of only a few studies. However, behavioral changes appear to be ideal for assessing the effects of pollutants on animal populations, because behavior links physiological functions with ecological processes. The alteration of behavioral responses can have severe implications for survival of individuals and of population of some species. Behavioral disruptions may derive from several underlying mechanisms: disruption of neuro-sensorial activity and of endocrines, or oxidative and metabolic disruptions. In this review, we presented an overview of the current literature in which the effects of radioactive pollutants on behavior in humans, rodents, fish and wildlife species are addressed. When possible, we have also indicated the potential underlying mechanisms of the behavioral alterations and parameters measured. In fried, chronic uranium contamination is associated with behavior alterations and mental disorders in humans, and cognitive deficits in rats. Comparative studies on depleted and enriched uranium effects in rats showed that chemical and radiological activities of this metal induced negative effects on several behavioral parameters and also produced brain oxidative stress. Uranium exposure also modifies feeding behavior of bivalves and reproductive behavior of fish. Studies of the effects of the Chernobyl accident shows that chronic irradiation to 137 Cs induces both nervous system diseases and mental disorders in humans leading

  7. Animal models of behavioral dysfunctions: basic concepts and classifications, and an evaluation strategy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Staay, van der F.J.

    2006-01-01

    In behavioral neurosciences, such as neurobiology and biopsychology, animal models make it possible to investigate brain-behavior relations, with the aim of gaining insight into normal and abnormal human behavior and its underlying neuronal and neuroendocrinological processes. Different types of

  8. Animal models to improve our understanding and treatment of suicidal behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gould, T D; Georgiou, P; Brenner, L A; Brundin, L; Can, A; Courtet, P; Donaldson, Z R; Dwivedi, Y; Guillaume, S; Gottesman, I I; Kanekar, S; Lowry, C A; Renshaw, P F; Rujescu, D; Smith, E G; Turecki, G; Zanos, P; Zarate, C A; Zunszain, P A; Postolache, T T

    2017-01-01

    Worldwide, suicide is a leading cause of death. Although a sizable proportion of deaths by suicide may be preventable, it is well documented that despite major governmental and international investments in research, education and clinical practice suicide rates have not diminished and are even increasing among several at-risk populations. Although nonhuman animals do not engage in suicidal behavior amenable to translational studies, we argue that animal model systems are necessary to investigate candidate endophenotypes of suicidal behavior and the neurobiology underlying these endophenotypes. Animal models are similarly a critical resource to help delineate treatment targets and pharmacological means to improve our ability to manage the risk of suicide. In particular, certain pathophysiological pathways to suicidal behavior, including stress and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis dysfunction, neurotransmitter system abnormalities, endocrine and neuroimmune changes, aggression, impulsivity and decision-making deficits, as well as the role of critical interactions between genetic and epigenetic factors, development and environmental risk factors can be modeled in laboratory animals. We broadly describe human biological findings, as well as protective effects of medications such as lithium, clozapine, and ketamine associated with modifying risk of engaging in suicidal behavior that are readily translatable to animal models. Endophenotypes of suicidal behavior, studied in animal models, are further useful for moving observed associations with harmful environmental factors (for example, childhood adversity, mechanical trauma aeroallergens, pathogens, inflammation triggers) from association to causation, and developing preventative strategies. Further study in animals will contribute to a more informed, comprehensive, accelerated and ultimately impactful suicide research portfolio. PMID:28398339

  9. Memory Effects on Movement Behavior in Animal Foraging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bracis, Chloe; Gurarie, Eliezer; Van Moorter, Bram; Goodwin, R Andrew

    2015-01-01

    An individual's choices are shaped by its experience, a fundamental property of behavior important to understanding complex processes. Learning and memory are observed across many taxa and can drive behaviors, including foraging behavior. To explore the conditions under which memory provides an advantage, we present a continuous-space, continuous-time model of animal movement that incorporates learning and memory. Using simulation models, we evaluate the benefit memory provides across several types of landscapes with variable-quality resources and compare the memory model within a nested hierarchy of simpler models (behavioral switching and random walk). We find that memory almost always leads to improved foraging success, but that this effect is most marked in landscapes containing sparse, contiguous patches of high-value resources that regenerate relatively fast and are located in an otherwise devoid landscape. In these cases, there is a large payoff for finding a resource patch, due to size, value, or locational difficulty. While memory-informed search is difficult to differentiate from other factors using solely movement data, our results suggest that disproportionate spatial use of higher value areas, higher consumption rates, and consumption variability all point to memory influencing the movement direction of animals in certain ecosystems.

  10. Animal Studies of Addictive Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, Serge H.

    2013-01-01

    It is increasingly recognized that studying drug taking in laboratory animals does not equate to studying genuine addiction, characterized by loss of control over drug use. This has inspired recent work aimed at capturing genuine addiction-like behavior in animals. In this work, we summarize empirical evidence for the occurrence of several DSM-IV-like symptoms of addiction in animals after extended drug use. These symptoms include escalation of drug use, neurocognitive deficits, resistance to extinction, increased motivation for drugs, preference for drugs over nondrug rewards, and resistance to punishment. The fact that addiction-like behavior can occur and be studied in animals gives us the exciting opportunity to investigate the neural and genetic background of drug addiction, which we hope will ultimately lead to the development of more effective treatments for this devastating disorder. PMID:23249442

  11. Memory Effects on Movement Behavior in Animal Foraging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bracis, Chloe; Gurarie, Eliezer; Van Moorter, Bram; Goodwin, R. Andrew

    2015-01-01

    An individual’s choices are shaped by its experience, a fundamental property of behavior important to understanding complex processes. Learning and memory are observed across many taxa and can drive behaviors, including foraging behavior. To explore the conditions under which memory provides an advantage, we present a continuous-space, continuous-time model of animal movement that incorporates learning and memory. Using simulation models, we evaluate the benefit memory provides across several types of landscapes with variable-quality resources and compare the memory model within a nested hierarchy of simpler models (behavioral switching and random walk). We find that memory almost always leads to improved foraging success, but that this effect is most marked in landscapes containing sparse, contiguous patches of high-value resources that regenerate relatively fast and are located in an otherwise devoid landscape. In these cases, there is a large payoff for finding a resource patch, due to size, value, or locational difficulty. While memory-informed search is difficult to differentiate from other factors using solely movement data, our results suggest that disproportionate spatial use of higher value areas, higher consumption rates, and consumption variability all point to memory influencing the movement direction of animals in certain ecosystems. PMID:26288228

  12. Survey of animal welfare, animal behavior, and animal ethics courses in the curricula of AVMA Council on Education-accredited veterinary colleges and schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shivley, Chelsey B; Garry, Franklyn B; Kogan, Lori R; Grandin, Temple

    2016-05-15

    OBJECTIVE To explore the extent to which veterinary colleges and schools accredited by the AVMA Council on Education (COE) have incorporated specific courses related to animal welfare, behavior, and ethics. DESIGN Survey and curriculum review. SAMPLE All 49 AVMA COE-accredited veterinary colleges and schools (institutions). PROCEDURES The study consisted of 2 parts. In part 1, a survey regarding animal welfare, behavior, and ethics was emailed to the associate dean of academic affairs at all 49 AVMA COE-accredited institutions. In part 2, the curricula for the 30 AVMA COE-accredited institutions in the United States were reviewed for courses on animal behavior, ethics, and welfare. RESULTS Seventeen of 49 (35%) institutions responded to the survey of part 1, of which 10 offered a formal animal welfare course, 9 offered a formal animal behavior course, 8 offered a formal animal ethics course, and 5 offered a combined animal welfare, behavior, and ethics course. The frequency with which courses on animal welfare, behavior, and ethics were offered differed between international and US institutions. Review of the curricula for the 30 AVMA COE-accredited US institutions revealed that 6 offered a formal course on animal welfare, 22 offered a formal course on animal behavior, and 18 offered a formal course on animal ethics. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results suggested that AVMA COE-accredited institutions need to provide more formal education on animal welfare, behavior, and ethics so veterinarians can be advocates for animals and assist with behavioral challenges.

  13. Rapid inversion: running animals and robots swing like a pendulum under ledges.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean-Michel Mongeau

    Full Text Available Escaping from predators often demands that animals rapidly negotiate complex environments. The smallest animals attain relatively fast speeds with high frequency leg cycling, wing flapping or body undulations, but absolute speeds are slow compared to larger animals. Instead, small animals benefit from the advantages of enhanced maneuverability in part due to scaling. Here, we report a novel behavior in small, legged runners that may facilitate their escape by disappearance from predators. We video recorded cockroaches and geckos rapidly running up an incline toward a ledge, digitized their motion and created a simple model to generalize the behavior. Both species ran rapidly at 12-15 body lengths-per-second toward the ledge without braking, dove off the ledge, attached their feet by claws like a grappling hook, and used a pendulum-like motion that can exceed one meter-per-second to swing around to an inverted position under the ledge, out of sight. We discovered geckos in Southeast Asia can execute this escape behavior in the field. Quantification of these acrobatic behaviors provides biological inspiration toward the design of small, highly mobile search-and-rescue robots that can assist us during natural and human-made disasters. We report the first steps toward this new capability in a small, hexapedal robot.

  14. Rapid Inversion: Running Animals and Robots Swing like a Pendulum under Ledges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mongeau, Jean-Michel; McRae, Brian; Jusufi, Ardian; Birkmeyer, Paul; Hoover, Aaron M.; Fearing, Ronald; Full, Robert J.

    2012-01-01

    Escaping from predators often demands that animals rapidly negotiate complex environments. The smallest animals attain relatively fast speeds with high frequency leg cycling, wing flapping or body undulations, but absolute speeds are slow compared to larger animals. Instead, small animals benefit from the advantages of enhanced maneuverability in part due to scaling. Here, we report a novel behavior in small, legged runners that may facilitate their escape by disappearance from predators. We video recorded cockroaches and geckos rapidly running up an incline toward a ledge, digitized their motion and created a simple model to generalize the behavior. Both species ran rapidly at 12–15 body lengths-per-second toward the ledge without braking, dove off the ledge, attached their feet by claws like a grappling hook, and used a pendulum-like motion that can exceed one meter-per-second to swing around to an inverted position under the ledge, out of sight. We discovered geckos in Southeast Asia can execute this escape behavior in the field. Quantification of these acrobatic behaviors provides biological inspiration toward the design of small, highly mobile search-and-rescue robots that can assist us during natural and human-made disasters. We report the first steps toward this new capability in a small, hexapedal robot. PMID:22701594

  15. Pet Face: Mechanisms Underlying Human-Animal Relationships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borgi, Marta; Cirulli, Francesca

    2016-01-01

    Accumulating behavioral and neurophysiological studies support the idea of infantile (cute) faces as highly biologically relevant stimuli rapidly and unconsciously capturing attention and eliciting positive/affectionate behaviors, including willingness to care. It has been hypothesized that the presence of infantile physical and behavioral features in companion (or pet) animals (i.e., dogs and cats) might form the basis of our attraction to these species. Preliminary evidence has indeed shown that the human attentional bias toward the baby schema may extend to animal facial configurations. In this review, the role of facial cues, specifically of infantile traits and facial signals (i.e., eyes gaze) as emotional and communicative signals is highlighted and discussed as regulating the human-animal bond, similarly to what can be observed in the adult-infant interaction context. Particular emphasis is given to the neuroendocrine regulation of the social bond between humans and animals through oxytocin secretion. Instead of considering companion animals as mere baby substitutes for their owners, in this review we highlight the central role of cats and dogs in human lives. Specifically, we consider the ability of companion animals to bond with humans as fulfilling the need for attention and emotional intimacy, thus serving similar psychological and adaptive functions as human-human friendships. In this context, facial cuteness is viewed not just as a releaser of care/parental behavior, but, more in general, as a trait motivating social engagement. To conclude, the impact of this information for applied disciplines is briefly described, particularly in consideration of the increasing evidence of the beneficial effects of contacts with animals for human health and wellbeing.

  16. PET FACE: MECHANISMS UNDERLYING HUMAN-ANIMAL RELATIONSHIPS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marta eBorgi

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Accumulating behavioral and neurophysiological studies support the idea of infantile (cute faces as highly biologically relevant stimuli rapidly and unconsciously capturing attention and eliciting positive/affectionate behaviors, including willingness to care. It has been hypothesized that the presence of infantile physical and behavioral features in companion (or pet animals (i.e. dogs and cats might form the basis of our attraction to these species. Preliminary evidence has indeed shown that the human attentional bias toward the baby schema may extend to animal facial configurations. In this review, the role of facial cues, specifically of infantile traits and facial signals (i.e. eyes gaze as emotional and communicative signals is highlighted and discussed as regulating human-animal bond, similarly to what can be observed in the adult-infant interaction context. Particular emphasis is given to the neuroendocrine regulation of social bond between humans and animals through oxytocin secretion. Instead of considering companion animals as mere baby substitutes for their owners, in this review we highlight the central role of cats and dogs in human lives. Specifically, we consider the ability of companion animals to bond with humans as fulfilling the need for attention and emotional intimacy, thus serving similar psychological and adaptive functions as human-human friendships. In this context, facial cuteness is viewed not just as a releaser of care/parental behavior, but more in general as a trait motivating social engagement. To conclude, the impact of this information for applied disciplines is briefly described, particularly in consideration of the increasing evidence of the beneficial effects of contacts with animals for human health and wellbeing.

  17. Two Programs Educating the Public in Animal Learning and Behavior

    OpenAIRE

    Estep, Daniel Q.

    2002-01-01

    Two educational programs have been developed that teach basic principles of animal learning and behavior and how they can be used in day to day interactions with companion animals. The first program educates violators of animal control laws about animal learning and cat and dog behavior to help them resolve their problems with their animals and avoid future animal control violations. The second educates home service providers concerning basic principles of animal communication, dog behavior, ...

  18. ANIMAL BEHAVIOR AND WELL-BEING SYMPOSIUM: Interaction between coping style/personality, stress, and welfare: Relevance for domestic farm animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koolhaas, J M; Van Reenen, C G

    2016-06-01

    This paper will argue that understanding animal welfare and the individual vulnerability to stress-related disease requires a fundamental understanding of functional individual variation as it occurs in nature as well as the underlying neurobiology and neuroendocrinology. Ecological studies in feral populations of mice, fish, and birds start to recognize the functional significance of phenotypes that individually differ in their behavioral and neuroendocrine response to environmental challenge. Recent studies indicate that the individual variation within a species may buffer the species for strong fluctuations in the natural habitat. Similarly, evolutionary ancient behavioral trait characteristics have now been identified in a range of domestic farm animals including cattle, pigs, and horses. Individual variation in behavior can be summarized in a 3-dimensional model with coping style, emotionality, and sociality as independent dimensions. These dimensions can be considered trait characteristics that are stable over time and across situations within the individual. This conceptual model has several consequences. First, the coping style dimension is strongly associated with differential stress vulnerability. Social stress studies show that proactive individuals are resilient under stable environmental conditions but vulnerable when outcome expectancies are violated. Reactive individuals are, in fact, rather flexible and seem to adapt more easily to a changing environment. A second consequence relates to genetics and breeding. Genetic selection for one trait usually implies selection for other traits as well. It is discussed that a more balanced breeding program that takes into account biologically functional temperamental traits will lead to more robust domestic farm animals. Finally, the relationship between temperamental traits, animal production, fitness, and welfare is discussed.

  19. Collective animal behavior from Bayesian estimation and probability matching.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alfonso Pérez-Escudero

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Animals living in groups make movement decisions that depend, among other factors, on social interactions with other group members. Our present understanding of social rules in animal collectives is mainly based on empirical fits to observations, with less emphasis in obtaining first-principles approaches that allow their derivation. Here we show that patterns of collective decisions can be derived from the basic ability of animals to make probabilistic estimations in the presence of uncertainty. We build a decision-making model with two stages: Bayesian estimation and probabilistic matching. In the first stage, each animal makes a Bayesian estimation of which behavior is best to perform taking into account personal information about the environment and social information collected by observing the behaviors of other animals. In the probability matching stage, each animal chooses a behavior with a probability equal to the Bayesian-estimated probability that this behavior is the most appropriate one. This model derives very simple rules of interaction in animal collectives that depend only on two types of reliability parameters, one that each animal assigns to the other animals and another given by the quality of the non-social information. We test our model by obtaining theoretically a rich set of observed collective patterns of decisions in three-spined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus, a shoaling fish species. The quantitative link shown between probabilistic estimation and collective rules of behavior allows a better contact with other fields such as foraging, mate selection, neurobiology and psychology, and gives predictions for experiments directly testing the relationship between estimation and collective behavior.

  20. Animal welfare: an animal science approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koknaroglu, H; Akunal, T

    2013-12-01

    Increasing world population and demand for animal-derived protein puts pressure on animal production to meet this demand. For this purpose animal breeding efforts were conducted to obtain the maximum yield that the genetic makeup of the animals permits. Under the influence of economics which is the driving force behind animal production, animal farming became more concentrated and controlled which resulted in rearing animals under confinement. Since more attention was given on economics and yield per animal, animal welfare and behavior were neglected. Animal welfare which can be defined as providing environmental conditions in which animals can display all their natural behaviors in nature started gaining importance in recent years. This does not necessarily mean that animals provided with good management practices would have better welfare conditions as some animals may be distressed even though they are in good environmental conditions. Consumers are willing to pay more for welfare-friendly products (e.g.: free range vs caged egg) and this will change the animal production practices in the future. Thus animal scientists will have to adapt themselves for the changing animal welfare rules and regulations that differ for farm animal species and countries. In this review paper, animal welfare is discussed from an animal science standpoint. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Assessing the importance of natural behavior for animal welfare

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bracke, M.B.M.; Hopster, H.

    2006-01-01

    The concept of natural behavior is a key element in current Dutch policy-making on animal welfare. It emphasizes that animals need positive experiences, in addition to minimized suffering. This paper interprets the concept of natural behavior in the context of the scientific framework for welfare

  2. Behavioral Animal Model of the Emotional Response to Tinnitus and Hearing Loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lauer, Amanda M; Larkin, Gail; Jones, Aikeen; May, Bradford J

    2018-02-01

    Increased prevalence of emotional distress is associated with tinnitus and hearing loss. The underlying mechanisms of the negative emotional response to tinnitus and hearing loss remain poorly understood, and it is challenging to disentangle the emotional consequences of hearing loss from those specific to tinnitus in listeners experiencing both. We addressed these questions in laboratory rats using three common rodent anxiety screening assays: elevated plus maze, open field test, and social interaction test. Open arm activity in the elevated plus maze decreased substantially after one trial in controls, indicating its limited utility for comparing pre- and post-treatment behavior. Open field exploration and social interaction behavior were consistent across multiple sessions in control animals. Individual sound-exposed and salicylate-treated rats showed a range of phenotypes in the open field, including reduced entries into the center in some subjects and reduced locomotion overall. In rats screened for tinnitus, less locomotion was associated with higher tinnitus scores. In salicylate-treated animals, locomotion was correlated with age. Sound-exposed and salicylate-treated rats also showed reduced social interaction. These results suggest that open field exploratory activity is a selective measure for identifying tinnitus distress in individual animals, whereas social interaction reflects the general effects of hearing loss. This animal model will facilitate future studies of the structural and functional changes in the brain pathways underlying emotional distress associated with hearing dysfunction, as well as development of novel interventions to ameliorate or prevent negative emotional responses.

  3. Factors that distinguish aggression toward animals from other antisocial behaviors: Evidence from a community sample.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alleyne, Emma; Parfitt, Charlotte

    2018-05-25

    Animal cruelty is a form of passive and active aggression that is largely undocumented and unreported. Given that animals are voiceless victims, we have to rely on witnesses and frontline staff (e.g., veterinarians) to report incidents of abuse, which suggests the number of convicted animal abusers is an under-representation of actual perpetrators. The primary aim of the current study was to identify the static and dynamic factors that distinguish animal abusers from non-abuse offenders (i.e., individuals who self-reported antisocial behavior, but not animal abuse), and non-offenders (i.e., individuals who have not engaged in any antisocial behavior) in a community sample. The secondary aim was to identify the potential pathways that distinguish animal abuse perpetration from other types of antisocial behavior. Three hundred and eighty-four participants took part in this retrospective, correlational study. We found that animal abusers share similar socio-demographic characteristics to other offenders but are distinct in their exposure to animal harm/killing during childhood. Low animal-oriented empathy and low self-esteem distinguished animal abusers from non-abuse offenders when controlling for confound variables and other psychological characteristics. We also found that low animal-oriented empathy mediated the relationship between childhood exposure to animal killing and animal abuse perpetration, and that this relationship was stronger among participants with anger regulation issues. This is the first study to examine similarities and differences between animal abusers, non-abuse offenders, and non-offenders on socio-demographic and psychological characteristics. The findings highlight potential treatment targets that are unique to animal abusers with implications for prevention and intervention strategies. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. Wild Origins: The Evolving Nature of Animal Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flores, Ifigenia

    For billions of years, evolution has been the driving force behind the incredible range of biodiversity on our planet. Wild Origins is a concept plan for an exhibition at the National Zoo that uses case studies of animal behavior to explain the theory of evolution. Behaviors evolve, just as physical forms do. Understanding natural selection can help us interpret animal behavior and vice-versa. A living collection, digital media, interactives, fossils, and photographs will relay stories of social behavior, sex, navigation and migration, foraging, domestication, and relationships between different species. The informal learning opportunities visitors are offered at the zoo will create a connection with the exhibition's teaching points. Visitors will leave with an understanding and sense of wonder at the evolutionary view of life.

  5. Animal research in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards, Timothy L; Poling, Alan

    2011-01-01

    This review summarizes the 6 studies with nonhuman animal subjects that have appeared in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and offers suggestions for future research in this area. Two of the reviewed articles described translational research in which pigeons were used to illustrate and examine behavioral phenomena of applied significance (say-do correspondence and fluency), 3 described interventions that changed animals' behavior (self-injury by a baboon, feces throwing and spitting by a chimpanzee, and unsafe trailer entry by horses) in ways that benefited the animals and the people in charge of them, and 1 described the use of trained rats that performed a service to humans (land-mine detection). We suggest that each of these general research areas merits further attention and that the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis is an appropriate outlet for some of these publications.

  6. A Hidden Markov Movement Model for rapidly identifying behavioral states from animal tracks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Whoriskey, Kim; Auger-Méthé, Marie; Albertsen, Christoffer Moesgaard

    2017-01-01

    by fitting it to real tracks from a grey seal, lake trout, and blue shark, as well as to simulated data. 4. The HMMM is a fast and reliable tool for making meaningful inference from animal movement data that is ideally suited for ecologists who want to use the popular DCRWS implementation for highly accurate......1. Electronic telemetry is frequently used to document animal movement through time. Methods that can identify underlying behaviors driving specific movement patterns can help us understand how and why animals use available space, thereby aiding conservation and management efforts. For aquatic...... animal tracking data with significant measurement error, a Bayesian state-space model called the first-Difference Correlated Random Walk with Switching (DCRWS) has often been used for this purpose. However, for aquatic animals, highly accurate tracking data of animal movement are now becoming more common...

  7. Automated tracking of animal posture and movement during exploration and sensory orientation behaviors.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alex Gomez-Marin

    Full Text Available The nervous functions of an organism are primarily reflected in the behavior it is capable of. Measuring behavior quantitatively, at high-resolution and in an automated fashion provides valuable information about the underlying neural circuit computation. Accordingly, computer-vision applications for animal tracking are becoming a key complementary toolkit to genetic, molecular and electrophysiological characterization in systems neuroscience.We present Sensory Orientation Software (SOS to measure behavior and infer sensory experience correlates. SOS is a simple and versatile system to track body posture and motion of single animals in two-dimensional environments. In the presence of a sensory landscape, tracking the trajectory of the animal's sensors and its postural evolution provides a quantitative framework to study sensorimotor integration. To illustrate the utility of SOS, we examine the orientation behavior of fruit fly larvae in response to odor, temperature and light gradients. We show that SOS is suitable to carry out high-resolution behavioral tracking for a wide range of organisms including flatworms, fishes and mice.Our work contributes to the growing repertoire of behavioral analysis tools for collecting rich and fine-grained data to draw and test hypothesis about the functioning of the nervous system. By providing open-access to our code and documenting the software design, we aim to encourage the adaptation of SOS by a wide community of non-specialists to their particular model organism and questions of interest.

  8. Effect of high ambient temperature on behavior of sheep under semi-arid tropical environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    De, Kalyan; Kumar, Davendra; Saxena, Vijay Kumar; Thirumurugan, Palanisamy; Naqvi, Syed Mohammed Khursheed

    2017-07-01

    High environmental temperature is a major constraint in sheep production under semi-arid tropical environment. Behavior is the earliest indicator of animal's adaptation and responses to the environmental alteration. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the effects of high ambient temperature on the behavior of sheep under a semi-arid tropical environment. The experiment was conducted for 6 weeks on 16 Malpura cross (Garole × Malpura × Malpura (GMM)) rams. The rams were divided equally into two groups, designated as C and T. The rams of C were kept in comfortable environmental conditions served as control. The rams of T were exposed to a different temperature at different hours of the day in a climatic chamber, to simulate a high environmental temperature of summer in semi-arid tropic. The behavioral observations were taken by direct instantaneous observation at 15-min intervals for each animal individually. The feeding, ruminating, standing, and lying behaviors were recorded twice a week from morning (0800 hours) to afternoon (1700 hours) for 6 weeks. Exposure of rams to high temperature (T) significantly ( P animals of T spent significantly ( P behavior of sheep which is directed to circumvent the effect of the stressor.

  9. Behavioral impairments in animal models for zinc deficiency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simone eHagmeyer

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Apart from teratogenic and pathological effects of zinc deficiency such as the occurrence of skin lesions, anorexia, growth retardation, depressed wound healing, altered immune function, impaired night vision, and alterations in taste and smell acuity, characteristic behavioral changes in animal models and human patients suffering from zinc deficiency have been observed. Given that it is estimated that about 17% of the worldwide population are at risk for zinc deficiency and that zinc deficiency is associated with a variety of brain disorders and disease states in humans, it is of major interest to investigate, how these behavioral changes will affect the individual and a putative course of a disease. Thus, here, we provide a state of the art overview about the behavioral phenotypes observed in various models of zinc deficiency, among them environmentally produced zinc deficient animals as well as animal models based on a genetic alteration of a particular zinc homeostasis gene. Finally, we compare the behavioral phenotypes to the human condition of mild to severe zinc deficiency and provide a model, how zinc deficiency that is associated with many neurodegenerative and neuropsychological disorders might modify the disease pathologies.

  10. A Study on Impact of Informatization on Tourist Behavior : Analysis of Anime Pilgrimage

    OpenAIRE

    岡本, 健

    2009-01-01

    This paper shows impact of informatization on tourist behavior in Japan. This research adopts analysis of "Anime Pilgrimage" in order to accomplish the above mentioned objective. Recently, in Japan, some of anime fans make "Anime Pilgrimage" which is a kind of tourist behavior. It would appear that this behavior was affected by informatization strongly. As a result, it was found that "Anime Pilgrim" was affected by informatization not only before "Anime Pilgrimage" but also throughout "Anime ...

  11. Cognitive Model of Animal Behavior to Comprehend an Aspect of Decision-Making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Migita, Masao; Moriyama, Tohru

    2004-08-01

    Most animal behaviors are considered to have been evolved through their own courses of natural selection. Since mechanisms of natural selection depend tightly on environments in which animals of interest inhabit, the environment for an animal appears a priori, and stimulus-response (S-R) relationships are stable as long as it returns constant benefit. We claim, however, no environment for an animal cannot be regarded as a priori and any animal can exhibit more elaborated behavior than S-R. In other words, every animal is more or less cognitive in terms that it may modify a meaning of stimulus. We introduce a minimal model to demonstrate the cognitive aspect of the pill bug's turn alternation (TA) behavior. The simulated pill bug can modify its own response pattern to the stimulus of water, though stable response appears to be prerequisite to TA behavior.

  12. Robotic Fish to Aid Animal Behavior Studies and Informal Science Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phamduy, Paul

    The application of robotic fish in the fields of animal behavior and informal science learning are new and relatively untapped. In the context of animal behavior studies, robotic fish offers a consistent and customizable stimulus that could contribute to dissect the determinants of social behavior. In the realm of informal science learning, robotic fish are gaining momentum for the possibility of educating the general public simultaneously on fish physiology and underwater robotics. In this dissertation, the design and development of a number of robotic fish platforms and prototypes and their application in animal behavioral studies and informal science learning settings are presented. Robotic platforms for animal behavioral studies focused on the utilization replica or same scale prototypes. A novel robotic fish platform, featuring a three-dimensional swimming multi-linked robotic fish, was developed with three control modes varying in the level of robot autonomy offered. This platform was deployed at numerous science festivals and science centers, to obtain data on visitor engagement and experience.

  13. Behavioral measures of tinnitus in laboratory animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, Jeremy G

    2007-01-01

    The fact that so little is currently known about the pathophysiology of tinnitus is no doubt partly due to the relatively slow development of an animal model. Not until the work of Jastreboff et al. (1988a, b) did tinnitus researchers have at their disposal a method of determining whether their animals experienced tinnitus. Since then, a variety of additional animal models have been developed. Each of these models will be summarized in this chapter. It is becoming increasingly clear that in order to study tinnitus effectively, researchers need some verification that a drug, noise exposure or other manipulation is causing tinnitus in their animals. As this review will highlight, researchers now have a variety of behavioral options available to them.

  14. Abnormal animal behavior prior to the Vrancea (Romania) major subcrustal earthquakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Constantin, Angela; Pantea, Aurelian

    2013-04-01

    The goal of this paper is to present some observations about abnormal animal behavior prior and during of some Romanian subcrustal earthquakes. The major Vrancea earthquakes of 4 March 1977 (Mw = 7.4, Imax = IX-X MSK), 30 August 1986 (Mw = 7.1, Io = VIII-IX MSK) and 30 May 1990 (Mw = 6.9, Io = VIII MSK), were preceded by extensive occurrences of anomalous animal behavior. These data were collected immediately after the earthquakes from the areas affected by these. Some species of animals became excited, nervous and panicked before and during the earthquakes, such as: dogs (barking and running in panic), cats, snakes, mice and rats (came into the houses and have lost their fear), birds (hens, geese, parrots), horses, fishes etc. These strange manifestations of the animals were observed on the entire territory of country, especially in the extra-Carpathian area. This unusual behavior was noticed within a few hours to days before the seismic events, but for the most of cases the time of occurrence was within two hours of the quakes. We can hope that maybe one day the abnormal animal behavior will be used as a reliable seismic precursor for the intermediate depth earthquakes.

  15. Cellular registration without behavioral recall of olfactory sensory input under general anesthesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samuelsson, Andrew R; Brandon, Nicole R; Tang, Pei; Xu, Yan

    2014-04-01

    Previous studies suggest that sensory information is "received" but not "perceived" under general anesthesia. Whether and to what extent the brain continues to process sensory inputs in a drug-induced unconscious state remain unclear. One hundred seven rats were randomly assigned to 12 different anesthesia and odor exposure paradigms. The immunoreactivities of the immediate early gene products c-Fos and Egr1 as neural activity markers were combined with behavioral tests to assess the integrity and relationship of cellular and behavioral responsiveness to olfactory stimuli under a surgical plane of ketamine-xylazine general anesthesia. The olfactory sensory processing centers could distinguish the presence or absence of experimental odorants even when animals were fully anesthetized. In the anesthetized state, the c-Fos immunoreactivity in the higher olfactory cortices revealed a difference between novel and familiar odorants similar to that seen in the awake state, suggesting that the anesthetized brain functions beyond simply receiving external stimulation. Reexposing animals to odorants previously experienced only under anesthesia resulted in c-Fos immunoreactivity, which was similar to that elicited by familiar odorants, indicating that previous registration had occurred in the anesthetized brain. Despite the "cellular memory," however, odor discrimination and forced-choice odor-recognition tests showed absence of behavioral recall of the registered sensations, except for a longer latency in odor recognition tests. Histologically distinguishable registration of sensory processing continues to occur at the cellular level under ketamine-xylazine general anesthesia despite the absence of behavioral recognition, consistent with the notion that general anesthesia causes disintegration of information processing without completely blocking cellular communications.

  16. Using Ants, Animal Behavior & the Learning Cycle to Investigate Scientific Processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ligon, Russell A.; Dolezal, Adam G.; Hicks, Michael R.; Butler, Michael W.; Morehouse, Nathan I.; Ganesh, Tirupalavanam G.

    2014-01-01

    The behavior of animals is an intrinsically fascinating topic for students from a wide array of backgrounds. We describe a learning experience using animal behavior that we created for middle school students as part of a graduate-student outreach program, Graduate Partners in Science Education, at Arizona State University in collaboration with a…

  17. An Algorithm for Global Optimization Inspired by Collective Animal Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erik Cuevas

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available A metaheuristic algorithm for global optimization called the collective animal behavior (CAB is introduced. Animal groups, such as schools of fish, flocks of birds, swarms of locusts, and herds of wildebeest, exhibit a variety of behaviors including swarming about a food source, milling around a central locations, or migrating over large distances in aligned groups. These collective behaviors are often advantageous to groups, allowing them to increase their harvesting efficiency, to follow better migration routes, to improve their aerodynamic, and to avoid predation. In the proposed algorithm, the searcher agents emulate a group of animals which interact with each other based on the biological laws of collective motion. The proposed method has been compared to other well-known optimization algorithms. The results show good performance of the proposed method when searching for a global optimum of several benchmark functions.

  18. The science of animal behavior and welfare: challenges, opportunities and global perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Animal welfare science is a relatively new scientific discipline. Originally heavily focused on animal behavior, it has emerged into a truly multi- and inter-disciplinary science, encompassing such sciences as behavior, physiology, pathology, immunology, endocrinology and neuroscience, and influence...

  19. Effect of high ambient temperature on behavior of sheep under semi-arid tropical environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De, Kalyan; Kumar, Davendra; Saxena, Vijay Kumar; Thirumurugan, Palanisamy; Naqvi, Syed Mohammed Khursheed

    2017-07-01

    High environmental temperature is a major constraint in sheep production under semi-arid tropical environment. Behavior is the earliest indicator of animal's adaptation and responses to the environmental alteration. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the effects of high ambient temperature on the behavior of sheep under a semi-arid tropical environment. The experiment was conducted for 6 weeks on 16 Malpura cross (Garole × Malpura × Malpura (GMM)) rams. The rams were divided equally into two groups, designated as C and T. The rams of C were kept in comfortable environmental conditions served as control. The rams of T were exposed to a different temperature at different hours of the day in a climatic chamber, to simulate a high environmental temperature of summer in semi-arid tropic. The behavioral observations were taken by direct instantaneous observation at 15-min intervals for each animal individually. The feeding, ruminating, standing, and lying behaviors were recorded twice a week from morning (0800 hours) to afternoon (1700 hours) for 6 weeks. Exposure of rams to high temperature (T) significantly (P behavior of sheep which is directed to circumvent the effect of the stressor.

  20. A psycho-behavioral perspective on modelling obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in animals: The role of context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolmarans, De Wet; Stein, Dan J; Harvey, Brian H

    2017-05-23

    Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a heterogeneous and debilitating condition, characterized by intrusive thoughts and compulsive repetition. Animal models of OCD are important tools that have the potential to contribute significantly to our understanding of the condition. Although there is consensus that pre-clinical models are valuable in elucidating the underlying neurobiology in psychiatric disorders, the current paper attempts to prompt ideas on how interpretation of animal behavior can be expanded upon to more effectively converge with the human disorder. Successful outcomes in psychopharmacology involves rational design and synthesis of novel compounds and their testing in well-designed animal models. As part of a special journal issue on OCD, this paper will 1) review the psycho-behavioral aspects of OCD that are of importance on how the above ideas can be articulated, 2) briefly elaborate on general issues that are important for the development of animal models of OCD, with a particular focus on the role and importance of context, 3) propose why translational progress may often be less than ideal, 4) highlight some of the significant contributions afforded by animal models to advance understanding, and 5) conclude by identifying novel behavioral constructs for future investigations that may contribute to the face, predictive and construct validity of OCD animal models. We base these targets on an integrative approach to face and construct validity, and note that the issue of treatment-resistance in the clinical context should receive attention in current animal models of OCD. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  1. Incubation under Climate Warming Affects Behavioral Lateralisation in Port Jackson Sharks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catarina Vila Pouca

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Climate change is warming the world’s oceans at an unprecedented rate. Under predicted end-of-century temperatures, many teleosts show impaired development and altered critical behaviors, including behavioral lateralisation. Since laterality is an expression of brain functional asymmetries, changes in the strength and direction of lateralisation suggest that rapid climate warming might impact brain development and function. However, despite the implications for cognitive functions, the potential effects of elevated temperature in lateralisation of elasmobranch fishes are unknown. We incubated and reared Port Jackson sharks at current and projected end-of-century temperatures and measured preferential detour responses to left or right. Sharks incubated at elevated temperature showed stronger absolute laterality and were significantly biased towards the right relative to sharks reared at current temperature. We propose that animals reared under elevated temperatures might have more strongly lateralized brains to cope with deleterious effects of climate change on brain development and growth. However, far more research in elasmobranch lateralisation is needed before the significance of these results can be fully comprehended. This study provides further evidence that elasmobranchs are susceptible to the effects of future ocean warming, though behavioral mechanisms might allow animals to compensate for some of the challenges imposed by climate change.

  2. Classification of Animal Movement Behavior through Residence in Space and Time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torres, Leigh G; Orben, Rachael A; Tolkova, Irina; Thompson, David R

    2017-01-01

    Identification and classification of behavior states in animal movement data can be complex, temporally biased, time-intensive, scale-dependent, and unstandardized across studies and taxa. Large movement datasets are increasingly common and there is a need for efficient methods of data exploration that adjust to the individual variability of each track. We present the Residence in Space and Time (RST) method to classify behavior patterns in movement data based on the concept that behavior states can be partitioned by the amount of space and time occupied in an area of constant scale. Using normalized values of Residence Time and Residence Distance within a constant search radius, RST is able to differentiate behavior patterns that are time-intensive (e.g., rest), time & distance-intensive (e.g., area restricted search), and transit (short time and distance). We use grey-headed albatross (Thalassarche chrysostoma) GPS tracks to demonstrate RST's ability to classify behavior patterns and adjust to the inherent scale and individuality of each track. Next, we evaluate RST's ability to discriminate between behavior states relative to other classical movement metrics. We then temporally sub-sample albatross track data to illustrate RST's response to less resolved data. Finally, we evaluate RST's performance using datasets from four taxa with diverse ecology, functional scales, ecosystems, and data-types. We conclude that RST is a robust, rapid, and flexible method for detailed exploratory analysis and meta-analyses of behavioral states in animal movement data based on its ability to integrate distance and time measurements into one descriptive metric of behavior groupings. Given the increasing amount of animal movement data collected, it is timely and useful to implement a consistent metric of behavior classification to enable efficient and comparative analyses. Overall, the application of RST to objectively explore and compare behavior patterns in movement data can

  3. Effect of a wildlife conservation camp experience in China on student knowledge of animals, care, propensity for environmental stewardship, and compassionate behavior toward animals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bexell, Sarah M.

    The goal of conservation education is positive behavior change toward animals and the environment. This study was conducted to determine whether participation in a wildlife conservation education camp was effective in positively changing 8-12 year old students': (a) knowledge of animals, (b) care about animals, (c) propensity for environmental and wildlife stewardship, and (d) compassionate behavior toward animals. During the summer of 2005, 2 five-day camps were conducted at 2 zoological institutions in Chengdu, China. The camp curriculum was influenced by theory and research on the following: conservation psychology, social learning theory, empathy and moral development theory, socio-biological theory, constructivist theory, and conservation science. Camp activities were sensitive to Chinese culture and included Chinese conservation issues. Activities were designed to help children form bonds with animals and care enough about them to positively change their behavior toward animals and the environment. This mixed methods study triangulated quantitative and qualitative data from six sources to answer the following: (1) Did camp increase student knowledge of animals? (2) Did camp increase student caring about animals? (3) Did camp increase student propensity for environmental and wildlife stewardship? (4) Did camp affect student compassionate behavior toward animals? A conservation stewards survey revealed significant increases on pre-post, self-report of knowledge, care, and propensity. Pre-post, rubric-scored responses to human-animal interaction vignettes indicated a significant increase in knowledge, and stable scores on care and propensity. Qualitative data from student journals, vignettes, and end-of-camp questionnaires demonstrated knowledge, caring, and propensity, and revealed the emergent theme empathy. To address question 4, instructors tallied campers' behavior toward animals using a student behavior ethogram. Occurrence of positive behaviors was

  4. Observing Animal Behavior at the Zoo: A Learning Laboratory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hull, Debra B.

    2003-01-01

    Undergraduate students in a learning laboratory course initially chose a species to study; researched that species' physical and behavioral characteristics; then learned skills necessary to select, operationalize, observe, and record animal behavior accurately. After their classroom preparation, students went to a local zoo to observe the behavior…

  5. Pheromone application in prevention and therapy of domestic animal behavioral disorder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vučinić Marijana

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available This review-type paper presents the latest knowledge on pheromone therapy. Pheromone therapy does not imply merely the use of structural analogues of pheromones in therapy, but also in the prevention of behavioral disorders in domestic animals. Their application is induced in all cases in which the effects of stressors are expected and their negative effect on the health condition, welfare and production results of domestic animals. Structural analogues of pheromones can successfully be applied in the prevention and therapy of behavioral disorders in horses, swine, dogs, and cats. Recent investigations have confirmed that structural analogues of semiochemicals exert a positive effect also on the production results and meat quality of broilers. They realize their therapeutic and preventive effect on the behavior of domestic animals through the stabilization of the emotional state, relaxation, and calming the animals that are disturbed, or could become disturbed due to the effect of stressors.

  6. Behavioral repertory of Trichodactylus panoplus (Crustacea: Trichodactylidae under laboratory conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bianca L. Zimmermann

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available This work describes the behavioral repertory of Trichodactylus panoplus von Martens, 1869, based on the animals' diel activity and the possible substrate preference under laboratory experiments. Three experimental replicates were carried out, each using six animals (three males and three females. There were four periods of observation a day, with a total of 864 observation sessions and 144 hours of experiments. A total of 15 behavioral acts divided into five categories were recorded: feeding, exploration of the environment, immobility, social interaction, and self-grooming. The obtained results suggest that T. panoplus has greater activity during the night (p < 0.05, yet without showing an activity peak. In addition, the acceptance of food does not depend on the photoperiod. There was a significant preference for gravel as the chosen substrate. The Morisita index indicates an aggregated distribution of these animals, confirming their preference for substrate with gravel. The increase in activity at night and the preference for substrate with gravel, which can be used to disguise these individuals, would be associated to some anti-predator strategies of these crabs against visually orientated predators.

  7. Animal Research in the "Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards, Timothy L.; Poling, Alan

    2011-01-01

    This review summarizes the 6 studies with nonhuman animal subjects that have appeared in the "Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis" and offers suggestions for future research in this area. Two of the reviewed articles described translational research in which pigeons were used to illustrate and examine behavioral phenomena of applied significance…

  8. Simple models for studying complex spatiotemporal patterns of animal behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tyutyunov, Yuri V.; Titova, Lyudmila I.

    2017-06-01

    Minimal mathematical models able to explain complex patterns of animal behavior are essential parts of simulation systems describing large-scale spatiotemporal dynamics of trophic communities, particularly those with wide-ranging species, such as occur in pelagic environments. We present results obtained with three different modelling approaches: (i) an individual-based model of animal spatial behavior; (ii) a continuous taxis-diffusion-reaction system of partial-difference equations; (iii) a 'hybrid' approach combining the individual-based algorithm of organism movements with explicit description of decay and diffusion of the movement stimuli. Though the models are based on extremely simple rules, they all allow description of spatial movements of animals in a predator-prey system within a closed habitat, reproducing some typical patterns of the pursuit-evasion behavior observed in natural populations. In all three models, at each spatial position the animal movements are determined by local conditions only, so the pattern of collective behavior emerges due to self-organization. The movement velocities of animals are proportional to the density gradients of specific cues emitted by individuals of the antagonistic species (pheromones, exometabolites or mechanical waves of the media, e.g., sound). These cues play a role of taxis stimuli: prey attract predators, while predators repel prey. Depending on the nature and the properties of the movement stimulus we propose using either a simplified individual-based model, a continuous taxis pursuit-evasion system, or a little more detailed 'hybrid' approach that combines simulation of the individual movements with the continuous model describing diffusion and decay of the stimuli in an explicit way. These can be used to improve movement models for many species, including large marine predators.

  9. Modeling Behavior and Variation for Crowd Animation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-08-01

    characters and environments with- out having to design new behavior graphs. For example, we generated animations for a skateboarder and a horse using...also have motion data for a skateboarder and a horse. Their graphs are similar to the one in Figure 3.3 right. For the skateboarder , there are five

  10. Large animals as potential models of human mental and behavioral disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danek, Michał; Danek, Janusz; Araszkiewicz, Aleksander

    2017-12-30

    Many animal models in different species have been developed for mental and behavioral disorders. This review presents large animals (dog, ovine, swine, horse) as potential models of this disorders. The article was based on the researches that were published in the peer-reviewed journals. Aliterature research was carried out using the PubMed database. The above issues were discussed in the several problem groups in accordance with the WHO International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10thRevision (ICD-10), in particular regarding: organic, including symptomatic, disorders; mental disorders (Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease, pernicious anemia and hepatic encephalopathy, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease); behavioral disorders due to psychoactive substance use (alcoholic intoxication, abuse of morphine); schizophrenia and other schizotypal disorders (puerperal psychosis); mood (affective) disorders (depressive episode); neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders (posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder); behavioral syndromes associated with physiological disturbances and physical factors (anxiety disorders, anorexia nervosa, narcolepsy); mental retardation (Cohen syndrome, Down syndrome, Hunter syndrome); behavioral and emotional disorders (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). This data indicates many large animal disorders which can be models to examine the above human mental and behavioral disorders.

  11. Self-Injurious Behavior: An Animal Model of an Autism Endophenotype

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    alterations in specific DARPP-32-mediated signaling mechanisms. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Autism , self-injurious behavior, neuroscience, dopamine , DARPP-32...Injurious Behavior: An Animal Model of an Autism Endophenotype Darragh Devine University of Florida Gainesville, FL 32611 Autism , self...injurious behavior, neuroscience, dopamine , DARPP-32, stress, anxiety Abstract on next page. 75 dpdevine@ufl.edu REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved

  12. Animal Models of Compulsive Eating Behavior

    OpenAIRE

    Matteo Di Segni; Enrico Patrono; Loris Patella; Stefano Puglisi-Allegra; Rossella Ventura

    2014-01-01

    Eating disorders are multifactorial conditions that can involve a combination of genetic, metabolic, environmental, and behavioral factors. Studies in humans and laboratory animals show that eating can also be regulated by factors unrelated to metabolic control. Several studies suggest a link between stress, access to highly palatable food, and eating disorders. Eating “comfort foods” in response to a negative emotional state, for example, suggests that some individuals overeat to self-medica...

  13. Mass and energy budgets of animals: Behavioral and ecological implications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Porter, W.P.

    1991-11-01

    The two major aims of our lab are as follows: First, to develop and field-test general mechanistic models that predict animal life history characteristics as influenced by climate and the physical, physiological behavioral characteristics of species. This involves: understanding how animal time and energy budgets are affected by climate and animal properties; predicting growth and reproductive potential from time and energy budgets; predicting mortality based on climate and time and energy budgets; and linking these individual based models to population dynamics. Second to conduct empirical studies of animal physiological ecology, particularly the effects of temperature on time and energy budgets. The physiological ecology of individual animals is the key link between the physical environment and population-level phenomena. We address the macroclimate to microclimate linkage on a broad spatial scale; address the links between individuals and population dynamics for lizard species; test the endotherm energetics and behavior model using beaver; address the spatial variation in climate and its effects on individual energetics, growth and reproduction; and address patchiness in the environment and constraints they may impose on individual energetics, growth and reproduction. These projects are described individually in the following section. 24 refs., 9 figs.

  14. Animal behavior and well-being symposium

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koolhaas, J.M.; Reenen, van C.G.

    2016-01-01

    This paper will argue that understanding animal welfare and the individual vulnerability to stress-related disease requires a fundamental understanding of functional individual variation as it occurs in nature as well as the underlying neurobiology and neuroendocrinology. Ecological studies in

  15. The Effect of Watching Iranian Religious Animations on Religion Behavior in Adolescents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seyed Mojtaba Razawi Tousi

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Adolescents are so much in favor of media productions and they criticize its religious notions and TV productions has a great influence on making a true attitude towards spirituality and religion so possibility of influence Iranian religious Animation on the religious behavior of audiences was studied with use the role of schools in gathering homogeneous audience. This research was done on a number of students aged 12-18 in 8 different non- governmental schools, educational region 2 in Tehran. The research analyzed the examinees in 4 test groups and 4 control groups to observe the effect of religious animation on the students' religious behavior. Using pairing t-test, one sample t-test and variance analysis (ANOVA, the research examined the effect of age, gender and religious precedent in student's behavior. The findings prove that watching religious animation strengthens their religious behavior considering gender and religious precedent.

  16. COLLECTIVE VORTEX BEHAVIORS: DIVERSITY, PROXIMATE, AND ULTIMATE CAUSES OF CIRCULAR ANIMAL GROUP MOVEMENTS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delcourt, Johann; Bode, Nikolai W F; Denoël, Mathieu

    2016-03-01

    Ant mill, caterpillar circle, bat doughnut, amphibian vortex, duck swirl, and fish torus are different names for rotating circular animal formations, where individuals turn around a common center. These "collective vortex behaviors" occur at different group sizes from pairs to several million individuals and have been reported in a large number of organisms, from bacteria to vertebrates, including humans. However, to date, no comprehensive review and synthesis of the literature on vortex behaviors has been conducted. Here, we review the state of the art of the proximate and ultimate causes of vortex behaviors. The ubiquity of this behavioral phenomenon could suggest common causes or fundamental underlying principles across contexts. However, we find that a variety of proximate mechanisms give rise to vortex behaviors. We highlight the potential benefits of collective vortex behaviors to individuals involved in them. For example, in some species, vortices increase feeding efficiency and could give protection against predators. It has also been argued that vortices could improve collective decision-making and information transfer. We highlight gaps in our understanding of these ubiquitous behavioral phenomena and discuss future directions for research in vortex studies.

  17. Some aspects of animal behavior and community dynamics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vikas Rai

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available We simulate the dynamical behavior of a few two - dimensional predator - prey systems in two - dimensional parameter spaces to gain insight into how functional responses affect community dynamics. The insight gained helps us design three dimensional systems. We construct models for a few ecosystems with three species and study them using computer simulations. The models have been developed by linking food chains which have both kinds of predators: specialist as well as generalist. The linking functions are weakly non-linear. The three dimensional model ecosystems have sexually reproducing top - predators. We perform extensive simulations to figure out dynamics of dynamical possibilities caused by changes in animal behavior. The animals change the foraging strategies and behave differently in different environments. At the end of the paper, we examine how diseases can govern transitions in meandering of dynamical models in bounded volume of their phase spaces.

  18. Local tolerance testing under REACH: Accepted non-animal methods are not on equal footing with animal tests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sauer, Ursula G; Hill, Erin H; Curren, Rodger D; Raabe, Hans A; Kolle, Susanne N; Teubner, Wera; Mehling, Annette; Landsiedel, Robert

    2016-07-01

    In general, no single non-animal method can cover the complexity of any given animal test. Therefore, fixed sets of in vitro (and in chemico) methods have been combined into testing strategies for skin and eye irritation and skin sensitisation testing, with pre-defined prediction models for substance classification. Many of these methods have been adopted as OECD test guidelines. Various testing strategies have been successfully validated in extensive in-house and inter-laboratory studies, but they have not yet received formal acceptance for substance classification. Therefore, under the European REACH Regulation, data from testing strategies can, in general, only be used in so-called weight-of-evidence approaches. While animal testing data generated under the specific REACH information requirements are per se sufficient, the sufficiency of weight-of-evidence approaches can be questioned under the REACH system, and further animal testing can be required. This constitutes an imbalance between the regulatory acceptance of data from approved non-animal methods and animal tests that is not justified on scientific grounds. To ensure that testing strategies for local tolerance testing truly serve to replace animal testing for the REACH registration 2018 deadline (when the majority of existing chemicals have to be registered), clarity on their regulatory acceptance as complete replacements is urgently required. 2016 FRAME.

  19. Genomics meets ethology: a new route to understanding domestication, behavior, and sustainability in animal breeding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jensen, Per; Andersson, Leif

    2005-06-01

    Animal behavior is a central part of animal welfare, a keystone in sustainable animal breeding. During domestication, animals have adapted with respect to behavior and an array of other traits. We compared the behavior of junglefowl and White Leghorn layers, selected for egg production (and indirectly for growth). Jungle-fowl had a more active behavior in social, exploratory, anti-predatory, and feeding tests. A genome scan for Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) in a junglefowl x White Leghorn intercross revealed several significant or suggestive QTLs for different traits. Some production QTLs coincided with QTLs for behavior, suggesting that pleiotropic effects may be important for the development of domestication phenotypes. One gene has been located, which has a strong effect on the risk of being a victim of feather pecking, a detrimental behavior disorder. Modern genomics paired with analysis of behavior may help in designing more sustainable and robust breeding in the future.

  20. The effects of extrinsic stress on somatic markers and behavior are dependent on animal housing conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huzard, Damien; Mumby, Dave G; Sandi, Carmen; Poirier, Guillaume L; van der Kooij, Michael A

    2015-11-01

    Properties of the environment play an important role in animal wellbeing and may modulate the effects of external threats. Whereas stressors can affect emotion and impair cognition, environmental enrichment may prevent the occurrence of such negative sequelae. Animals exposed to semi-natural group-housing experience a complex environment; whereas environmental enrichment might protect against stressors, a socially-enriched environment(SEE) could entail aggressive inter-male encounters with additive stress effects. In the present study, we investigated the effects of exposure to external stressors, footshocks and forced swimming, on adrenal gland and body weights as well as on behavior in rats housed under SEE or standard, non-enriched environment (NEE), conditions. We found that SEEs reduced the anxiogenic effects of stress. Moreover, SEEs improved the performance in an operant task and prevented the increase in impulsive behavior produced by external stressors on NEE animals. Whereas these findings are indicative of stress-buffering effects of SEEs, adrenal gland weights were increased while total body weights were decreased in SEE rats, suggesting that SEEs may simultaneously exacerbate physiological measurements of stress. Finally, in the SEE, total aggressive behaviors and body wounds were paradoxically reduced in animals that received external stressors in comparison to non-stressed controls. The consequences of the external stressors applied here are not uniform, varying according to the housing condition and the outcome considered. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Deriving Animal Movement Behaviors Using Movement Parameters Extracted from Location Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maryam Teimouri

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available We present a methodology for distinguishing between three types of animal movement behavior (foraging, resting, and walking based on high-frequency tracking data. For each animal we quantify an individual movement path. A movement path is a temporal sequence consisting of the steps through space taken by an animal. By selecting a set of appropriate movement parameters, we develop a method to assess movement behavioral states, reflected by changes in the movement parameters. The two fundamental tasks of our study are segmentation and clustering. By segmentation, we mean the partitioning of the trajectory into segments, which are homogeneous in terms of their movement parameters. By clustering, we mean grouping similar segments together according to their estimated movement parameters. The proposed method is evaluated using field observations (done by humans of movement behavior. We found that on average, our method agreed with the observational data (ground truth at a level of 80.75% ± 5.9% (SE.

  2. Characterizing ingestive behavior through licking microstructure: Underlying neurobiology and its use in the study of obesity in animal models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Alexander W

    2018-02-01

    Ingestive behavior is controlled by multiple distinct peripheral and central physiological mechanisms that ultimately determine whether a particular food should be accepted or avoided. As rodents consume a fluid they display stereotyped rhythmic tongue movements, and by analyzing the temporal distribution of pauses of licking, it is possible through analyses of licking microstructure to uncover dissociable evaluative and motivational variables that contribute to ingestive behavior. The mean number of licks occurring within each burst of licking (burst and cluster size) reflects the palatability of the consumed solution, whereas the frequency of initiating novel bouts of licking behavior (burst and cluster number) is dependent upon the degree of gastrointestinal inhibition that accrues through continued fluid ingestion. This review describes the analysis of these measures within a context of the behavioral variables that come to influence the acceptance or avoidance of a fluid, and the neurobiological mechanisms that underlie alterations in the temporal distribution of pauses of licks. The application of these studies to models of obesity in animals is also described. Copyright © 2017 ISDN. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Modeling human behaviors and reactions under dangerous environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, J; Wright, D K; Qin, S F; Zhao, Y

    2005-01-01

    This paper describes the framework of a real-time simulation system to model human behavior and reactions in dangerous environments. The system utilizes the latest 3D computer animation techniques, combined with artificial intelligence, robotics and psychology, to model human behavior, reactions and decision making under expected/unexpected dangers in real-time in virtual environments. The development of the system includes: classification on the conscious/subconscious behaviors and reactions of different people; capturing different motion postures by the Eagle Digital System; establishing 3D character animation models; establishing 3D models for the scene; planning the scenario and the contents; and programming within Virtools Dev. Programming within Virtools Dev is subdivided into modeling dangerous events, modeling character's perceptions, modeling character's decision making, modeling character's movements, modeling character's interaction with environment and setting up the virtual cameras. The real-time simulation of human reactions in hazardous environments is invaluable in military defense, fire escape, rescue operation planning, traffic safety studies, and safety planning in chemical factories, the design of buildings, airplanes, ships and trains. Currently, human motion modeling can be realized through established technology, whereas to integrate perception and intelligence into virtual human's motion is still a huge undertaking. The challenges here are the synchronization of motion and intelligence, the accurate modeling of human's vision, smell, touch and hearing, the diversity and effects of emotion and personality in decision making. There are three types of software platforms which could be employed to realize the motion and intelligence within one system, and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed.

  4. Effects of Animal-Assisted Therapy on a Student with an Emotional/Behavioral Disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boe, Val Rae M.

    2008-01-01

    This single-subject action research project examines the effects of animal-assisted therapy on the self-esteem and classroom behaviors of a student with an emotional/behavioral disorder. An 18- year-old male attending a special education school in northeastern St. Paul participated in animal-assisted therapy research for four weeks. Quantitative…

  5. Experimental protocols for behavioral imaging: seeing animal models of drug abuse in a new light.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aarons, Alexandra R; Talan, Amanda; Schiffer, Wynne K

    2012-01-01

    Behavioral neuroimaging is a rapidly evolving discipline that represents a marriage between the fields of behavioral neuroscience and preclinical molecular imaging. This union highlights the changing role of imaging in translational research. Techniques developed for humans are now widely applied in the study of animal models of brain disorders such as drug addiction. Small animal or preclinical imaging allows us to interrogate core features of addiction from both behavioral and biological endpoints. Snapshots of brain activity allow us to better understand changes in brain function and behavior associated with initial drug exposure, the emergence of drug escalation, and repeated bouts of drug withdrawal and relapse. Here we review the development and validation of new behavioral imaging paradigms and several clinically relevant radiotracers used to capture dynamic molecular events in behaving animals. We will discuss ways in which behavioral imaging protocols can be optimized to increase throughput and quantitative methods. Finally, we discuss our experience with the practical aspects of behavioral neuroimaging, so investigators can utilize effective animal models to better understand the addicted brain and behavior.

  6. Gene expression during zombie ant biting behavior reflects the complexity underlying fungal parasitic behavioral manipulation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Bekker, Charissa; Ohm, Robin A; Loreto, Raquel G; Sebastian, Aswathy; Albert, Istvan; Merrow, Martha; Brachmann, Andreas; Hughes, David P

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Adaptive manipulation of animal behavior by parasites functions to increase parasite transmission through changes in host behavior. These changes can range from slight alterations in existing behaviors of the host to the establishment of wholly novel behaviors. The biting behavior

  7. Field Research Studying Whales in an Undergraduate Animal Behavior Laboratory

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacLaren, R. David; Schulte, Dianna; Kennedy, Jen

    2012-01-01

    This work describes a new field research laboratory in an undergraduate animal behavior course involving the study of whale behavior, ecology and conservation in partnership with a non-profit research organization--the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation (BOS). The project involves two weeks of training and five weekend trips on whale watch…

  8. Behavioral models of tinnitus and hyperacusis in animals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah H Hayes

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The phantom perception of tinnitus and reduced sound level tolerance associated with hyperacusis, have a high comorbidity and can be debilitating conditions for which there are no widely accepted treatments. One factor limiting the development of treatments for tinnitus and hyperacusis is the lack of reliable animal behavioral models of these disorders. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to highlight the current animal models of tinnitus and hyperacusis, and to detail the advantages and disadvantages of each paradigm. To date, this is the first review to include models of both tinnitus and hyperacusis.

  9. The Ecology of Exercise: Mechanisms Underlying Individual Variation in Behavior, Activity, and Performance: An Introduction to Symposium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Killen, Shaun S; Calsbeek, Ryan; Williams, Tony D

    2017-08-01

    Wild animals often engage in intense physical activity while performing tasks vital for their survival and reproduction associated with foraging, avoiding predators, fighting, providing parental care, and migrating. In this theme issue we consider how viewing these tasks as "exercise"-analogous to that performed by human athletes-may help provide insight into the mechanisms underlying individual variation in these types of behaviors and the importance of physical activity in an ecological context. In this article and throughout this issue, we focus on four key questions relevant to the study of behavioral ecology that may be addressed by studying wild animal behavior from the perspective of exercise physiology: (1) How hard do individual animals work in response to ecological (or evolutionary) demands?; (2) Do lab-based studies of activity provide good models for understanding activity in free-living animals and individual variation in traits?; (3) Can animals work too hard during "routine" activities?; and (4) Can paradigms of "exercise" and "training" be applied to free-living animals? Attempts to address these issues are currently being facilitated by rapid technological developments associated with physiological measurements and the remote tracking of wild animals, to provide mechanistic insights into the behavior of free-ranging animals at spatial and temporal scales that were previously impossible. We further suggest that viewing the behaviors of non-human animals in terms of the physical exercise performed will allow us to fully take advantage of these technological advances, draw from knowledge and conceptual frameworks already in use by human exercise physiologists, and identify key traits that constrain performance and generate variation in performance among individuals. It is our hope that, by highlighting mechanisms of behavior and performance, the articles in this issue will spur on further synergies between physiologists and ecologists, to take

  10. Captive chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) behavior as a function of space per animal and enclosure type.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neal Webb, Sarah J; Hau, Jann; Schapiro, Steven J

    2018-03-01

    Space per animal, or animal density, and enclosure type are important elements of functionally appropriate captive environments (FACEs) for chimpanzees. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends that captive chimpanzees be maintained in areas of >250 ft 2 /animal. Several studies have investigated chimpanzee behavior in relation to space per animal, but only two studies have examined these variables while attempting to hold environmental complexity constant. Both have found few, if any, significant differences in behavior associated with increased space per animal. The NIH does not provide recommendations pertaining to enclosure type. Although Primadomes™ and corrals are considered acceptable FACE housing, no studies have investigated chimpanzee behavior in relation to these two common types of enclosures. We examined the NIH space per animal recommendation, and the effects of enclosure type, while maintaining similar levels of environmental complexity. We used focal animal observations to record the behavior of 22 chimpanzees in three social groups following within-facility housing transfers. Chimpanzees that were moved from an area with space below the NIH recommendation to the same type of enclosure with space above the recommendation (dome to double dome) exhibited significantly more locomotion and behavioral diversity post-transfer. Chimpanzees that were moved from an area with space below the recommendation to a different type of enclosure with space above the recommendation (dome to corral) exhibited significant increases in foraging and behavioral diversity, and a decrease in rough scratching. Lastly, chimpanzees that were moved from an area above the recommendation to a different enclosure type with space equal to the recommendation (corral to double dome) exhibited an increase in behavioral diversity. These results add to the body of literature that addresses the concept of specific minimum space requirements per chimpanzee, and highlight the

  11. What artifice can and cannot tell us about animal behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powell, Daniel L; Rosenthal, Gil G

    2017-02-01

    Artifice-the manipulation of social and environmental stimuli-is fundamental to research in animal behavior. State-of-the-art techniques have been developed to generate and present complex visual stimuli. These techniques have unique strengths and limitations. However, many of the issues with synthetic animation and virtual reality are common to playback experiments in general, including those using unmanipulated video or auditory stimuli. Playback experiments, in turn, fall into the broader category of experiments that artificially manipulate the array of stimuli experienced by a subject. We argue that the challenges of designing and interpreting experiments using virtual reality or synthetic animations are largely comparable to those of studies using older technologies or addressing other modalities, and that technology alone is unlikely to solve these challenges. We suggest that appropriate experimental designs are the key to validating behavioral responses to artificial stimuli and to interpreting all studies using artifice, including those that present complex visual displays.

  12. Agmatine rescues autistic behaviors in the valproic acid-induced animal model of autism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Ji-Woon; Seung, Hana; Kim, Ki Chan; Gonzales, Edson Luck T; Oh, Hyun Ah; Yang, Sung Min; Ko, Mee Jung; Han, Seol-Heui; Banerjee, Sourav; Shin, Chan Young

    2017-02-01

    Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an immensely challenging developmental disorder characterized primarily by two core behavioral symptoms of social communication deficits and restricted/repetitive behaviors. Investigating the etiological process and identifying an appropriate therapeutic target remain as formidable challenges to overcome ASD due to numerous risk factors and complex symptoms associated with the disorder. Among the various mechanisms that contribute to ASD, the maintenance of excitation and inhibition balance emerged as a key factor to regulate proper functioning of neuronal circuitry. Interestingly, our previous study involving the valproic acid animal model of autism (VPA animal model) has demonstrated excitatory-inhibitory imbalance (E/I imbalance) due to enhanced differentiation of glutamatergic neurons and reduced GABAergic neurons. Here, we investigated the potential of agmatine, an endogenous NMDA receptor antagonist, as a novel therapeutic candidate in ameliorating ASD symptoms by modulating E/I imbalance using the VPA animal model. We observed that a single treatment of agmatine rescued the impaired social behaviors as well as hyperactive and repetitive behaviors in the VPA animal model. We also observed that agmatine treatment rescued the overly activated ERK1/2 signaling in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of VPA animal models, possibly, by modulating over-excitability due to enhanced excitatory neural circuit. Taken together, our results have provided experimental evidence suggesting a possible therapeutic role of agmatine in ameliorating ASD-like symptoms in the VPA animal model of ASD. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. The effect of Toxoplasma gondii on animal behavior: playing cat and mouse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webster, Joanne P

    2007-05-01

    A convincing body of evidence now exists to indicate that the ubiquitous protozoan Toxoplasma gondii can cause permanent behavioral changes in its host, even as a consequence of adult-acquired latent infection. Such behavioral alterations appear to be the product of strong selective pressures for the parasite to enhance transmission from its intermediate host reservoir, primarily rodent, to its feline definitive host, wherein sexual reproduction can occur and the life cycle completed. This article reviews evidence of behavioral alterations in animal hosts and considers what these may elucidate about the potential mechanisms involved and what implications such alterations could have on animal and human health.

  14. Summation of subthreshold impulses in case of separate and combined effects of cadmium and immobilization stress, considering typology of behavior of experimental animals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fedorenko Yu.V.

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the work was to study dynamics of changes of summation-threshold index under the combined impact of cadmium and immobilization of animals depending on the typological characteristics of animal behavior. The studies were conducted on white rats, previously divided into groups of active and passive ones by terms of "horizontal activity" in the test "open field". In each group the experiments were planned according to the scheme of orthogonal design 22. Summation-threshold index was studied by Speransky S.V. method. It was found that the summation-threshold index increases on the day 10 of experiments under the action of a cadmium only in groups of "active" and "passive" animals; this testifies to inhibition processes in the CNS. The effect of cadmium, immobilization and their combined action on day 30 of experiments leads to the reduction in the of studying parameter in both groups of animals; this testifies to excitation of the CNS. The active animals are more susceptible to immobilization stress, the passive ones - to the action of cadmium. The combined action of stress factors on day 10 is characterized by desensitization, on day 30 – by unidirectional interdependent action and less than by additive effect. The processes of inhibition and excitation in the central nervous system depend on type of animal behavior, type and duration of exposure to the stress factor. The results may be taken into account when assessing adaptation process, correction, and adaptation depending on the type of behavior.

  15. Assessing the profitability of using animal traction under smallholder ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A study was carried out to assess the profitability of using draft animal power under smallholder farming conditions. The study, which was carried out in the central region of the Eastern Cape Province, revealed that most smallholder farmers in the study area use draft animals as the main source of farm power. To carry out ...

  16. Inferring Characteristics of Sensorimotor Behavior by Quantifying Dynamics of Animal Locomotion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leung, KaWai

    Locomotion is one of the most well-studied topics in animal behavioral studies. Many fundamental and clinical research make use of the locomotion of an animal model to explore various aspects in sensorimotor behavior. In the past, most of these studies focused on population average of a specific trait due to limitation of data collection and processing power. With recent advance in computer vision and statistical modeling techniques, it is now possible to track and analyze large amounts of behavioral data. In this thesis, I present two projects that aim to infer the characteristics of sensorimotor behavior by quantifying the dynamics of locomotion of nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, shedding light on statistical dependence between sensing and behavior. In the first project, I investigate the possibility of inferring noxious sensory information from the behavior of Caenorhabditis elegans. I develop a statistical model to infer the heat stimulus level perceived by individual animals from their stereotyped escape responses after stimulation by an IR laser. The model allows quantification of analgesic-like effects of chemical agents or genetic mutations in the worm. At the same time, the method is able to differentiate perturbations of locomotion behavior that are beyond affecting the sensory system. With this model I propose experimental designs that allows statistically significant identification of analgesic-like effects. In the second project, I investigate the relationship of energy budget and stability of locomotion in determining the walking speed distribution of Drosophila melanogaster during aging. The locomotion stability at different age groups is estimated from video recordings using Floquet theory. I calculate the power consumption of different locomotion speed using a biomechanics model. In conclusion, the power consumption, not stability, predicts the locomotion speed distribution at different ages.

  17. Board-invited review: Using behavior to predict and identify ill health in animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weary, D M; Huzzey, J M; von Keyserlingk, M A G

    2009-02-01

    We review recent research in one of the oldest and most important applications of ethology: evaluating animal health. Traditionally, such evaluations have been based on subjective assessments of debilitative signs; animals are judged ill when they appear depressed or off feed. Such assessments are prone to error but can be dramatically improved with training using well-defined clinical criteria. The availability of new technology to automatically record behaviors allows for increased use of objective measures; automated measures of feeding behavior and intake are increasingly available in commercial agriculture, and recent work has shown these to be valuable indicators of illness. Research has also identified behaviors indicative of risk of disease or injury. For example, the time spent standing on wet, concrete surfaces can be used to predict susceptibility to hoof injuries in dairy cattle, and time spent nuzzling the udder of the sow can predict the risk of crushing in piglets. One conceptual advance has been to view decreased exploration, feeding, social, sexual, and other behaviors as a coordinated response that helps afflicted individuals recover from illness. We argue that the sickness behaviors most likely to decline are those that provide longer-term fitness benefits (such as play), as animals divert resources to those functions of critical short-term value such as maintaining body temperature. We urge future research assessing the strength of motivation to express sickness behaviors, allowing for quantitative estimates of how sick an animal feels. Finally, we call for new theoretical and empirical work on behaviors that may act to signal health status, including behaviors that have evolved as honest (i.e., reliable) signals of condition for offspring-parent, inter- and intra-sexual, and predator-prey communication.

  18. The Relationship of Animal Abuse to Violence and Other Forms of Antisocial Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arluke, Arnold; Levin, Jack; Luke, Carter; Ascione, Frank

    1999-01-01

    Criminal records of 153 animal abusers and 153 control participants were tracked and compared. Animal abusers were more likely to commit property offenses, drug offenses, and public disorder offenses. Thus, results show an association between animal abuse and a variety of antisocial behavior, but not violence alone. Implications of these findings…

  19. Collective behavior of mice passing through an exit under panic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Teng; Zhang, Xuelin; Huang, Shenshi; Li, Changhai; Lu, Shouxiang

    2018-04-01

    Collective movement of animal in emergency condition has attracted growing attentions among researchers. However, many rules still need to be confirmed with adequate explanation. Study of collective behavior of mice can improve our understanding about the dynamics of pedestrian movement. However, its rules still need to be confirmed with adequate explanation. In this paper, collective behavior of mice passing through an exit under panic was investigated. The results showed that the total evacuation time decreased with exit width increasing in a certain range. Based on the different tendency of the curve in temporal evolution, the process of mice flow was divided into three stages. The density of mice near the exit peaks at a certain horizontal offset and starts to decrease over time. With the increase of the exit width, the duration of the higher density state decreased. We found that the frequency of time intervals obeyed a lognormal distribution or an exponential decay for different exit widths. In addition, the relationship between the group size and the group flow rate in different scenarios was analyzed. The phenomena found in our experiments show the collective behavioral characteristic of mice under panic. Our analysis in this paper will deepen our understanding of crowd dynamics in emergency condition.

  20. BEEtag: A Low-Cost, Image-Based Tracking System for the Study of Animal Behavior and Locomotion.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James D Crall

    Full Text Available A fundamental challenge common to studies of animal movement, behavior, and ecology is the collection of high-quality datasets on spatial positions of animals as they change through space and time. Recent innovations in tracking technology have allowed researchers to collect large and highly accurate datasets on animal spatiotemporal position while vastly decreasing the time and cost of collecting such data. One technique that is of particular relevance to the study of behavioral ecology involves tracking visual tags that can be uniquely identified in separate images or movie frames. These tags can be located within images that are visually complex, making them particularly well suited for longitudinal studies of animal behavior and movement in naturalistic environments. While several software packages have been developed that use computer vision to identify visual tags, these software packages are either (a not optimized for identification of single tags, which is generally of the most interest for biologists, or (b suffer from licensing issues, and therefore their use in the study of animal behavior has been limited. Here, we present BEEtag, an open-source, image-based tracking system in Matlab that allows for unique identification of individual animals or anatomical markers. The primary advantages of this system are that it (a independently identifies animals or marked points in each frame of a video, limiting error propagation, (b performs well in images with complex backgrounds, and (c is low-cost. To validate the use of this tracking system in animal behavior, we mark and track individual bumblebees (Bombus impatiens and recover individual patterns of space use and activity within the nest. Finally, we discuss the advantages and limitations of this software package and its application to the study of animal movement, behavior, and ecology.

  1. Use of Laboratory Animals in Biomedical and Behavioral Research

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    1988-01-01

    ... of Laboratory Animals in Biomedical and Behavioral Research Commission on Life Sciences National Research Council Institute of Medicine NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Washington, D.C. 1988 Copyrightoriginal retained, the be not from cannot book, paper original however, for version formatting, authoritative the typesetting-specific created from the as publ...

  2. Social Behaviors Increase in Children with Autism in the Presence of Animals Compared to Toys

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Haire, Marguerite E.; McKenzie, Samantha J.; Beck, Alan M.; Slaughter, Virginia

    2013-01-01

    Background Previous research has demonstrated the capacity of animal presence to stimulate social interaction among humans. The purpose of this study was to examine the interactions of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with an adult and their typically-developing peers in the presence of animals (two guinea pigs) compared to toys. Methods Ninety-nine children from 15 classrooms in 4 schools met the inclusion criteria and participated in groups of three (1 child with ASD and 2 typically-developing peers). Each group was video-recorded during three 10-minute, free-play sessions with toys and three 10-minute, free-play sessions with two guinea pigs. Two blinded observers coded the behavior of children with ASD and their peers. To account for the nested study design, data were analyzed using hierarchical generalized linear modeling. Results Participants with ASD demonstrated more social approach behaviors (including talking, looking at faces, and making tactile contact) and received more social approaches from their peers in the presence of animals compared to toys. They also displayed more prosocial behaviors and positive affect (i.e., smiling and laughing) as well as less self-focused behaviors and negative affect (i.e., frowning, crying, and whining) in the presence of animals compared to toys. Conclusions These results suggest that the presence of an animal can significantly increase positive social behaviors among children with ASD. PMID:23468902

  3. Social behaviors increase in children with autism in the presence of animals compared to toys.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marguerite E O'Haire

    Full Text Available Previous research has demonstrated the capacity of animal presence to stimulate social interaction among humans. The purpose of this study was to examine the interactions of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD with an adult and their typically-developing peers in the presence of animals (two guinea pigs compared to toys.Ninety-nine children from 15 classrooms in 4 schools met the inclusion criteria and participated in groups of three (1 child with ASD and 2 typically-developing peers. Each group was video-recorded during three 10-minute, free-play sessions with toys and three 10-minute, free-play sessions with two guinea pigs. Two blinded observers coded the behavior of children with ASD and their peers. To account for the nested study design, data were analyzed using hierarchical generalized linear modeling.Participants with ASD demonstrated more social approach behaviors (including talking, looking at faces, and making tactile contact and received more social approaches from their peers in the presence of animals compared to toys. They also displayed more prosocial behaviors and positive affect (i.e., smiling and laughing as well as less self-focused behaviors and negative affect (i.e., frowning, crying, and whining in the presence of animals compared to toys.These results suggest that the presence of an animal can significantly increase positive social behaviors among children with ASD.

  4. Social behaviors increase in children with autism in the presence of animals compared to toys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Haire, Marguerite E; McKenzie, Samantha J; Beck, Alan M; Slaughter, Virginia

    2013-01-01

    Previous research has demonstrated the capacity of animal presence to stimulate social interaction among humans. The purpose of this study was to examine the interactions of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with an adult and their typically-developing peers in the presence of animals (two guinea pigs) compared to toys. Ninety-nine children from 15 classrooms in 4 schools met the inclusion criteria and participated in groups of three (1 child with ASD and 2 typically-developing peers). Each group was video-recorded during three 10-minute, free-play sessions with toys and three 10-minute, free-play sessions with two guinea pigs. Two blinded observers coded the behavior of children with ASD and their peers. To account for the nested study design, data were analyzed using hierarchical generalized linear modeling. Participants with ASD demonstrated more social approach behaviors (including talking, looking at faces, and making tactile contact) and received more social approaches from their peers in the presence of animals compared to toys. They also displayed more prosocial behaviors and positive affect (i.e., smiling and laughing) as well as less self-focused behaviors and negative affect (i.e., frowning, crying, and whining) in the presence of animals compared to toys. These results suggest that the presence of an animal can significantly increase positive social behaviors among children with ASD.

  5. The integration of depressive behaviors and cardiac dysfunction during an operational measure of depression: investigating the role of negative social experiences in an animal model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grippo, Angela J; Moffitt, Julia A; Sgoifo, Andrea; Jepson, Amanda J; Bates, Suzanne L; Chandler, Danielle L; McNeal, Neal; Preihs, Kristin

    2012-01-01

    There is a bidirectional association between depression and cardiovascular disease. The neurobiological mechanisms underlying this association may involve an inability to cope with disrupted social bonds. This study investigated in an animal model the integration of depressive behaviors and cardiac dysfunction after a disrupted social bond and during an operational measure of depression, relative to the protective effects of intact social bonds. Depressive behaviors in the forced swim test and continuous electrocardiographic parameters were measured in 14 adult, female socially monogamous prairie voles (rodents), after 4 weeks of social pairing or isolation. After social isolation, animals exhibited (all values are mean ± standard error of the mean; isolated versus paired, respectively) increased heart rate (416 ± 14 versus 370 ± 14 bpm, p sibling is behaviorally protective and cardioprotective. The present results can provide insight into a possible social mechanism underlying the association between depression and cardiovascular disease in humans.

  6. A wirelessly-powered homecage with animal behavior analysis and closed-loop power control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yaoyao Jia; Zheyuan Wang; Canales, Daniel; Tinkler, Morgan; Chia-Chun Hsu; Madsen, Teresa E; Mirbozorgi, S Abdollah; Rainnie, Donald; Ghovanloo, Maysam

    2016-08-01

    This paper presents a new EnerCage-homecage system, EnerCage-HC2, for longitudinal electrophysiology data acquisition experiments on small freely moving animal subjects, such as rodents. EnerCage-HC2 is equipped with multi-coil wireless power transmission (WPT), closed-loop power control, bidirectional data communication via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and Microsoft Kinect® based animal behavior tracking and analysis. The EnerCage-HC2 achieves a homogeneous power transfer efficiency (PTE) of 14% on average, with ~42 mW power delivered to the load (PDL) at a nominal height of 7 cm by the closed-loop power control mechanism. The Microsoft Kinect® behavioral analysis algorithm can not only track the animal position in real-time but also classify 5 different types of rodent behaviors: standstill, walking, grooming, rearing, and rotating. A proof-of-concept in vivo experiment was conducted on two awake freely behaving rats while successfully operating a one-channel stimulator and generating an ethogram.

  7. Toward an understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying dual-task performance: Contribution of comparative approaches using animal models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watanabe, Kei; Funahashi, Shintaro

    2018-01-01

    The study of dual-task performance in human subjects has received considerable interest in cognitive neuroscience because it can provide detailed insights into the neural mechanisms underlying higher-order cognitive control. Despite many decades of research, our understanding of the neurobiological basis of dual-task performance is still limited, and some critical questions are still under debate. Recently, behavioral and neurophysiological studies of dual-task performance in animals have begun to provide intriguing evidence regarding how dual-task information is processed in the brain. In this review, we first summarize key evidence in neuroimaging and neuropsychological studies in humans and discuss possible reasons for discrepancies across studies. We then provide a comprehensive review of the literature on dual-task studies in animals and provide a novel working hypothesis that may reconcile the divergent results in human studies toward a unified view of the mechanisms underlying dual-task processing. Finally, we propose possible directions for future dual-task experiments in the framework of comparative cognitive neuroscience. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  8. Ethical Issues Associated with the Use of Animal Experimentation in Behavioral Neuroscience Research

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ohl, Frauke; Meijboom, Franck

    2015-01-01

    This chapter briefly explores whether there are distinct characteristics in the field of Behavioral Neuroscience that demand specific ethical reflection. We argue that although the ethical issues in animal-based Behavioral Neuroscience are not necessarily distinct from those in other research

  9. The use of operant technology to measure behavioral priorities in captive animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, J J; Mason, G J

    2001-08-01

    Addressing the behavioral priorities of captive animals and the development of practical, objective measures of the value of environmental resources is a principal objective of animal welfare science. In theory, consumer demand approaches derived from human microeconomics should provide valid measures of the value of environmental resources. In practice, however, a number of empirical and theoretical problems have rendered these measures difficult to interpret in studies with animals. A common approach has been to impose a cost on access to resources and to use time with each resource as a measure of consumption to construct demand curves. This can be recorded easily by automatic means, but in a number of studies, it has been found that animals compensate for increased cost of access with longer visit time. Furthermore, direct observation of the test animals' behavior has shown that resource interaction is more intense once the animals have overcome higher costs. As a consequence, measures based on time with the resource may underestimate resource consumption at higher access costs, and demand curves derived from these measures may not be a true reflection of the value of different resources. An alternative approach to demand curves is reservation price, which is the maximum price individual animals are prepared to pay to gain access to resources. In studies using this approach, farmed mink (Mustela vison) paid higher prices for food and swimming water than for resources such as tunnels, water bowls, pet toys, and empty compartments. This indicates that the mink placed a higher value on food and swimming water than on other resources.

  10. Ethical issues associated with the use of animal experimentation in behavioral neuroscience research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohl, Frauke; Meijboom, Franck

    2015-01-01

    This chapter briefly explores whether there are distinct characteristics in the field of Behavioral Neuroscience that demand specific ethical reflection. We argue that although the ethical issues in animal-based Behavioral Neuroscience are not necessarily distinct from those in other research disciplines using animal experimentation, this field of endeavor makes a number of specific, ethically relevant, questions more explicit and, as a result, may expose to discussion a series of ethical issues that have relevance beyond this field of science. We suggest that innovative research, by its very definition, demands out-of-the-box thinking. At the same time, standardization of animal models and test procedures for the sake of comparability across experiments inhibits the potential and willingness to leave well-established tracks of thinking, and leaves us wondering how open minded research is and whether it is the researcher's established perspective that drives the research rather than the research that drives the researcher's perspective. The chapter finishes by introducing subsequent chapters of this book volume on Ethical Issues in Behavioral Neuroscience.

  11. Brain Mechanisms Underlying Individual Differences in Reaction to Stress: An Animal Model

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Siegel, Jerome

    1997-01-01

    .... We developed an animal model of this important dimension of behavior in which we reported that cats and rats who display high levels of exploration, activity, aggression, and risk taking show VEP...

  12. Optogenetic long-term manipulation of behavior and animal development.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian Schultheis

    Full Text Available Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2 is widely used for rapid photodepolarization of neurons, yet, as it requires high-intensity blue light for activation, it is not suited for long-term in vivo applications, e.g. for manipulations of behavior, or photoactivation of neurons during development. We used "slow" ChR2 variants with mutations in the C128 residue, that exhibit delayed off-kinetics and increased light sensitivity in Caenorhabditis elegans. Following a 1 s light pulse, we could photodepolarize neurons and muscles for minutes (and with repeated brief stimulation, up to days with low-intensity light. Photoactivation of ChR2(C128S in command interneurons elicited long-lasting alterations in locomotion. Finally, we could optically induce profound changes in animal development: Long-term photoactivation of ASJ neurons, which regulate larval growth, bypassed the constitutive entry into the "dauer" larval state in daf-11 mutants. These lack a guanylyl cyclase, which possibly renders ASJ neurons hyperpolarized. Furthermore, photostimulated ASJ neurons could acutely trigger dauer-exit. Thus, slow ChR2s can be employed to long-term photoactivate behavior and to trigger alternative animal development.

  13. Exercise Enhances the Behavioral Responses to Acute Stress in an Animal Model of PTSD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffman, Jay R; Ostfeld, Ishay; Kaplan, Zeev; Zohar, Joseph; Cohen, Hagit

    2015-10-01

    This study examined the effects of endurance exercise on the behavioral response to stress and patterns of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neuropeptide Y (NPY), and δ-opioid receptor (phospho-DOR) expression in the hippocampus. Animals ran on a treadmill at 15 m·min, 5 min·d gradually increasing to 20 min·d, 5 d·wk for 6 wk. After training, one group of animals was exposed to a predator scent stress (PSS) protocol for 10 min. Outcome measurements included behavior in an elevated plus-maze (EPM) and acoustic startle response (ASR) 7 d after exposure to stress. Immunohistochemical technique was used to detect the expression of the BDNF, NPY, and phospho-DOR in the hippocampus 8 d after exposure. Sedentary animals exposed to PSS were observed to have a greater incidence of extreme behavior responses including higher anxiety, less total activity in the EPM, and greater amplitude in the ASR than unexposed and/or trained animals. Exercise-trained animals exposed to PSS developed a resiliency to the stress, reflected by significantly greater total activity in the EPM, reduced anxiety, and reduced ASR compared to the sedentary, exposed animals. Exercise in the absence of stress significantly elevated the expression of BDNF and phospho-DOR, whereas exposure to PSS resulted in a significant decline in the expression of NPY, BDNF, and phospho-DOR. Trained animals that were exposed maintained expression of BDNF, NPY, and phospho-DOR in most subregions of the hippocampus. Results indicated that endurance training provided a mechanism to promote resilience and/or recovery from stress. In addition, exercise increased expression of BDNF, NPY, and DOR signaling in the hippocampus that was associated with the greater resiliency seen in the trained animals.

  14. Modeling collective animal behavior with a cognitive perspective: a methodological framework.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sebastian Weitz

    Full Text Available The last decades have seen an increasing interest in modeling collective animal behavior. Some studies try to reproduce as accurately as possible the collective dynamics and patterns observed in several animal groups with biologically plausible, individual behavioral rules. The objective is then essentially to demonstrate that the observed collective features may be the result of self-organizing processes involving quite simple individual behaviors. Other studies concentrate on the objective of establishing or enriching links between collective behavior researches and cognitive or physiological ones, which then requires that each individual rule be carefully validated. Here we discuss the methodological consequences of this additional requirement. Using the example of corpse clustering in ants, we first illustrate that it may be impossible to discriminate among alternative individual rules by considering only observational data collected at the group level. Six individual behavioral models are described: They are clearly distinct in terms of individual behaviors, they all reproduce satisfactorily the collective dynamics and distribution patterns observed in experiments, and we show theoretically that it is strictly impossible to discriminate two of these models even in the limit of an infinite amount of data whatever the accuracy level. A set of methodological steps are then listed and discussed as practical ways to partially overcome this problem. They involve complementary experimental protocols specifically designed to address the behavioral rules successively, conserving group-level data for the overall model validation. In this context, we highlight the importance of maintaining a sharp distinction between model enunciation, with explicit references to validated biological concepts, and formal translation of these concepts in terms of quantitative state variables and fittable functional dependences. Illustrative examples are provided of the

  15. Identifying veterinary students' capacity for moral behavior concerning animal ethics issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verrinder, Joy M; Phillips, Clive J C

    2014-01-01

    Veterinarians face unique animal ethics challenges as practitioners and policy advisors to government and industry. Changing societal attitudes, cultural diversity, and the often conflicting needs and interests of patients and clients contribute to moral distress. Yet little has been done to identify veterinarians' capacity to address these animal ethics issues. In this study, first-year and final-year veterinary students in an Australian university were surveyed to explore moral sensitivity, moral motivation, and moral character and their relationship with moral reasoning. The majority of students were concerned about animal ethics issues and had experienced moral distress in relation to the treatment of animals. Most believed that veterinarians should address the wider social issues of animal protection and that veterinary medicine should require a commitment to animals' interests over owners'/caregivers' interests. There was less agreement that the veterinary profession was sufficiently involved in addressing animal ethics issues. The principal motivators for studying veterinary medicine were, in declining importance, enjoyment in working with animals, helping sick and injured animals, and improving the way animals are treated. However, most students had taken little or no action to address animal ethics issues. These results suggest that both first- and fifth-year veterinary students are sensitive to animal ethics issues and are motivated to prioritize the interests of animals but have little experience in taking action to address these issues. Further research is needed to determine ways to identify and assess these moral behavior components in veterinary education to develop veterinarians' capacity to address animal ethics issues.

  16. In Darwin's Footsteps: An On and Off-Campus Approach to Teaching Evolutionary Theory and Animal Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillie, Lynn; Bizub, Anne L.

    2012-01-01

    The study of evolutionary theory and fieldwork in animal behavior is enriched when students leave the classroom so they may test their abilities to think and act like scientists. This article describes a course on evolutionary theory and animal behavior that blended on campus learning with field experience in the United States and in Ecuador and…

  17. Social and behavioral barriers to pathogen transmission in wild animal populations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Loehle, C.S.

    1988-12-31

    Disease and pathogens have been studied as regulators of animal populations but not really as selective forces. The authors propose that pathogens can be major selective forces influencing social behaviors when these are successful at reducing disease transmission. The behaviors whose evolution could have been influenced by pathogen effects include group size, group isolation, mixed species flocking, migration, seasonal sociality, social avoidance, and dominance behaviors. Mate choice, mating system, and sexual selection are put in a new light when examined in terms of disease transmission. It is concluded that pathogen avoidance is a more powerful selective force than has heretofore been recognized.

  18. Bioethical Problems: Animal Welfare, Animal Rights.

    Science.gov (United States)

    March, B. E.

    1984-01-01

    Discusses various bioethical issues and problems related to animal welfare and animal rights. Areas examined include: Aristotelian views; animal welfare legislation; Darwin and evolutionary theory; animal and human behavior; and vegetarianism. A 14-point universal declaration of the rights of animals is included. (JN)

  19. COMPARING BEHAVIORAL DOSE-EFFECT CURVES FOR HUMANS AND LABORATORY ANIMALS ACUTELY EXPOSED TO TOLUENE.

    Science.gov (United States)

    The utility of laboratory animal data in toxicology depends upon the ability to generalize the results quantitatively to humans. To compare the acute behavioral effects of inhaled toluene in humans to those in animals, dose-effect curves were fitted by meta-analysis of published...

  20. Animal behavior frozen in time: gregarious behavior of Early Jurassic lobsters within an ammonoid body chamber.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adiël A Klompmaker

    Full Text Available Direct animal behavior can be inferred from the fossil record only in exceptional circumstances. The exceptional mode of preservation of ammonoid shells in the Posidonia Shale (Lower Jurassic, lower Toarcian of Dotternhausen in southern Germany, with only the organic periostracum preserved, provides an excellent opportunity to observe the contents of the ammonoid body chamber because this periostracum is translucent. Here, we report upon three delicate lobsters preserved within a compressed ammonoid specimen of Harpoceras falciferum. We attempt to explain this gregarious behavior. The three lobsters were studied using standard microscopy under low angle light. The lobsters belong to the extinct family of the Eryonidae; further identification was not possible. The organic material of the three small lobsters is preserved more than halfway into the ammonoid body chamber. The lobsters are closely spaced and are positioned with their tails oriented toward each other. The specimens are interpreted to represent corpses rather than molts. The lobsters probably sought shelter in preparation for molting or against predators such as fish that were present in Dotternhausen. Alternatively, the soft tissue of the ammonoid may have been a source of food that attracted the lobsters, or it may have served as a long-term residency for the lobsters (inquilinism. The lobsters represent the oldest known example of gregariousness amongst lobsters and decapods in the fossil record. Gregarious behavior in lobsters, also known for extant lobsters, thus developed earlier in earth's history than previously known. Moreover, this is one of the oldest known examples of decapod crustaceans preserved within cephalopod shells.

  1. Animal behavior frozen in time: gregarious behavior of Early Jurassic lobsters within an ammonoid body chamber.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klompmaker, Adiël A; Fraaije, René H B

    2012-01-01

    Direct animal behavior can be inferred from the fossil record only in exceptional circumstances. The exceptional mode of preservation of ammonoid shells in the Posidonia Shale (Lower Jurassic, lower Toarcian) of Dotternhausen in southern Germany, with only the organic periostracum preserved, provides an excellent opportunity to observe the contents of the ammonoid body chamber because this periostracum is translucent. Here, we report upon three delicate lobsters preserved within a compressed ammonoid specimen of Harpoceras falciferum. We attempt to explain this gregarious behavior. The three lobsters were studied using standard microscopy under low angle light. The lobsters belong to the extinct family of the Eryonidae; further identification was not possible. The organic material of the three small lobsters is preserved more than halfway into the ammonoid body chamber. The lobsters are closely spaced and are positioned with their tails oriented toward each other. The specimens are interpreted to represent corpses rather than molts. The lobsters probably sought shelter in preparation for molting or against predators such as fish that were present in Dotternhausen. Alternatively, the soft tissue of the ammonoid may have been a source of food that attracted the lobsters, or it may have served as a long-term residency for the lobsters (inquilinism). The lobsters represent the oldest known example of gregariousness amongst lobsters and decapods in the fossil record. Gregarious behavior in lobsters, also known for extant lobsters, thus developed earlier in earth's history than previously known. Moreover, this is one of the oldest known examples of decapod crustaceans preserved within cephalopod shells.

  2. Effect of four processed animal proteins in the diet on behavior in laying hens

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Krimpen, van M.M.; Veldkamp, T.; Binnendijk, G.P.; Veer, de R.

    2011-01-01

    An experiment was performed to investigate the effect of animal versus vegetable protein sources in the diet on the development of behavior in laying hens. A diet containing protein sources of only vegetable origin was compared with four diets, each containing one of four processed animal proteins

  3. How does sex matter? Behavior, stress and animal models of neurobehavioral disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palanza, Paola; Parmigiani, Stefano

    2017-05-01

    Many aspects of brain functioning exhibit important sex differences that affect behavior, mental health and mental disorders. However, most translational neuroscience research related to animal models of neurobehavioral disorders are carried out in male animals only. Based on published data from our laboratory on the House mouse, we discuss the following issues: (1) sex differences in social behavior of wild-derived mice; (2) artificial selection of laboratory strains and its consequences on social and reproductive competition; (3) sex-dependent effects of common experimental procedures; (4) differential effects of developmental events: the case of endocrine disruption; (5) implications for female models of stress and neurobehavioral disorders. Altogether, this review of data outline the marked differences of male and female responses to different social challenges and evinces the current lack of a relevant female mouse model of social stress. Whilst animal modelling is an important approach towards understanding mechanisms of neurobehavioral disorders, it is evident that data obtained in males may be irrelevant for inferring psychopathology and efficacy of pharmacological treatments for females. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Behavior and reproduction of invertebrate animals during and after a long-term microgravity: space experiments using an Autonomous Biological System (ABS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ijiri, K; Mizuno, R; Narita, T; Ohmura, T; Ishikawa, Y; Yamashita, M; Anderson, G; Poynter, J; MacCallum, T

    1998-12-01

    Aquatic invertebrate animals such as Amphipods, Gastropods (pond snails), Ostracods and Daphnia (water flea) were placed in water-filled cylindrical vessels together with water plant (hornwort). The vessels were sealed completely and illuminated with a fluorescent lamp to activate the photosynthesis of the plant for providing oxygen within the vessels. Such ecosystem vessels, specially termed as Autonomous Biological System or ABS units, were exposed to microgravity conditions, and the behavior of the animals and their reproduction capacity were studied. Three space experiments were carried out. The first experiment used a Space shuttle only and it was a 10-day flight. The other two space experiments were carried out in the Space station Mir (Shuttle/Mir mission), and the flight units had been kept in microgravity for 4 months. Daphnia produced their offspring during a 10-day Shuttle flight. In the first Mir experiment, no Daphnia were detected when recovered to the ground. However, they were alive in the second Mir experiment. Daphnia were the most fragile species among the invertebrate animals employed in the present experiments. All the animals, i.e., Amphipods, pond snails, Ostracods and Daphnia had survived for 4 months in space, i.e., they had produced their offspring or repeated their life-cycles under microgravity. For the two Mir experiments, in both the flight and ground control ecosystem units, an inverse relationship was noted between the number of Amphipods and pond snails in each unit. Amphipods at 10 hours after the recovery to the ground frequently exhibited a movement of dropping straight-downward to the bottom of the units. Several Amphipods had their legs bent abnormally, which probably resulted from some physiological alterations during their embryonic development under microgravity. From the analysis of the video tape recorded in space, for Ostracods and Daphnia, a half of their population were looping under microgravity. Such looping animals

  5. Exploring Ethograms in the Schoolyard: A Lesson on Animal Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graszer, Christina L.; Gnau, Katie; Melber, Leah M.

    2012-01-01

    This article highlights a core lesson that has been used in a number of Lincoln Park Zoo educational programs. The lesson teaches students to conduct an ethological, or animal behavior, study on a bird. This study can be implemented in a variety of outdoor settings, including a park, schoolyard, or zoo. Using an ethogram, students will practice…

  6. Do storybooks with anthropomorphized animal characters promote prosocial behaviors in young children?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larsen, Nicole E; Lee, Kang; Ganea, Patricia A

    2018-05-01

    For millennia, adults have told children stories not only to entertain but also to impart important moral lessons to promote prosocial behaviors. Many such stories contain anthropomorphized animals because it is believed that children learn from anthropomorphic stories as effectively, if not better than, from stories with human characters, and thus are more inclined to act according to the moral lessons of the stories. Here we experimentally tested this belief by reading preschoolers a sharing story with either human characters or anthropomorphized animal characters. Reading the human story significantly increased preschoolers' altruistic giving but reading the anthropomorphic story or a control story decreased it. Thus, contrary to the common belief, realistic stories, not anthropomorphic ones, are better for promoting young children's prosocial behavior. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. anyFish 2.0: An open-source software platform to generate and share animated fish models to study behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Spencer J. Ingley

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Experimental approaches to studying behaviors based on visual signals are ubiquitous, yet these studies are limited by the difficulty of combining realistic models with the manipulation of signals in isolation. Computer animations are a promising way to break this trade-off. However, animations are often prohibitively expensive and difficult to program, thus limiting their utility in behavioral research. We present anyFish 2.0, a user-friendly platform for creating realistic animated 3D fish. anyFish 2.0 dramatically expands anyFish’s utility by allowing users to create animations of members of several groups of fish from model systems in ecology and evolution (e.g., sticklebacks, Poeciliids, and zebrafish. The visual appearance and behaviors of the model can easily be modified. We have added several features that facilitate more rapid creation of realistic behavioral sequences. anyFish 2.0  provides a powerful tool that will be of broad use in animal behavior and evolution and serves as a model for transparency, repeatability, and collaboration.

  8. A systematic survey of the integration of animal behavior into conservation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berger-Tal, Oded; Blumstein, Daniel T.; Carroll, Scott; Fisher, Robert N.; Mesnick, Sarah L.; Owen, Megan A.; Saltz, David; St. Claire, Colleen Cassady; Swaisgood, Ronald R.

    2016-01-01

    The role of behavioral ecology in improving wildlife conservation and management has been the subject of much recent debate. We aim to answer two foundational questions about the current use of behavioral knowledge in conservation: 1. To what extent is behavioral knowledge used in wildlife conservation and management? 2. How does the use of behavior differ among conservation fields in both frequency and types of use? To answer these questions, we searched the literature for intersections between key fields of animal behavior and conservation biology and created a systematic ‘heat’ map to visualize relative efforts. Our analysis challenges previous suggestions that there is little association between the fields of behavioral ecology and conservation and reveals tremendous variation in the use of different behaviors in conservation. For instance, some behaviors, such as foraging and dispersal, are commonly considered, but other behaviors such as learning, social or anti-predatory behaviors are hardly considered. Our analysis suggests that in many cases awareness of the importance of behavior does not translate into applicable management tools. We recommend that researchers should focus on developing research in underutilized intersections of behavior and conservation themes for which preliminary work show a potential for improving conservation and management, on translating behavioral theory into applicable and testable predictions, and on creating systematic reviews to summarize the behavioral evidence within the behavior-conservation intersections for which many studies exist.

  9. The Role of Serotonin (5-HT) in Behavioral Control: Findings from Animal Research and Clinical Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanchez, CL; Biskup, CS; Herpertz, S; Gaber, TJ; Kuhn, CM; Hood, SH

    2015-01-01

    The neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine both have a critical role in the underlying neurobiology of different behaviors. With focus on the interplay between dopamine and serotonin, it has been proposed that dopamine biases behavior towards habitual responding, and with serotonin offsetting this phenomenon and directing the balance toward more flexible, goal-directed responding. The present focus paper stands in close relationship to the publication by Worbe et al. (2015), which deals with the effects of acute tryptophan depletion, a neurodietary physiological method to decrease central nervous serotonin synthesis in humans for a short period of time, on the balance between hypothetical goal-directed and habitual systems. In that research, acute tryptophan depletion challenge administration and a following short-term reduction in central nervous serotonin synthesis were associated with a shift of behavioral performance towards habitual responding, providing further evidence that central nervous serotonin function modulates the balance between goal-directed and stimulus-response habitual systems of behavioral control. In the present focus paper, we discuss the findings by Worbe and colleagues in light of animal experiments as well as clinical implications and discuss potential future avenues for related research. PMID:25991656

  10. Behavior of cardiac variables in animals exposed to cigarette smoke

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergio Alberto Rupp de Paiva

    2003-09-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To assess the behavior of cardiac variables in animals exposed to cigarette smoke. METHODS: Two groups of Wistar rats were studied as follows: control group (C, comprising 28 animals; and smoking group (S, comprising 23 animals exposed to cigarette smoke for 30 days. Left ventricular cardiac function was assessed in vivo with transthoracic echocardiography, and myocardial performance was analyzed in vitro in preparations of isolated left ventricular papillary muscle. The cardiac muscle was assessed in isometric contractions with an extracellular calcium concentration of 2.5 mmol/L. RESULTS: No statistical difference was observed in the values of the body variables of the rats and in the mechanical data obtained from the papillary muscle between the control and smoking groups. The values of left ventricular systolic diameter were significantly greater in the smoking animals than in the control animals (C= 3.39 ± 0.4 mm and S= 3.71 ± 0.51 mm, P=0.02. A significant reduction was observed in systolic shortening fraction (C= 56.7 ± 4.2% and S= 53.5 ± 5.3%, P=0.02 and in ejection fraction (C= 0.92 ± 0.02 and S= 0.89 ± 0.04, P=0.01. CONCLUSION: The rats exposed to cigarette smoke had a reduction in left ventricular systolic function, although their myocardial function was preserved.

  11. Lognormal Behavior of the Size Distributions of Animation Characters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamamoto, Ken

    This study investigates the statistical property of the character sizes of animation, superhero series, and video game. By using online databases of Pokémon (video game) and Power Rangers (superhero series), the height and weight distributions are constructed, and we find that the weight distributions of Pokémon and Zords (robots in Power Rangers) follow the lognormal distribution in common. For the theoretical mechanism of this lognormal behavior, the combination of the normal distribution and the Weber-Fechner law is proposed.

  12. Animal violence demystified

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Natarajan, Deepa; Caramaschi, Doretta

    2010-01-01

    Violence has been observed in humans and animals alike, indicating its evolutionary/biological significance. However, violence in animals has often been confounded with functional forms of aggressive behavior. Currently, violence in animals is identified primarily as either a quantitative behavior

  13. Monitoring and classifying animal behavior using ZigBee-based mobile ad hoc wireless sensor networks and artificial neural networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    S. Nadimi, Esmaeil; Nyholm Jørgensen, Rasmus; Blanes-Vidal, Victoria

    2012-01-01

    Animal welfare is an issue of great importance in modern food production systems. Because animal behavior provides reliable information about animal health and welfare, recent research has aimed at designing monitoring systems capable of measuring behavioral parameters and transforming them...... into their corresponding behavioral modes. However, network unreliability and high-energy consumption have limited the applicability of those systems. In this study, a 2.4-GHz ZigBee-based mobile ad hoc wireless sensor network (MANET) that is able to overcome those problems is presented. The designed MANET showed high...... communication reliability, low energy consumption and low packet loss rate (14.8%) due to the deployment of modern communication protocols (e.g. multi-hop communication and handshaking protocol). The measured behavioral parameters were transformed into the corresponding behavioral modes using a multilayer...

  14. Behavioral phenotypes in schizophrenic animal models with multiple combinations of genetic and environmental factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hida, Hirotake; Mouri, Akihiro; Noda, Yukihiro

    2013-01-01

    Schizophrenia is a multifactorial psychiatric disorder in which both genetic and environmental factors play a role. Genetic [e.g., Disrupted-in-schizophrenia 1 (DISC1), Neuregulin-1 (NRG1)] and environmental factors (e.g., maternal viral infection, obstetric complications, social stress) may act during the developmental period to increase the incidence of schizophrenia. In animal models, interactions between susceptibility genes and the environment can be controlled in ways not possible in humans; therefore, such models are useful for investigating interactions between or within factors in the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of schizophrenia. We provide an overview of schizophrenic animal models investigating interactions between or within factors. First, we reviewed gene-environment interaction animal models, in which schizophrenic candidate gene mutant mice were subjected to perinatal immune activation or adolescent stress. Next, environment-environment interaction animal models, in which mice were subjected to a combination of perinatal immune activation and adolescent administration of drugs, were described. These animal models showed interaction between or within factors; behavioral changes, which were obscured by each factor, were marked by interaction of factors and vice versa. Appropriate behavioral approaches with such models will be invaluable for translational research on novel compounds, and also for providing insight into the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of schizophrenia.

  15. Animal-based measures for welfare assessment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agostino Sevi

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Animal welfare assessment can’t be irrespective of measures taken on animals. Indeed, housing parametersrelatedtostructures, designandmicro-environment, evenifreliable parameters related to structures, design and micro-environment, even if reliable and easier to take, can only identify conditions which could be detrimental to animal welfare, but can’t predict poor welfare in animals per se. Welfare assessment through animal-based measures is almost complex, given that animals’ responses to stressful conditions largely depend on the nature, length and intensity of challenges and on physiological status, age, genetic susceptibility and previous experience of animals. Welfare assessment requires a multi-disciplinary approach and the monitoring of productive, ethological, endocrine, immunological and pathological param- eters to be exhaustive and reliable. So many measures are needed, because stresses can act only on some of the mentioned parameters or on all of them but at different times and degree. Under this point of view, the main aim of research is to find feasible and most responsive indicators of poor animal welfare. In last decades, studies focused on the following parameters for animal wel- fare assessment indexes of biological efficiency, responses to behavioral tests, cortisol secretion, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte proliferation, production of antigen specific IgG and cytokine release, somatic cell count and acute phase proteins. Recently, a lot of studies have been addressed to reduce handling and constraint of animals for taking measures to be used in welfare assessment, since such procedures can induce stress in animals and undermined the reliability of measures taken for welfare assessment. Range of animal-based measures for welfare assessment is much wider under experimental condition than at on-farm level. In welfare monitoring on-farm the main aim is to find feasible measures of proved validity and reliability

  16. Adolescent Perceptions of Animation Violence as an Indication of Aggressive Attitudes and Behaviors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosemary V. Barnett

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available This reported study was designed to examine the beliefs and perceptions of adolescents on whether or not viewing violence on television contributes to an increase in adolescents’ abilities to learn aggressive attitudes and behaviors. It also explored the effects humor and satire used in the animated television series The Simpsons has on adolescents’ abilities to learn aggressive attitudes and behaviors. Finally, it examined to what extent the violence portrayed in The Simpsons was believed to be realistic and justified by adolescents viewing the show. Results indicate that adolescents were not affected by the violence they observed in The Simpsons animation: Further, they did not feel that it was acceptable for their favorite characters to use violence to solve problems. Youth did not have reactions to viewing the series that were violent, nor did they report becoming aggressive in response to viewing the violence on the The Simpsons. While the majority of the youth also reported that they did not use violence to solve a problem, 3.3% reported that they did. Overall, the study concluded that adolescents’ exposure to violent content by viewing it in animation in The Simpsons did not affect adolescents’ perceptions of their abilities to learn aggressive attitudes and behaviors. Youth did not perceive that the violence portrayed was realistic.

  17. Mapping behavioral landscapes for animal movement: a finite mixture modeling approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tracey, Jeff A.; Zhu, Jun; Boydston, Erin E.; Lyren, Lisa M.; Fisher, Robert N.; Crooks, Kevin R.

    2013-01-01

    Because of its role in many ecological processes, movement of animals in response to landscape features is an important subject in ecology and conservation biology. In this paper, we develop models of animal movement in relation to objects or fields in a landscape. We take a finite mixture modeling approach in which the component densities are conceptually related to different choices for movement in response to a landscape feature, and the mixing proportions are related to the probability of selecting each response as a function of one or more covariates. We combine particle swarm optimization and an Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm to obtain maximum likelihood estimates of the model parameters. We use this approach to analyze data for movement of three bobcats in relation to urban areas in southern California, USA. A behavioral interpretation of the models revealed similarities and differences in bobcat movement response to urbanization. All three bobcats avoided urbanization by moving either parallel to urban boundaries or toward less urban areas as the proportion of urban land cover in the surrounding area increased. However, one bobcat, a male with a dispersal-like large-scale movement pattern, avoided urbanization at lower densities and responded strictly by moving parallel to the urban edge. The other two bobcats, which were both residents and occupied similar geographic areas, avoided urban areas using a combination of movements parallel to the urban edge and movement toward areas of less urbanization. However, the resident female appeared to exhibit greater repulsion at lower levels of urbanization than the resident male, consistent with empirical observations of bobcats in southern California. Using the parameterized finite mixture models, we mapped behavioral states to geographic space, creating a representation of a behavioral landscape. This approach can provide guidance for conservation planning based on analysis of animal movement data using

  18. Revealing the hidden networks of interaction in mobile animal groups allows prediction of complex behavioral contagion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenthal, Sara Brin; Twomey, Colin R; Hartnett, Andrew T; Wu, Hai Shan; Couzin, Iain D

    2015-04-14

    Coordination among social animals requires rapid and efficient transfer of information among individuals, which may depend crucially on the underlying structure of the communication network. Establishing the decision-making circuits and networks that give rise to individual behavior has been a central goal of neuroscience. However, the analogous problem of determining the structure of the communication network among organisms that gives rise to coordinated collective behavior, such as is exhibited by schooling fish and flocking birds, has remained almost entirely neglected. Here, we study collective evasion maneuvers, manifested through rapid waves, or cascades, of behavioral change (a ubiquitous behavior among taxa) in schooling fish (Notemigonus crysoleucas). We automatically track the positions and body postures, calculate visual fields of all individuals in schools of ∼150 fish, and determine the functional mapping between socially generated sensory input and motor response during collective evasion. We find that individuals use simple, robust measures to assess behavioral changes in neighbors, and that the resulting networks by which behavior propagates throughout groups are complex, being weighted, directed, and heterogeneous. By studying these interaction networks, we reveal the (complex, fractional) nature of social contagion and establish that individuals with relatively few, but strongly connected, neighbors are both most socially influential and most susceptible to social influence. Furthermore, we demonstrate that we can predict complex cascades of behavioral change at their moment of initiation, before they actually occur. Consequently, despite the intrinsic stochasticity of individual behavior, establishing the hidden communication networks in large self-organized groups facilitates a quantitative understanding of behavioral contagion.

  19. Behavioral profiling as a translational approach in an animal model of posttraumatic stress disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ardi, Ziv; Albrecht, Anne; Richter-Levin, Alon; Saha, Rinki; Richter-Levin, Gal

    2016-04-01

    Diagnosis of psychiatric disorders in humans is based on comparing individuals to the normal population. However, many animal models analyze averaged group effects, thus compromising their translational power. This discrepancy is particularly relevant in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), where only a minority develop the disorder following a traumatic experience. In our PTSD rat model, we utilize a novel behavioral profiling approach that allows the classification of affected and unaffected individuals in a trauma-exposed population. Rats were exposed to underwater trauma (UWT) and four weeks later their individual performances in the open field and elevated plus maze were compared to those of the control group, allowing the identification of affected and resilient UWT-exposed rats. Behavioral profiling revealed that only a subset of the UWT-exposed rats developed long-lasting behavioral symptoms. The proportion of affected rats was further enhanced by pre-exposure to juvenile stress, a well-described risk factor of PTSD. For a biochemical proof of concept we analyzed the expression levels of the GABAA receptor subunits α1 and α2 in the ventral, dorsal hippocampus and basolateral amygdala. Increased expression, mainly of α1, was observed in ventral but not dorsal hippocampus of exposed animals, which would traditionally be interpreted as being associated with the exposure-resultant psychopathology. However, behavioral profiling revealed that this increased expression was confined to exposed-unaffected individuals, suggesting a resilience-associated expression regulation. The results provide evidence for the importance of employing behavioral profiling in animal models of PTSD, in order to better understand the neural basis of stress vulnerability and resilience. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Behavioral effects of acclimatization to restraint protocol used for awake animal imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reed, Michael D; Pira, Ashley S; Febo, Marcelo

    2013-07-15

    Functional MRI in awake rats involves acclimatization to restraint to minimize motion. We designed a study to examine the effects of an acclimatization protocol (5 days of restraint, 60 min per day) on the emission of 22-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations and performance in a forced swim test (FST). Our results showed that USV calls are reduced significantly by days 3, 4 and 5 of acclimatization. Although the rats showed less climbing activity (and more immobility) in FST on day 5 compared to the 1st day of restraint acclimatization, the difference was not detected once the animals were given a 2-week hiatus. Overall, we showed that animals adapt to the restraint over a five-day period; however, restraint may introduce confounding behavioral outcomes that may hinder the interpretation of results derived from awake rat imaging. The present data warrants further testing of the effects of MRI restraint on behavior. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Effects of FGF receptor peptide agonists on animal behavior under normal and pathological conditions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rudenko, Olga; Tkach, Vadym; Berezin, Vladimir

    2010-01-01

    , respectively) on social memory, exploratory activity, and anxiety-like behavior in adult rats. Treatment with hexafin1 and hexafin2 resulted in prolonged retention of social memory. Furthermore, rats treated with hexafin2 exhibited decreased anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze. Employing an R6....../2 mouse model of Huntington's disease (HD), we found that although hexafin2 did not affect the progression of motor symptoms, it alleviated deficits in activity related to social behavior, including sociability and social novelty. Thus, hexafin2 may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of HD....

  2. New animal model of emotional stress: Behavioral, neuroendocrine and immunological consequences

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    LIN Wenjuan; WANG Weiwen; SHAO Feng

    2003-01-01

    This report describes a new model of emotional stress, which was induced by randomly giving an empty water bottle to rats during watering periods per day for 14 consecutive days. The behavioral, endocrinological and immunological consequences were investigated. The data showed that the emotional stress activated both the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system, leading to the increased blood levels of corticosterone and catecholamine. It also elicited attacking and exploring behavior, suppressed the immune function of the rats, including leukocyte counts, weight of the spleen, and the level of specific anti-ovalbumin IgG antibody production. Presenting no water and no empty bottle to rats only evoked the exploring behavior, increased the corticosterone level and decreased the leukocyte counts. These findings demonstrate a role of psychological factors on behavioral, endocrinological and immunological functioning. The animal model described in the present study may serve as an analogue mimicking emotional stress experienced in humans (e.g. anger and/or anxiety), and may be useful for further studying the complex relationships among emotional stress, behavior, and immune function.

  3. On the theory of behavioral mechanics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dzendolet, E

    1999-12-01

    The Theory of Behavioral Mechanics is the behavioral analogue of Newton's laws of motion, with the rate of responding in operant conditioning corresponding to physical velocity. In an earlier work, the basic relation between rate of responding and sessions under two FI schedules and over a range of commonly used session values had been shown to be a power function. Using that basic relation, functions for behavioral acceleration, mass, and momentum are derived here. Data from other laboratories also support the applicability of a power function to VI schedules. A particular numerical value is introduced here to be the standard reference value for the behavioral force under the VI-60-s schedule. This reference allows numerical values to be calculated for the behavioral mass and momentum of individual animals. A comparison of the numerical values of the momenta of two animals can be used to evaluate their relative resistances to change, e.g., to extinction, which is itself viewed as a continuously changing behavioral force being imposed on the animal. This overall numerical approach allows behavioral force-values to be assigned to various experimental conditions such as the evaluation of the behavioral force of a medication dosage.

  4. Making Decisions under Ambiguity : Judgment Bias Tasks for Assessing Emotional State in Animals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roelofs, Sanne|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/413320626; Boleij, Hetty|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/315028815; Nordquist, Rebecca E|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/296303291; van der Staay, Franz Josef|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/074262653

    2016-01-01

    Judgment bias tasks (JBTs) are considered as a family of promising tools in the assessment of emotional states of animals. JBTs provide a cognitive measure of optimism and/or pessimism by recording behavioral responses to ambiguous stimuli. For instance, a negative emotional state is expected to

  5. Toward an animal model for antisocial behavior : parallels between mice and humans

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sluyter, F; Arseneault, L; Moffitt, TE; Veenema, AH; de Boer, S; Koolhaas, JM

    The goal of this article is to examine whether mouse lines genetically selected for short and long attack latencies are good animal models for antisocial behavior in humans. To this end, we compared male Short and Long Attack Latency mice (SAL and LAL, respectively) with the extremes of the Dunedin

  6. A combined system for measuring animal motion activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, M S; Young, C W; Li, Y C

    2000-01-31

    In this study, we have developed a combined animal motion activity measurement system that combines an infrared light matrix subsystem with an ultrasonic phase shift subsystem for animal activity measurement. Accordingly, in conjunction with an IBM PC/AT compatible personal computer, the combined system has the advantages of both infrared and ultrasonic subsystems. That is, it can at once measure and directly analyze detailed changes in animal activity ranging from locomotion to tremor. The main advantages of this combined system are that it features real time data acquisition with the option of animated real time or recorded display/playback of the animal's motion. Additionally, under the multi-task operating condition of IBM PC, it can acquire and process behavior using both IR and ultrasound systems simultaneously. Traditional systems have had to make separate runs for gross and fine movement recording. This combined system can be profitably employed for normative behavioral activity studies and for neurological and pharmacological research.

  7. A miniaturized threshold-triggered acceleration data-logger for recording burst movements of aquatic animals

    OpenAIRE

    Huveneers, Charlie; Matsuo, Ayane; Kawabe, Ryo; Watanabe, Yuuki; Nishiumi, Nozomi; Payne, Nicholas; Kawabata, Yuuki

    2017-01-01

    Animal-borne accelerometers are effective tools for quantifying the kinematics of animal behaviors, such as swimming, running, and flying, under natural conditions. However, quantifying burst movements of small and agile aquatic animals (e.g., small teleost fish), such as during predatory behavior, or while fleeing, remains challenging. To capture the details of burst movements, accelerometers need to sample at a very high frequency, which will inevitably shorten the duration of the recording...

  8. Mass and energy budgets of animals: Behavioral and ecological implications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Porter, W.P.

    1993-01-01

    The common goal of these diverse projects is to understand the mechanisms of how animal populations respond to the continual changes in their environment in both time and space. Our models are mechanistic allowing us to explore how a wide array of environmental variables may determine individual performance. Large scale climate change and its effect on animal populations can be seen as quantitative extensions of biological responses to smaller scales of environmental variability. Changes in developmental rates or reproductive levels of individuals, extension or contraction of geographic ranges, and modification of community organization have all been documented in response to previous changes in habitats. We know from our biophysical work that some changes in function are driven by microclimate conditions directly, and some are mediated indirectly through ecological parameters such as the food supply. Our research is guided by a comprehensive conceptual scheme of the interaction of an animal with its environment. The physical and physiological properties of the organism, and the range of available microclimates, set bounds on the performance of organismal function, such as growth, reproduction, storage, and behavior. To leave the most offspring over a lifetime, animals must perform those functions in a way that maximizes the amount of resources devoted to reproduction. Maximizing the total size of the budget and minimizing those budget items not devoted to reproduction are crucial. Animals trade off among expenditures for current and future reproduction. Both water and energy are important, potentially limiting resources. Projects described here include empirical studies and theoretical models.

  9. Animal-Assisted Therapy for persons with disabilities based on canine tail language interpretation via fuzzy emotional behavior model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phanwanich, Warangkhana; Kumdee, Orrawan; Ritthipravat, Panrasee; Wongsawat, Yodchanan

    2011-01-01

    Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) is the science that employs the merit of human-animal interaction to alleviate mental and physical problems of persons with disabilities. However, to achieve the goal of AAT for persons with severe disabilities (e.g. spinal cord injury and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), real-time animal language interpretation is needed. Since canine behaviors can be visually distinguished from its tail, this paper proposes the automatic real-time interpretation of canine tail language for human-canine interaction in the case of persons with severe disabilities. Canine tail language is captured via two 3-axis accelerometers. Directions and frequency are selected as our features of interests. New fuzzy rules and center of gravity (COG)-based defuzzification method are proposed in order to interpret the features into three canine emotional behaviors, i.e., agitate, happy, and scare as well as its blended emotional behaviors. The emotional behavior model is performed in the simulated dog. The average recognition rate in real dog is 93.75% accuracy.

  10. Nitrogen compounds behavior under irradiation environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ichikawa, Nagayoshi; Takagi, Junichi; Yotsuyanagi, Tadasu

    1991-01-01

    Laboratory experiments were performed to evaluate nitrogen compounds behavior in liquid phase under irradiation environments. Nitrogen compounds take a chemical form of ammonium ion under reducing condition by gamma irradiation, whereas ammonium ions are rather stable even under oxidizing conditions. Key reactions were pointed out and their reaction rate constants and activation energies were estimated through computer code simulation. A reaction scheme for nitrogen compounds including protonate reaction was proposed. (author)

  11. Dopamine and oxytocin interactions underlying behaviors: potential contributions to behavioral disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baskerville, Tracey A; Douglas, Alison J

    2010-06-01

    Dopamine is an important neuromodulator that exerts widespread effects on the central nervous system (CNS) function. Disruption in dopaminergic neurotransmission can have profound effects on mood and behavior and as such is known to be implicated in various neuropsychiatric behavioral disorders including autism and depression. The subsequent effects on other neurocircuitries due to dysregulated dopamine function have yet to be fully explored. Due to the marked social deficits observed in psychiatric patients, the neuropeptide, oxytocin is emerging as one particular neural substrate that may be influenced by the altered dopamine levels subserving neuropathologic-related behavioral diseases. Oxytocin has a substantial role in social attachment, affiliation and sexual behavior. More recently, it has emerged that disturbances in peripheral and central oxytocin levels have been detected in some patients with dopamine-dependent disorders. Thus, oxytocin is proposed to be a key neural substrate that interacts with central dopamine systems. In addition to psychosocial improvement, oxytocin has recently been implicated in mediating mesolimbic dopamine pathways during drug addiction and withdrawal. This bi-directional role of dopamine has also been implicated during some components of sexual behavior. This review will discuss evidence for the existence dopamine/oxytocin positive interaction in social behavioral paradigms and associated disorders such as sexual dysfunction, autism, addiction, anorexia/bulimia, and depression. Preliminary findings suggest that whilst further rigorous testing has to be conducted to establish a dopamine/oxytocin link in human disorders, animal models seem to indicate the existence of broad and integrated brain circuits where dopamine and oxytocin interactions at least in part mediate socio-affiliative behaviors. A profound disruption to these pathways is likely to underpin associated behavioral disorders. Central oxytocin pathways may serve as a

  12. Alterations in Striatal Circuits Underlying Addiction-Like Behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hyun Jin; Lee, Joo Han; Yun, Kyunghwa; Kim, Joung-Hun

    2017-06-30

    Drug addiction is a severe psychiatric disorder characterized by the compulsive pursuit of drugs of abuse despite potential adverse consequences. Although several decades of studies have revealed that psychostimulant use can result in extensive alterations of neural circuits and physiology, no effective therapeutic strategies or medicines for drug addiction currently exist. Changes in neuronal connectivity and regulation occurring after repeated drug exposure contribute to addiction-like behaviors in animal models. Among the involved brain areas, including those of the reward system, the striatum is the major area of convergence for glutamate, GABA, and dopamine transmission, and this brain region potentially determines stereotyped behaviors. Although the physiological consequences of striatal neurons after drug exposure have been relatively well documented, it remains to be clarified how changes in striatal connectivity underlie and modulate the expression of addiction-like behaviors. Understanding how striatal circuits contribute to addiction-like behaviors may lead to the development of strategies that successfully attenuate drug-induced behavioral changes. In this review, we summarize the results of recent studies that have examined striatal circuitry and pathway-specific alterations leading to addiction-like behaviors to provide an updated framework for future investigations.

  13. Animal behavior as a conceptual framework for the study of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eilam, David; Zor, Rama; Fineberg, Naomi; Hermesh, Haggai

    2012-06-01

    Research on affective disorders may benefit from the methodology of studying animal behavior, in which tools are available for qualitatively and quantitatively measuring and assessing behavior with as much sophistication and attention to detail as in the analysis of the brain. To illustrate this, we first briefly review the characteristics of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and then demonstrate how the quinpirole rat model is used as a conceptual model in studying human OCD patients. Like the rat model, the study of OCD in humans is based on video-telemetry, whereby observable, measurable, and relatively objective characteristics of OCD behavior may be extracted. In this process, OCD rituals are defined in terms of the space in which they are executed and the movements (acts) that are performed at each location or object in this space. Accordingly, OCD behavior is conceived of as comprising three hierarchical components: (i) rituals (as defined by the patients); (ii) visits to objects/locations in the environment at which the patient stops during the ritual; and (iii) acts performed at each object/location during visits. Scoring these structural components (behavioral units) is conveniently possible with readily available tools for behavioral description and analysis, providing quantitative and qualitative measures of the OCD hallmarks of repetition and addition, as well as the reduced functionality in OCD behavior. Altogether, the concept that was developed in the context of an animal model provides a useful tool that may facilitate OCD diagnosis, assessment and treatment, and may be similarly applied for other psychiatric disorders. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. The complex relationship between personal sense of connection to animals and self-reported proenvironmental behaviors by zoo visitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grajal, Alejandro; Luebke, Jerry F; Kelly, Lisa-Anne DeGregoria; Matiasek, Jennifer; Clayton, Susan; Karazsia, Bryan T; Saunders, Carol D; Goldman, Susan R; Mann, Michael E; Stanoss, Ricardo

    2017-04-01

    The global biodiversity crisis requires an engaged citizenry that provides collective support for public policies and recognizes the consequences of personal consumption decisions. Understanding the factors that affect personal engagement in proenvironmental behaviors is essential for the development of actionable conservation solutions. Zoos and aquariums may be some of the only places where many people can explore their relations with wild animals and proenvironmental behaviors. Using a moderated-mediation analysis of a survey of U.S. zoo and aquarium visitors (n = 3588), we explored the relationship between the sense of connection to animals and self-reported engagement in proenvironmental behaviors related to climate change and how this relationship is affected by certainty that climate change is happening, level of concern about climate change, and perceptions of effectiveness in personally addressing climate change. We found a significant, directional relationship between sense of connection to animals and self-reported proenvironmental behaviors. Political inclination within the conservative to liberal spectrum did not affect the relationship. We conclude that a personal sense of connection to animals may provide a foundation for educational and communication strategies to enhance involvement in proenvironmental actions. © 2016 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.

  15. Energy-Neutral Data Collection Rate Control for IoT Animal Behavior Monitors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jay Wilhelm

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Energy-neutral operation (ENO is a major concern for Internet of things (IoT sensor systems. Animals can be tagged with IoT sensors to monitor their movement and behavior. These sensors wirelessly upload collected data and can receive parameters to change their operation. Typically, the behavior monitors are powered by a battery where the system relies upon harvesting solar radiation for sustainable operation. Solar panels typically are used as the harvesting mechanism and can have a level of uncertainty regarding consistent energy delivery due to factors such as adverse weather, foliage, time of day, and individual animal behavior. The variability of available energy inevitably creates a trade-off in the rate at which data can be collected with respect to incoming and stored energy. The objective of this research was to investigate and simulate methods and parameters that can control the data collection rate of an IoT behavior monitor to achieve sustained operation with unknown and random energy harvesting. Analysis and development of a control system were performed by creating a software model of energy consumption and then simulating using different initial conditions and random energy harvesting rates for evaluation. The contribution of this effort was the exploration into the usage of a discrete-time gain scheduled Proportional–Integral–Derivative (PID that was tuned to a specific device configuration, using battery state of charge as an input, and found to maintain a battery level set-point, reject small solar harvesting energy disturbances, and maintain a consistent data collection rate throughout the day.

  16. The gut microbiota influence behavior in the subchronic PCP induced animal model of schizophrenia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Bettina Merete Pyndt; Redrobe, Paul; Brønnum Pedersen, Tina

    The gut microbiota has major impact on the individual. Here we show that the gut microbiota influence behavior in the subchronic PCP induced animal model of schizophrenia. The gut microbiota were changed in the group treated subchronic with PCP, and restoration coincided with normalisation...... of memory performance in lister hooded rats. Furthermore the individual gut microbiota correlated to the individual behavior abserved in the tests conducted. In conclusion results show an influence of the gut microbiota on behavior in this model, and therefore it might be relavant to include the information...

  17. Influence of animals diet on their radio-sensitivity and behavior

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iordanishvili, G.; Maisuradze, I.; Vekua, R.

    2017-01-01

    Including in the rations of feeding of Wistar line rats barley, oats, rye, rice, buckwheat and maize quantitatively increases the number of endogenic radioprotectors (such are catecholamine, serotonin, general and free sulfhydryl groups containing substances) in their brain, liver and spleen, which leads to the increase of animals resistance. Simultaneously, the elaboration and preservation of the condition reaction of active avoidance are facilitated; the morphological indices of blood and the behavior of animsals are improved in the ''Open field''. (author)

  18. T-pattern analysis for the study of temporal structure of animal and human behavior: a comprehensive review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casarrubea, M; Jonsson, G K; Faulisi, F; Sorbera, F; Di Giovanni, G; Benigno, A; Crescimanno, G; Magnusson, M S

    2015-01-15

    A basic tenet in the realm of modern behavioral sciences is that behavior consists of patterns in time. For this reason, investigations of behavior deal with sequences that are not easily perceivable by the unaided observer. This problem calls for improved means of detection, data handling and analysis. This review focuses on the analysis of the temporal structure of behavior carried out by means of a multivariate approach known as T-pattern analysis. Using this technique, recurring sequences of behavioral events, usually hard to detect, can be unveiled and carefully described. T-pattern analysis has been successfully applied in the study of various aspects of human or animal behavior such as behavioral modifications in neuro-psychiatric diseases, route-tracing stereotypy in mice, interaction between human subjects and animal or artificial agents, hormonal-behavioral interactions, patterns of behavior associated with emesis and, in our laboratories, exploration and anxiety-related behaviors in rodents. After describing the theory and concepts of T-pattern analysis, this review will focus on the application of the analysis to the study of the temporal characteristics of behavior in different species from rodents to human beings. This work could represent a useful background for researchers who intend to employ such a refined multivariate approach to the study of behavior. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. The changes in drug binding activity of GABA receptor and animal neural-behavior after gamma irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zheng Hui; Zhen Rong; Zhao Naikun; Xue Hong; Wang Zihui

    2004-01-01

    Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of irradiation on gamma-aminobutyric-acid receptor (GABA-R) as well as behavioral changes after brain 60 Co γ-irradiation. Methods: The mice were irradiated with gamma rays (20 Gy; 10 Gy and 5 Gy) . The drug binding activity of GABA receptor in brain receptor was measured by fluorescence anisotropy (FA) and equilibrium dissociation constants. The behavioral changes were observed by the locomotor activity test, elevated plus-maze test and hole-board test at 1, 10, 24 and 48 hr after irradiation. Results: 1. The drug binding activity of the GABA receptor was decreased and the equilibrium dissociation constant (K d ) was significantly increased compared with the negative control group 2 hr after irradiation, and a spike value appeared at 24 hr. It showed that the irradiation might damage or decrease the binding activity and the bio-activity of GABA receptor. 2. The animal experiment confirmed that the irradiated animal model showed neural-behavioral changes of anxiety or depression. 3. The decreased binding activity of GABA receptor and changes in behavior of irradiated animal were dependent on radiation intensity. 4. The changes of behavior was similar to the blocked GABA receptor group. It suggests the relationship of radiation and GABA receptor. Conclusion: These results suggest that GABA receptor may be involved in radiation injury. The functional changes of GABA receptor may be an induction factor of behavioral disorder. The article also discussed the effect of anxiety and results obtained from the point of view of GABA receptor system involvement in the changes observed after irradiation. (authors)

  20. Health and behavior problems in dogs and cats one week and one month after adoption from animal shelters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lord, Linda K; Reider, Linda; Herron, Meghan E; Graszak, Kristy

    2008-12-01

    To characterize health and behavior problems in dogs and cats 1 week and 1 month after adoption from animal shelters and identify factors associated with the likelihood that owners of adopted animals would visit a veterinarian. Cross-sectional study. Sample Population-2,766 (1 week) and 2,545 (1 month) individuals who had adopted an animal from a shelter. Internet and telephone survey responses were collected 1 week and 1 month after animal adoption. Overall, 1,361 of 2,624 (51.9%) dogs and cats had health problems 1 week after adoption, and 239 of 2,312 (10.3%) had a health problem 1 month after adoption. The most common health problem for dogs and cats was respiratory tract disease. A total of 1,630 of 2,689 (60.6%) respondents had taken their animal to a veterinarian within the first week after adoption and 1,865 of 2,460 (75.8%) had within the first month after adoption. Respondents were more likely to have visited a veterinarian if they had adopted a dog versus a cat or if the animal was young ( or = 1 health problem, or had adjusted moderately to extremely well to its new home within the first month after adoption. Cats had fewer behavior problems than dogs. One week after adoption, the most commonly reported behavior problem was house training for dogs and chewing, digging, or scratching at objects for cats. Results suggested that improvements can be made in the percentage of new owners who visit a veterinarian after adopting an animal from a shelter.

  1. Turbulent dispersivity under conditions relevant to airborne disease transmission between laboratory animals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halloran, Siobhan; Ristenpart, William

    2013-11-01

    Virologists and other researchers who test pathogens for airborne disease transmissibility often place a test animal downstream from an inoculated animal and later determine whether the test animal became infected. Despite the crucial role of the airflow in pathogen transmission between the animals, to date the infectious disease community has paid little attention to the effect of airspeed or turbulent intensity on the probability of transmission. Here we present measurements of the turbulent dispersivity under conditions relevant to experimental tests of airborne disease transmissibility between laboratory animals. We used time lapse photography to visualize the downstream transport and turbulent dispersion of smoke particulates released from a point source downstream of an axial fan, thus mimicking the release and transport of expiratory aerosols exhaled by an inoculated animal. We show that for fan-generated turbulence the plume width is invariant with the mean airspeed and, close to the point source, increases linearly with downstream position. Importantly, the turbulent dispersivity is insensitive to the presence of meshes placed downstream from the point source, indicating that the fan length scale dictates the turbulent intensity and corresponding dispersivity.

  2. Sex-specific effects of dietary fatty acids on saliva cortisol and social behavior in guinea pigs under different social environmental conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nemeth, Matthias; Millesi, Eva; Puehringer-Sturmayr, Verena; Kaplan, Arthur; Wagner, Karl-Heinz; Quint, Ruth; Wallner, Bernard

    2016-01-01

    Unbalanced dietary intakes of saturated (SFAs) and polyunsaturated (PUFAs) fatty acids can profoundly influence the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis and glucocorticoid secretions in relation to behavioral performances. The beneficial effects of higher dietary PUFA intakes and PUFA:SFA ratios may also affect social interactions and social-living per se, where adequate physiological and behavioral responses are essential to cope with unstable social environmental conditions. Effects of diets high in PUFAs or SFAs and a control diet were investigated in male and female guinea pigs after 60 days of supplementation. Plasma fatty acid patterns served as an indicator of the general fatty acid status. HPA-axis activities, determined by measuring saliva cortisol concentrations, social behaviors, and hierarchy ranks were analyzed during group housing of established single-sexed groups and during challenging social confrontations with unfamiliar individuals of the other groups. The plasma PUFA:SFA ratio was highest in PUFA supplemented animals, with female levels significantly exceeding males, and lowest in SFA animals. SFA males and females showed increased saliva cortisol levels and decreased aggressiveness during group housing, while sociopositive behaviors were lowest in PUFA males. Males generally showed higher cortisol increases in response to the challenging social confrontations with unfamiliar individuals than females. While increasing cortisol concentrations were detected in control and PUFA animals, no such effect was found in SFA animals. During social confrontations, PUFA males showed higher levels of agonistic and sociopositive behaviors and also gained higher dominance ranks among males, which was not detected for females. While SFAs seemingly impaired cortisol responses and social behaviors, PUFAs enabled adequate behavioral responses in male individuals under stressful new social environmental conditions. This sex-specific effect was possibly

  3. Individual behavioral phenotypes: an integrative meta-theoretical framework. Why "behavioral syndromes" are not analogs of "personality".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uher, Jana

    2011-09-01

    Animal researchers are increasingly interested in individual differences in behavior. Their interpretation as meaningful differences in behavioral strategies stable over time and across contexts, adaptive, heritable, and acted upon by natural selection has triggered new theoretical developments. However, the analytical approaches used to explore behavioral data still address population-level phenomena, and statistical methods suitable to analyze individual behavior are rarely applied. I discuss fundamental investigative principles and analytical approaches to explore whether, in what ways, and under which conditions individual behavioral differences are actually meaningful. I elaborate the meta-theoretical ideas underlying common theoretical concepts and integrate them into an overarching meta-theoretical and methodological framework. This unravels commonalities and differences, and shows that assumptions of analogy to concepts of human personality are not always warranted and that some theoretical developments may be based on methodological artifacts. Yet, my results also highlight possible directions for new theoretical developments in animal behavior research. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. The behavior limestone under explosive load

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orlov, M. Yu; Orlova, Yu N.; Bogomolov, G. N.

    2016-11-01

    Limestone behavior under explosive loading was investigated. The behavior of the limestone by the action of the three types of explosives, including granular, ammonite and emulsion explosives was studied in detail. The shape and diameter of the explosion craters were obtained. The observed fragments after the blast have been classified as large, medium and small fragments. Three full-scale experiments were carried out. The research results can be used as a qualitative test for the approbation of numerical methods.

  5. The Cynomolgus Macaque Natural History Model of Pneumonic Tularemia for Predicting Clinical Efficacy Under the Animal Rule

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guina, Tina; Lanning, Lynda L.; Omland, Kristian S.; Williams, Mark S.; Wolfraim, Larry A.; Heyse, Stephen P.; Houchens, Christopher R.; Sanz, Patrick; Hewitt, Judith A.

    2018-01-01

    Francisella tularensis is a highly infectious Gram-negative bacterium that is the etiologic agent of tularemia in animals and humans and a Tier 1 select agent. The natural incidence of pneumonic tularemia worldwide is very low; therefore, it is not feasible to conduct clinical efficacy testing of tularemia medical countermeasures (MCM) in human populations. Development and licensure of tularemia therapeutics and vaccines need to occur under the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) Animal Rule under which efficacy studies are conducted in well-characterized animal models that reflect the pathophysiology of human disease. The Tularemia Animal Model Qualification (AMQ) Working Group is seeking qualification of the cynomolgus macaque (Macaca fascicularis) model of pneumonic tularemia under Drug Development Tools Qualification Programs with the FDA based upon the results of studies described in this manuscript. Analysis of data on survival, average time to death, average time to fever onset, average interval between fever and death, and bacteremia; together with summaries of clinical signs, necropsy findings, and histopathology from the animals exposed to aerosolized F. tularensis Schu S4 in five natural history studies and one antibiotic efficacy study form the basis for the proposed cynomolgus macaque model. Results support the conclusion that signs of pneumonic tularemia in cynomolgus macaques exposed to 300–3,000 colony forming units (cfu) aerosolized F. tularensis Schu S4, under the conditions described herein, and human pneumonic tularemia cases are highly similar. Animal age, weight, and sex of animals challenged with 300–3,000 cfu Schu S4 did not impact fever onset in studies described herein. This study summarizes critical parameters and endpoints of a well-characterized cynomolgus macaque model of pneumonic tularemia and demonstrates this model is appropriate for qualification, and for testing efficacy of tularemia therapeutics under Animal Rule. PMID

  6. Aggressive behavior and hair cortisol levels in captive Dorcas gazelles (Gazella dorcas) as animal-based welfare indicators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salas, Marina; Temple, Déborah; Abáigar, Teresa; Cuadrado, Mariano; Delclaux, Maria; Enseñat, Conrad; Almagro, Vanessa; Martínez-Nevado, Eva; Quevedo, Miguel Ángel; Carbajal, Annaïs; Tallo-Parra, Oriol; Sabés-Alsina, Maria; Amat, Marta; Lopez-Bejar, Manel; Fernández-Bellon, Hugo; Manteca, Xavier

    2016-11-01

    Ensuring welfare in captive wild animal populations is important not only for ethical and legal reasons, but also to maintain healthy individuals and populations. An increased level of social behaviors such as aggression can reduce welfare by causing physical damage and chronic stress to animals. Recently, cortisol in hair has been advanced as a non-invasive indicator to quantify long-lasting stress in many species. The sensitivity of social behavior and hair cortisol concentration was evaluated in several groups of dorcas gazelles (Gazella dorcas). Four different groups of gazelles from three different zoos were observed and the expression of intra-specific affiliative and negative social behaviors was assessed across the different groups. Hair samples were taken from sub-groups of animals and analyzed for cortisol concentrations. Significant differences between groups of dorcas gazelles were found in frequency of negative social behavior and hair cortisol concentration. Despite the low sample size, these two parameters had a positive Spearman correlation coefficient (r s  = +0.80, P = 0.20). These results suggest that hair cortisol levels are sensitive to differences in the social structure of dorcas gazelles. Zoo Biol. 35:467-473, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. Challenges of Managing Animals in Disasters in the U.S.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sebastian E. Heath

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Common to many of the repeated issues surrounding animals in disasters in the U.S. is a pre-existing weak animal health infrastructure that is under constant pressure resulting from pet overpopulation. Unless this root cause is addressed, communities remain vulnerable to similar issues with animals they and others have faced in past disasters. In the US the plight of animals in disasters is frequently viewed primarily as a response issue and frequently handled by groups that are not integrated with the affected community’s emergency management. In contrast, animals, their owners, and communities would greatly benefit from integrating animal issues into an overall emergency management strategy for the community. There is no other factor contributing as much to human evacuation failure in disasters that is under the control of emergency management when a threat is imminent as pet ownership. Emergency managers can take advantage of the bond people have with their animals to instill appropriate behavior amongst pet owners in disasters.

  8. Neuropeptide s alters anxiety but not depression-like behaviors in the flinders sensitive line rats, a genetic animal model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mathe, A.; Wegener, Gregers; Finger, B.

    2010-01-01

    Background: Neuropeptide S (NPS) and its receptor (NPSR) have been implicated in the mediation of anxiolytic-like behavior in rodents. However, little knowledge is available to what extent the NPS system is involved in depression-related behaviors. The aim of the present work was to characterize...... the effects of centrally administered NPS on depression- and anxiety-related behaviors, using a well validated animal model of depression, the Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL) rats and their controls the Flinders Resistant Line (FRL). Methods: Male and female were tested. Seven days following insertion....... In selected animals effect of NPS on home cage activity was explored. Finally, brains from separate groups of naive animals were harvested; hippocampi, amygdalae and PVN punched out, and mRNA transcripts measured with the real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (rt-qPCR). Results: The most salient...

  9. An animal model to study toxicity of central nervous system therapy for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: Effects on behavior

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mullenix, P.J.; Kernan, W.J.; Tassinari, M.S.; Schunior, A.; Waber, D.P.; Howes, A.; Tarbell, N.J.

    1990-01-01

    Central nervous system prophylactic therapy used in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia can reduce intelligence quotient scores and impair memory and attention in children. Cranial irradiation, intrathecal methotrexate, and steroids are commonly utilized in acute lymphoblastic leukemia therapy. How they induce neurotoxicity is unknown. This study employs an animal model to explore the induction of neurotoxicity. Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats at 17 and 18 days of age were administered 18 mg/kg prednisolone, 2 mg/kg methotrexate, and 1000 cGy cranial irradiation. Another 18-day-old group was administered 1000 cGy cranial irradiation but no drugs. Matching controls received saline and/or a sham exposure to radiation. All animals at 6 weeks and 4 months of age were tested for alterations in spontaneous behavior. A computer pattern recognition system automatically recorded and classified individual behavioral acts displayed during exploration of a novel environment. Measures of behavioral initiations, total time, and time structure were used to compare treated and control animals. A permanent sex-specific change in the time structure of behavior was induced by the prednisolone, methotrexate, and radiation treatment but not by radiation alone. Unlike hyperactivity, the effect consisted of abnormal clustering and dispersion of acts in a pattern indicative of disrupted development of sexually dimorphic behavior. This study demonstrates the feasibility of an animal model delineating the agent/agents responsible for the neurotoxicity of central nervous system prophylactic therapy

  10. Discovery of stereotypy through behavioral space embedding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berman, Gordon; Choi, Daniel; Bialek, William; Shaevitz, Joshua

    2013-03-01

    Most experiments in the neurobiology of behavior rely upon the concept that animals frequently engage in stereotyped movements - behaviors that an animal performs often and with great similarly. While these actions are often the basis for mapping neural circuits and understanding the effects of genetic manipulations, stereotypy is usually defined in an ad hoc manner, thereby limiting the sensitivity and repeatability of subsequent analyses. Moreover, the underlying assumption that an animal's behavior can be described in terms of discrete states typically remains unverified. In this talk, I will describe our novel method for the identification and characterization of stereotyped behaviors. Using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism, we show that it is possible to start from raw videos of a freely-behaving animal and statistically isolate stereotyped movements. Our method achieves this through leveraging ideas from statistical physics, non-linear dynamics, and information theory. The rigorous behavioral metrics resulting from this technique allow us to explore questions in animal behavior ranging from speciation, to aging, to the control of locomotion, thus providing further insight in the interplay between genes, neurons, and behavior.

  11. Social Stress in Rats : An Animal Model of Depression?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koolhaas, J.M.; Meerlo, P.; De Boer, S..; Strubbe, J.H.; Bohus, B.

    1995-01-01

    Our current understanding of the physiological mechanisms underlying depressive disorders is not only based on behavioral, neuroendocrine and pharmacological studies in depressed humans, but also on experimental studies in a wide variety of animal models of depression. Ideally, the two approaches

  12. Mixing pleasures: review of the effects of drugs on sex behavior in humans and animal models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frohmader, Karla S; Pitchers, Kyle K; Balfour, Margaret E; Coolen, Lique M

    2010-06-01

    Drugs of abuse act on the brain circuits mediating motivation and reward associated with natural behaviors. There is ample evidence that drugs of abuse impact male and female sexual behavior. First, the current review discusses the effect of drugs of abuse on sexual motivation and performance in male and female humans. In particular, we discuss the effects of commonly abused drugs including psychostimulants, opiates, marijuana/THC, and alcohol. In general, drug use affects sexual motivation, arousal, and performance and is commonly associated with increased sexual risk behaviors. Second, studies on effects of systemic administration of drugs of abuse on sexual behavior in animals are reviewed. These studies analyze the effects on sexual performance and motivation but do not investigate the effects of drugs on risk-taking behavior, creating a disconnect between human and animal studies. For this reason, we discuss two studies that focus on the effects of alcohol and methamphetamine on inhibition of maladaptive sex-seeking behaviors in rodents. Third, this review discusses potential brain areas where drugs of abuse may be exerting their effect on sexual behavior with a focus on the mesolimbic system as the site of action. Finally, we discuss recent studies that have brought to light that sexual experience in turn can affect drug responsiveness, including a sensitized locomotor response to amphetamine in female and male rodents as well as enhanced drug reward in male rats. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Breaking Snake Camouflage: Humans Detect Snakes More Accurately than Other Animals under Less Discernible Visual Conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawai, Nobuyuki; He, Hongshen

    2016-01-01

    Humans and non-human primates are extremely sensitive to snakes as exemplified by their ability to detect pictures of snakes more quickly than those of other animals. These findings are consistent with the Snake Detection Theory, which hypothesizes that as predators, snakes were a major source of evolutionary selection that favored expansion of the visual system of primates for rapid snake detection. Many snakes use camouflage to conceal themselves from both prey and their own predators, making it very challenging to detect them. If snakes have acted as a selective pressure on primate visual systems, they should be more easily detected than other animals under difficult visual conditions. Here we tested whether humans discerned images of snakes more accurately than those of non-threatening animals (e.g., birds, cats, or fish) under conditions of less perceptual information by presenting a series of degraded images with the Random Image Structure Evolution technique (interpolation of random noise). We find that participants recognize mosaic images of snakes, which were regarded as functionally equivalent to camouflage, more accurately than those of other animals under dissolved conditions. The present study supports the Snake Detection Theory by showing that humans have a visual system that accurately recognizes snakes under less discernible visual conditions.

  14. Breaking Snake Camouflage: Humans Detect Snakes More Accurately than Other Animals under Less Discernible Visual Conditions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nobuyuki Kawai

    Full Text Available Humans and non-human primates are extremely sensitive to snakes as exemplified by their ability to detect pictures of snakes more quickly than those of other animals. These findings are consistent with the Snake Detection Theory, which hypothesizes that as predators, snakes were a major source of evolutionary selection that favored expansion of the visual system of primates for rapid snake detection. Many snakes use camouflage to conceal themselves from both prey and their own predators, making it very challenging to detect them. If snakes have acted as a selective pressure on primate visual systems, they should be more easily detected than other animals under difficult visual conditions. Here we tested whether humans discerned images of snakes more accurately than those of non-threatening animals (e.g., birds, cats, or fish under conditions of less perceptual information by presenting a series of degraded images with the Random Image Structure Evolution technique (interpolation of random noise. We find that participants recognize mosaic images of snakes, which were regarded as functionally equivalent to camouflage, more accurately than those of other animals under dissolved conditions. The present study supports the Snake Detection Theory by showing that humans have a visual system that accurately recognizes snakes under less discernible visual conditions.

  15. Protein metabolism in marine animals: the underlying mechanism of growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fraser, Keiron P P; Rogers, Alex D

    2007-01-01

    Growth is a fundamental process within all marine organisms. In soft tissues, growth is primarily achieved by the synthesis and retention of proteins as protein growth. The protein pool (all the protein within the organism) is highly dynamic, with proteins constantly entering the pool via protein synthesis or being removed from the pool via protein degradation. Any net change in the size of the protein pool, positive or negative, is termed protein growth. The three inter-related processes of protein synthesis, degradation and growth are together termed protein metabolism. Measurement of protein metabolism is vital in helping us understand how biotic and abiotic factors affect growth and growth efficiency in marine animals. Recently, the developing fields of transcriptomics and proteomics have started to offer us a means of greatly increasing our knowledge of the underlying molecular control of protein metabolism. Transcriptomics may also allow us to detect subtle changes in gene expression associated with protein synthesis and degradation, which cannot be detected using classical methods. A large literature exists on protein metabolism in animals; however, this chapter concentrates on what we know of marine ectotherms; data from non-marine ectotherms and endotherms are only discussed when the data are of particular relevance. We first consider the techniques available to measure protein metabolism, their problems and what validation is required. Protein metabolism in marine organisms is highly sensitive to a wide variety of factors, including temperature, pollution, seasonality, nutrition, developmental stage, genetics, sexual maturation and moulting. We examine how these abiotic and biotic factors affect protein metabolism at the level of whole-animal (adult and larval), tissue and cellular protein metabolism. Available gene expression data, which help us understand the underlying control of protein metabolism, are also discussed. As protein metabolism appears to

  16. Animal behavior and well-being symposium: Farm animal welfare assurance: science and application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rushen, J; Butterworth, A; Swanson, J C

    2011-04-01

    Public and consumer pressure for assurances that farm animals are raised humanely has led to a range of private and public animal welfare standards, and for methods to assess compliance with these standards. The standards usually claim to be science based, but even though researchers have developed measures of animal welfare and have tested the effects of housing and management variables on welfare within controlled laboratory settings, there are challenges in extending this research to develop on-site animal welfare standards. The standards need to be validated against a definition of welfare that has broad support and which is amenable to scientific investigation. Ensuring that such standards acknowledge scientific uncertainty is also challenging, and balanced input from all scientific disciplines dealing with animal welfare is needed. Agencies providing animal welfare audit services need to integrate these scientific standards and legal requirements into successful programs that effectively measure and objectively report compliance. On-farm assessment of animal welfare requires a combination of animal-based measures to assess the actual state of welfare and resource-based measures to identify risk factors. We illustrate this by referring to a method of assessing welfare in broiler flocks. Compliance with animal welfare standards requires buy-in from all stakeholders, and this will be best achieved by a process of inclusion in the development of pragmatic assessment methods and the development of audit programs verifying the conditions and continuous improvement of farm animal welfare.

  17. Making Decisions under Ambiguity: Judgment Bias Tasks for Assessing Emotional State in Animals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roelofs, Sanne; Boleij, Hetty; Nordquist, Rebecca E.; van der Staay, Franz Josef

    2016-01-01

    Judgment bias tasks (JBTs) are considered as a family of promising tools in the assessment of emotional states of animals. JBTs provide a cognitive measure of optimism and/or pessimism by recording behavioral responses to ambiguous stimuli. For instance, a negative emotional state is expected to produce a negative or pessimistic judgment of an ambiguous stimulus, whereas a positive emotional state produces a positive or optimistic judgment of the same ambiguous stimulus. Measuring an animal’s emotional state or mood is relevant in both animal welfare research and biomedical research. This is reflected in the increasing use of JBTs in both research areas. We discuss the different implementations of JBTs with animals, with a focus on their potential as an accurate measure of emotional state. JBTs have been successfully applied to a very broad range of species, using many different types of testing equipment and experimental protocols. However, further validation of this test is deemed necessary. For example, the often extensive training period required for successful judgment bias testing remains a possible factor confounding results. Also, the issue of ambiguous stimuli losing their ambiguity with repeated testing requires additional attention. Possible improvements are suggested to further develop the JBTs in both animal welfare and biomedical research. PMID:27375454

  18. First Aid: Animal Bites

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... last rabies vaccination, if known any recent unusual behavior by the animal the animal's location, if known if the animal ... Scratches First Aid: Cuts First Aid: Skin Infections Cat Scratch ... Safe Around Animals Cuts, Scratches, and Abrasions Rabies Cuts, Scratches, and ...

  19. Safety evaluations under the proposed US Safe Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Act of 2013: animal use and cost estimates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knight, Jean; Rovida, Costanca

    2014-01-01

    The proposed Safe Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Act of 2013 calls for a new evaluation program for cosmetic ingredients in the US, with the new assessments initially dependent on expanded animal testing. This paper considers possible testing scenarios under the proposed Act and estimates the number of test animals and cost under each scenario. It focuses on the impact for the first 10 years of testing, the period of greatest impact on animals and costs. The analysis suggests the first 10 years of testing under the Act could evaluate, at most, about 50% of ingredients used in cosmetics. Testing during this period would cost about $ 1.7-$ 9 billion and 1-11.5 million animals. By test year 10, alternative, high-throughput test methods under development are expected to be available, replacing animal testing and allowing rapid evaluation of all ingredients. Given the high cost in dollars and animal lives of the first 10 years for only about half of ingredients, a better choice may be to accelerate development of high-throughput methods. This would allow evaluation of 100% of cosmetic ingredients before year 10 at lower cost and without animal testing.

  20. A simplified model of choice behavior under uncertainty

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ching-Hung Lin

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT has been standardized as a clinical assessment tool (Bechara, 2007. Nonetheless, numerous research groups have attempted to modify IGT models to optimize parameters for predicting the choice behavior of normal controls and patients. A decade ago, most researchers considered the expected utility (EU model (Busemeyer and Stout, 2002 to be the optimal model for predicting choice behavior under uncertainty. However, in recent years, studies have demonstrated the prospect utility (PU models (Ahn et al., 2008 to be more effective than the EU models in the IGT. Nevertheless, after some preliminary tests, we propose that Ahn et al. (2008 PU model is not optimal due to some incompatible results between our behavioral and modeling data. This study aims to modify Ahn et al. (2008 PU model to a simplified model and collected 145 subjects’ IGT performance as the benchmark data for comparison. In our simplified PU model, the best goodness-of-fit was found mostly while α approaching zero. More specifically, we retested the key parameters α, λ , and A in the PU model. Notably, the power of influence of the parameters α, λ, and A has a hierarchical order in terms of manipulating the goodness-of-fit in the PU model. Additionally, we found that the parameters λ and A may be ineffective when the parameter α is close to zero in the PU model. The present simplified model demonstrated that decision makers mostly adopted the strategy of gain-stay-loss-shift rather than foreseeing the long-term outcome. However, there still have other behavioral variables that are not well revealed under these dynamic uncertainty situations. Therefore, the optimal behavioral models may not have been found. In short, the best model for predicting choice behavior under dynamic-uncertainty situations should be further evaluated.

  1. Dissecting OCD Circuits: From Animal Models to Targeted Treatments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmari, Susanne E.; Dougherty, Darin D.

    2015-01-01

    Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a chronic, severe mental illness with up to 2–3% prevalence worldwide, which has been classified as one of the world’s 10 leading causes of illness-related disability according to the World Health Organization, largely because of the chronic nature of disabling symptoms 1. Despite the severity and high prevalence of this chronic and disabling disorder, there is still relatively limited understanding of its pathophysiology. However, this is now rapidly changing due to development of powerful technologies that can be used to dissect the neural circuits underlying pathologic behaviors. In this article, we describe recent technical advances that have allowed neuroscientists to start identifying the circuits underlying complex repetitive behaviors using animal model systems. In addition, we review current surgical and stimulation-based treatments for OCD that target circuit dysfunction. Finally, we discuss how findings from animal models may be applied in the clinical arena to help inform and refine targeted brain stimulation-based treatment approaches. PMID:25952989

  2. Thermal behavior of spatial structures under solar irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Hongbo; Liao, Xiangwei; Chen, Zhihua; Zhang, Qian

    2015-01-01

    The temperature, particularly the non-uniform temperature under solar irradiation, is the main load for large-span steel structures. Due the shortage of in-site temperature test in previous studies, an in-site test was conducted on the large-span steel structures under solar irradiation, which was covered by glass roof and light roof, to gain insight into the temperature distribution of steel members under glass roof or light roof. A numerical method also was presented and verified to forecast the temperature of steel member under glass roof or light roof. Based on the on-site measurement and numerical analyses conducted, the following conclusions were obtained: 1) a remarkable temperature difference exists between the steel member under glass roof and that under light roof, 2) solar irradiation has a significant effect on the temperature distribution and thermal behavior of large-span spatial structures, 3) negative thermal load is the controlling factor for member stress, and the positive thermal load is the controlling factor for nodal displacement. - Highlights: • Temperature was measured for a steel structures under glass roof and light roof. • Temperature simulation method was presented and verified. • The thermal behavior of steel structures under glass or light roof was presented

  3. [Possible evolutionary mechanisms of 'culture' in animals: The hypothesis of distributed social learning].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reznikova, Zh I; Panteleeva, S N

    2015-01-01

    There is a plethora of works on the origin and genesis of behavioral traditions in different animal species. Nevertheless, it still remains unclear as for which factors facilitate and which factors hinder the spreading those forms of behavior that are new for a population. Here, we present an analytical review on the topic, considering also the results of studies on 'culture' in animals and analyzing contradictions that arise when attempting to clarify the ethological mechanisms of cultural succession. The hypothesis of 'distributed social learning' is formulated, meaning that for spreading of complex behavioral stereotypes in a population the presence of few carriers of consistent stereotypes is enough under the condition that the rest of animals carry incomplete genetic programmes that start up these stereotypes. Existence of 'dormant' fragments of such programmes determines an inborn predisposition of their bearer to perform a certain sequence of acts. To complete the consistent stereotype, the simplest forms of social learning ('social alleviation') turn to be enough. The hypothesis is examined at the behavioral level and supported by experimental data obtained when studying the scenarios of hunting behavior development in ants Myrmica rubra L. It makes possible to explain the spreading of behavioral models in animal communities in a simpler way than cultural succession.

  4. Behavior of LWR fuel elements under accident conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Albrecht, H.; Bocek, M.; Erbacher, F.; Fiege, A.; Fischer, M.; Hagen, S.; Hofmann, P.; Holleck, H.; Karb, E.; Leistikow, S.; Melang, S.; Ondracek, G.; Thuemmler, F.; Wiehr, K.

    1977-01-01

    In the frame of the German reactor safety research program, the Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe is carrying out a comprehensive program on the behavior of LWR fuel elements under a variety of power cooling mismatch conditions in particular during loss-of-coolant accidents. The major objectives are to establish a detailed quantitative understanding of fuel rod failures mechanisms and their thresholds, to evaluate the safety margins of power reactor cores under accident conditions and to investigate the feedback of fuel rod failures on the efficiency of emergency core cooling systems. This detailed quantitative understanding is achieved through extensive basic and integral experiments and is incorporated in a fuel behavior code. On the basis of these results the design of power reactor fuel elements and of safety devices can be further improved. The results of investigations on the inelastic deformation (ballooning) behavior of Zircaloy 4 cladding at LOCA temperatures in oxidizing atmosphere are presented. Depending upon strain rate and temperature superplastic deformation behavior was observed. In the equation of state of Zry 4 the strain rate sensitivity index depends strongly upon strain and in the superplastic region upon sample anisotropy. Oxidation kinetics experiments with Zry-tubes at 900-1300 0 C showed that the Baker-Just correlation describes the reality quite conservative. Therefore a reduction of the amount of Zry oxidation can be assumed in the course of a LOCA. The external oxidation of Zry-cladding by steam as well as internal oxidation by the oxygen in oxide fuel and fission products (Cs, I, Te) have an influence on the strain and rupture behavior of Zry-cladding at LOCA temperatures. In out-of-pile and inpile experiments the mechanical and thermal behavior of fuel rods during the blowdown, the heatup and the reflood phases of a LOCA are investigated under representative and controlled thermohydraulic conditions. The task of the inpile experiments is

  5. Does Animal Behavior Underlie Covariation Between Hosts' Exposure to Infectious Agents and Susceptibility to Infection? Implications for Disease Dynamics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hawley, Dana M.; Etienne, Rampal S.; Ezenwa, Vanessa O.; Jolles, Anna E.

    2011-01-01

    Animal behavior is unique in influencing both components of the process of transmission of disease: exposure to infectious agents, and susceptibility to infection once exposed. To date, the influence of behavior on exposure versus susceptibility has largely been considered separately. Here, we ask

  6. Ethanol intake under social circumstances or alone in sprague-dawley rats: impact of age, sex, social activity, and social anxiety-like behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varlinskaya, Elena I; Truxell, Eric M; Spear, Linda P

    2015-01-01

    In human adolescents, heavy drinking is often predicted by high sociability in males and high social anxiety in females. This study assessed the impact of baseline levels of social activity and social anxiety-like behavior in group-housed adolescent and adult male and female Sprague-Dawley rats on ethanol (EtOH) intake when drinking alone or in a social group. Social activity and anxiety-like behavior initially were assessed in a modified social interaction test, followed by 6 drinking sessions that occurred every other day in animals given ad libitum food and water. Sessions consisted of 30-minute access to 10% EtOH in a "supersac" (3% sucrose + 0.1% saccharin) solution given alone as well as in groups of 5 same-sex littermates, with order of the alternating session types counterbalanced across animals. Adolescent males and adults of both sexes overall consumed more EtOH under social than alone circumstances, whereas adolescent females ingested more EtOH when alone. Highly socially active adolescent males demonstrated elevated levels of EtOH intake relative to their low and medium socially active counterparts when drinking in groups, but not when tested alone. Adolescent females with high levels of social anxiety-like behavior demonstrated the highest EtOH intake under social, but not alone circumstances. Among adults, baseline levels of social anxiety-like behavior did not contribute to individual differences in EtOH intake in either sex. The results clearly demonstrate that in adolescent rats, but not their adult counterparts, responsiveness to a social peer predicts EtOH intake in a social setting-circumstances under which drinking typically occurs in human adolescents. High levels of social activity in males and high levels of social anxiety-like behavior in females were associated with elevated social drinking, suggesting that males ingest EtOH for its socially enhancing properties, whereas females ingest EtOH for its socially anxiolytic effects. Copyright

  7. Highlighting ethical decisions underlying the scoring of animal welfare in the Welfare Quality® scheme

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Veissier, I.; Jensen, Karsten Klint; Botreau, R.

    2011-01-01

    dimension of scoring and labelling does not mean that we should reject them, but it does mean that we need to make the normative and ethical background explicit. The Welfare Quality® scoring system is used as a case study in order to highlight the role of underlying value-based decisions. In this scoring......, but the rules governing the assignment of an animal unit to a category take into account what had been observed on European farms. The scientists behind Welfare Quality® are keen to make the value-based choices underlying assessments of animal welfare transparent. This is essential to allow stakeholder groups......All systems of scoring animal units (groups, farms, slaughter plants, etc.) according to the level of the animals’ welfare are based inevitably on normative decisions. Similarly, all methods of labelling, in terms of acceptability, are based on choices reflecting ethical values. The evaluative...

  8. Disrupted cortical function underlies behavior dysfunction due to social isolation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miyazaki, Tomoyuki; Takase, Kenkichi; Nakajima, Waki; Tada, Hirobumi; Ohya, Daisuke; Sano, Akane; Goto, Takahisa; Hirase, Hajime; Malinow, Roberto; Takahashi, Takuya

    2012-01-01

    Stressful events during early childhood can have a profound lifelong influence on emotional and cognitive behaviors. However, the mechanisms by which stress affects neonatal brain circuit formation are poorly understood. Here, we show that neonatal social isolation disrupts molecular, cellular, and circuit developmental processes, leading to behavioral dysfunction. Neonatal isolation prevented long-term potentiation and experience-dependent synaptic trafficking of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA) receptors normally occurring during circuit formation in the rodent barrel cortex. This inhibition of AMPA receptor trafficking was mediated by an increase of the stress glucocorticoid hormone and was associated with reduced calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase type II (CaMKII) signaling, resulting in attenuated whisker sensitivity at the cortex. These effects led to defects in whisker-dependent behavior in juvenile animals. These results indicate that neonatal social isolation alters neuronal plasticity mechanisms and perturbs the initial establishment of a normal cortical circuit, which potentially explains the long-lasting behavioral effects of neonatal stress. PMID:22706303

  9. Enhancing human-animal relationships through veterinary medical instruction in animal-assisted therapy and animal-assisted activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schaffer, Caroline Brunsman

    2008-01-01

    Instruction in animal-assisted therapy (AAT) and animal-assisted activities (AAAs) teaches veterinary medical students to confidently and assertively maximize the benefits and minimize the risks of this union of animals and people. Instruction in AAT/AAA also addresses requirements by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education that accredited schools/colleges of veterinary medicine include in their standard curriculum the topics of the human-animal bond, behavior, and the contributions of the veterinarian to the overall public and professional health care teams. Entry-level veterinarians should be prepared to: (1) assure that animals who provide AAT/AAA are healthy enough to visit nursing homes, hospitals, or other institutions; (2) promote behavior testing that selects animals who will feel safe, comfortable, and connected; (3) advise facilities regarding infection control and ways to provide a safe environment where the animals, their handlers, and the people being visited will not be injured or become ill; and (4) advocate for their patients and show compassion for their clients when animals are determined to be inappropriate participants in AAT/AAA programs. This article presents AAT/AAA terminology, ways in which veterinarians can advocate for AAT/AAA, the advantages of being involved in AAT/AAA, a model AAT/AAA practicum from Tuskegee University's School of Veterinary Medicine (TUSVM), and examples of co-curricular activities in AAT/AAA by TUSVM's student volunteers.

  10. Experimental methods in behavioral teratology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zbinden, G.

    1981-09-01

    Efforts are made to develop toxicological techniques with which new behavioral teratogens can be recognized. The review describes the most important experimental methods which are presently explored, and which are based on a rich body of knowledge accumulated by experimental psychologists. Most of the tests were developed with small animals, mostly with rats. They range from the rather straightforward determination of various reflexes to complex behavioral situations involving mechanical devices, operant conditioning techniques and procedures evaluating social behavior. In applying these methods in routine toxicology, it is important to remember, that many behavioral effects determined in newborn and adult animals are subtle. Moreover, they are influenced by a large variety of environmental factors affecting the health and the behavior of the mothers and of the offspring in the early and later phases of development. Therefore, the experiments must be conducted under highly standardized conditions and must be controlled rigorously. It is concluded that the best experimental strategy for the evaluation of potential behavioral teratogens is not yet established. Therefore, it would be premature to decide on a fixed protocol to be included in routine animal safety experiments for drugs and other chemical substances.

  11. Peripubertal exposure to environmental enrichment prevents schizophrenia-like behaviors in the SHR strain animal model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Camila Mauricio; Peres, Fernanda Fiel; Diana, Mariana Cepollaro; Justi, Veronica; Suiama, Mayra Akimi; Santana, Marcela Gonçalves; Abílio, Vanessa Costhek

    2016-10-01

    Schizophrenia is a highly disabling mental disorder, in which genetics and environmental factors interact culminating in the disease. The treatment of negative symptoms and cognitive deficits with antipsychotics is currently inefficient and is an important field of research. Environmental enrichment (EE) has been suggested to improve some cognitive deficits in animal models of various psychiatric disorders. In this study, we aimed to evaluate a possible beneficial effect of early and long-term exposure to EE on an animal model of schizophrenia, the SHR strain. Young male Wistar rats (control strain) and SHRs (21 post-natal days) were housed for 6weeks in two different conditions: in large cages (10 animals per cage) containing objects of different textures, forms, colors and materials that were changed 3 times/week (EE condition) or in standard cages (5 animals per cage - Control condition). Behavioral evaluations - social interaction (SI), locomotion, prepulse inhibition of startle (PPI) and spontaneous alternation (SA) - were performed 6weeks after the end of EE. SHRs presented deficits in PPI (a sensorimotor impairment), SI (mimicking the negative symptoms) and SA (a working memory deficit), and also hyperlocomotion (modeling the positive symptoms). EE was able to reduce locomotion and increase PPI in both strains, and to prevent the working memory deficit in SHRs. EE also increased the number of neurons in the CA1 and CA3 of the hippocampus. In conclusion, EE can be a potential nonpharmacological strategy to prevent some behavioral deficits associated with schizophrenia. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. [The battery of tests for behavioral phenotyping of aging animals in the experiment].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorina, Ya V; Komleva, Yu K; Lopatina, O L; Volkova, V V; Chernykh, A I; Shabalova, A A; Semenchukov, A A; Olovyannikova, R Ya; Salmina, A B

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to develop a battery of tests to study social and cognitive impairments for behavioral phenotyping of aging experimental animals with physiological neurodegeneration. Object of the study were outbred CD1 mice in the following groups: 1st group - 12-month old male mice (physiological aging); 2nd group - 2-month old male mice (control group). Social recognition test, elevated plus maze test (EPM), open field test, light-dark box test, and Fear conditioning protocol were used to estimate the neurological status of experimental animals. We found that aging male mice in a contrast to young ones have demonstrated lower social interest to female mice in the social recognition task. EPM and light-dark box tests showed increased level of anxiety in the group of aged mice comparing to the control group. Fear conditioning protocol revealed impairment of associative learning and memory in the group of aged mice, particularly, fear memory consolidation was dramatically suppressed. Analysis of behavioral factors, social interactions and anxiety level in the experimental mice has confirmed age-related neurodegeneration in the 1st group. We found that the most informative approach to identifying neurological impairments in aging mice (social interaction deficit, limitation of interests, increased level of anxiety) should be based on the open field test light-dark box test, and Fear conditioning protocol. Such combination allows obtaining new data on behavioral alterations in the age-associated of neurodegeneration and to develop novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of age-related brain pathology.

  13. Galvanotactic behavior of Tetrahymena pyriformis under electric fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Dal Hyung; Kim, Paul Seung Soo; Kim, Min Jun; Lee, Kyoungwoo; Kim, JinSeok

    2013-01-01

    Tetrahymena pyriformis, a eukaryotic ciliate, swims toward a cathode in straight or cross-shaped microchannels under an applied electric field, a behavioral response called cathodal galvanotaxis. In straight channel experiments, a one-dimensional electric field was applied, and the galvanotactic swimming behavior of Tetrahymena pyriformis was observed and described in detail while the polarity of this field is switched. In most individual cases, the cell would immediately switch its direction toward the cathode; however, exceptional cases have been observed where cells exhibit a turning delay or do not turn after a polarity switch. In cross-channel experiments, feedback control using vision-based tracking was used to steer a cell in the microchannel intersection using a two-dimensional electric field generated by four electrodes placed at four ends of the cross channel. The motivation for this work is to study the swimming behavior of Tetrahymena pyriformis as a microrobot under the control of electric fields. (paper)

  14. Coordinated Feeding Behavior in Trichoplax, an Animal without Synapses.

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    Carolyn L Smith

    Full Text Available Trichoplax is a small disk-shaped marine metazoan that adheres to substrates and locomotes by ciliary gliding. Despite having only six cell types and lacking synapses Trichoplax coordinates a complex sequence of behaviors culminating in external digestion of algae. We combine live cell imaging with electron microscopy to show how this is accomplished. When Trichoplax glides over a patch of algae, its cilia stop beating so it ceases moving. A subset of one of the cell types, lipophils, simultaneously secretes granules whose content rapidly lyses algae. This secretion is accurately targeted, as only lipophils located near algae release granules. The animal pauses while the algal content is ingested, and then resumes gliding. Global control of gliding is coordinated with precise local control of lipophil secretion suggesting the presence of mechanisms for cellular communication and integration.

  15. Using robots to understand animal cognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frohnwieser, Anna; Murray, John C; Pike, Thomas W; Wilkinson, Anna

    2016-01-01

    In recent years, robotic animals and humans have been used to answer a variety of questions related to behavior. In the case of animal behavior, these efforts have largely been in the field of behavioral ecology. They have proved to be a useful tool for this enterprise as they allow the presentation of naturalistic social stimuli whilst providing the experimenter with full control of the stimulus. In interactive experiments, the behavior of robots can be controlled in a manner that is impossible with real animals, making them ideal instruments for the study of social stimuli in animals. This paper provides an overview of the current state of the field and considers the impact that the use of robots could have on fundamental questions related to comparative psychology: namely, perception, spatial cognition, social cognition, and early cognitive development. We make the case that the use of robots to investigate these key areas could have an important impact on the field of animal cognition. © 2016 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

  16. The role of conditioning, learning and dopamine in sexual behavior: a narrative review of animal and human studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brom, Mirte; Both, Stephanie; Laan, Ellen; Everaerd, Walter; Spinhoven, Philip

    2014-01-01

    Many theories of human sexual behavior assume that sexual stimuli obtain arousing properties through associative learning processes. It is widely accepted that classical conditioning contributes to the etiology of both normal and maladaptive human behaviors. Despite the hypothesized importance of basic learning processes in sexual behavior, research on classical conditioning of the sexual response in humans is scarce. In the present paper, animal studies and studies in humans on the role of pavlovian conditioning on sexual responses are reviewed. Animal research shows robust, direct effects of conditioning processes on partner- and place preference. On the contrast, the empirical research with humans in this area is limited and earlier studies within this field are plagued by methodological confounds. Although recent experimental demonstrations of human sexual conditioning are neither numerous nor robust, sexual arousal showed to be conditionable in both men and women. The present paper serves to highlight the major empirical findings and to renew the insight in how stimuli can acquire sexually arousing value. Hereby also related neurobiological processes in reward learning are discussed. Finally, the connections between animal and human research on the conditionability of sexual responses are discussed, and suggestions for future directions in human research are given. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Energy landscapes shape animal movement ecology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shepard, Emily L C; Wilson, Rory P; Rees, W Gareth; Grundy, Edward; Lambertucci, Sergio A; Vosper, Simon B

    2013-09-01

    The metabolic costs of animal movement have been studied extensively under laboratory conditions, although frequently these are a poor approximation of the costs of operating in the natural, heterogeneous environment. Construction of "energy landscapes," which relate animal locality to the cost of transport, can clarify whether, to what extent, and how movement properties are attributable to environmental heterogeneity. Although behavioral responses to aspects of the energy landscape are well documented in some fields (notably, the selection of tailwinds by aerial migrants) and scales (typically large), the principles of the energy landscape extend across habitat types and spatial scales. We provide a brief synthesis of the mechanisms by which environmentally driven changes in the cost of transport can modulate the behavioral ecology of animal movement in different media, develop example cost functions for movement in heterogeneous environments, present methods for visualizing these energy landscapes, and derive specific predictions of expected outcomes from individual- to population- and species-level processes. Animals modulate a suite of movement parameters (e.g., route, speed, timing of movement, and tortuosity) in relation to the energy landscape, with the nature of their response being related to the energy savings available. Overall, variation in movement costs influences the quality of habitat patches and causes nonrandom movement of individuals between them. This can provide spatial and/or temporal structure to a range of population- and species-level processes, ultimately including gene flow. Advances in animal-attached technology and geographic information systems are opening up new avenues for measuring and mapping energy landscapes that are likely to provide new insight into their influence in animal ecology.

  18. Early deprivation increases high-leaning behavior, a novel anxiety-like behavior, in the open field test in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuniishi, Hiroshi; Ichisaka, Satoshi; Yamamoto, Miki; Ikubo, Natsuko; Matsuda, Sae; Futora, Eri; Harada, Riho; Ishihara, Kohei; Hata, Yoshio

    2017-10-01

    The open field test is one of the most popular ethological tests to assess anxiety-like behavior in rodents. In the present study, we examined the effect of early deprivation (ED), a model of early life stress, on anxiety-like behavior in rats. In ED animals, we failed to find significant changes in the time spent in the center or thigmotaxis area of the open field, the common indexes of anxiety-like behavior. However, we found a significant increase in high-leaning behavior in which animals lean against the wall standing on their hindlimbs while touching the wall with their forepaws at a high position. The high-leaning behavior was decreased by treatment with an anxiolytic, diazepam, and it was increased under intense illumination as observed in the center activity. In addition, we compared the high-leaning behavior and center activity under various illumination intensities and found that the high-leaning behavior is more sensitive to illumination intensity than the center activity in the particular illumination range. These results suggest that the high-leaning behavior is a novel anxiety-like behavior in the open field test that can complement the center activity to assess the anxiety state of rats. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd and Japan Neuroscience Society. All rights reserved.

  19. Animal violence demystified.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Natarajan, Deepa; Caramaschi, Doretta

    2010-01-01

    Violence has been observed in humans and animals alike, indicating its evolutionary/biological significance. However, violence in animals has often been confounded with functional forms of aggressive behavior. Currently, violence in animals is identified primarily as either a quantitative behavior (an escalated, pathological and abnormal form of aggression characterized primarily by short attack latencies, and prolonged and frequent harm-oriented conflict behaviors) or a qualitative one (characterized by attack bites aimed at vulnerable parts of the opponent's body and context independent attacks regardless of the environment or the sex and type of the opponent). Identification of an operational definition for violence thus not only helps in understanding its potential differences from adaptive forms of aggression but also in the selection of appropriate animal models for both. We address this issue theoretically by drawing parallels from research on aggression and appeasement in humans and other animals. We also provide empirical evidences for violence in mice selected for high aggression by comparing our findings with other currently available potentially violent rodent models. The following violence-specific features namely (1) Display of low levels of pre-escalatory/ritualistic behaviors. (2) Immediate and escalated offense durations with low withdrawal rates despite the opponent's submissive supine and crouching/defeat postures. (3) Context independent indiscriminate attacks aimed at familiar/unfamiliar females, anaesthetized males and opponents and in neutral environments. (4) Orientation of attack-bites toward vulnerable body parts of the opponent resulting in severe wounding. (5) Low prefrontal serotonin (5-HT) levels upon repeated aggression. (6) Low basal heart rates and hyporesponsive hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis were identified uniquely in the short attack latency (SAL) mice suggesting a qualitative difference between violence and

  20. Animal violence demystified

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deepa Natarajan

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Violence has been observed in humans and animals alike, indicating its evolutionary/ biological significance. However, violence in animals has often been confounded with functional forms of aggressive behavior. Currently, violence in animals is identified primarily as either a quantitative behavior (an escalated, pathological and abnormal form of aggression characterized primarily by short attack latencies, and prolonged and frequent harm-oriented conflict behaviors or a qualitative one (characterized by attack bites aimed at vulnerable parts of the opponent’s body and context independent attacks regardless of the environment or the sex and type of the opponent. Identification of an operational definition for violence thus not only helps in understanding its potential differences from adaptive forms of aggression but also in the selection of appropriate animal models for both. To begin with, we address this issue theoretically by drawing parallels from research on aggression and appeasement in humans and other animals. We also provide empirical evidences for violence in mice selected for high aggression by comparing our findings with other currently available potentially violent rodent models. The following violence-specific features namely 1. Display of low levels of pre-escalatory/ritualistic behaviors. 2. Immediate and escalated offense durations with low withdrawal rates despite the opponent’s submissive supine and crouching/defeat postures. 3. Context independent indiscriminate attacks aimed at familiar/unfamiliar females, anaesthetized males and opponents and in neutral environments. 4. Orientation of attack-bites toward vulnerable body parts of the opponent resulting in severe wounding 5. Low pre-frontal serotonin (5-HT levels upon repeated aggression. 6. Low basal heart rates and hyporesponsive hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA axis were identified uniquely in the short attack latency (SAL mice suggesting a qualitative

  1. Risk mitigation for children exposed to drugs during gestation: A critical role for animal preclinical behavioral testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zucker, Irving

    2017-06-01

    Many drugs with unknown safety profiles are administered to pregnant women, placing their offspring at risk. I assessed whether behavioral outcomes for children exposed during gestation to antidepressants, anxiolytics, anti-seizure, analgesic, anti-nausea and sedative medications can be predicted by more extensive animal studies than are part of the FDA approval process. Human plus rodent data were available for only 8 of 33 CNS-active drugs examined. Similar behavioral and cognitive deficits, including autism and ADHD emerged in human offspring and in animal models of these disorders after exposure to fluoxetine, valproic acid, carbamazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbital and acetaminophen. Rodent data helpful in identifying and predicting adverse effects of prenatal drug exposure in children were first generated many years after drugs were FDA-approved and administered to pregnant women. I recommend that enhanced behavioral testing of rodent offspring exposed to drugs prenatally should begin during preclinical drug evaluation and continue during Phase I clinical trials, with findings communicated to physicians and patients in drug labels. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Effects of experimental sleep deprivation on anxiety-like behavior in animal research: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pires, Gabriel Natan; Bezerra, Andréia Gomes; Tufik, Sergio; Andersen, Monica Levy

    2016-09-01

    Increased acute anxiety is a commonly reported behavioral consequence of sleep deprivation in humans. However, rodent studies conducted so far produced inconsistent results, failing to reproduce the same sleep deprivation induced-anxiety observed in clinical experiments. While some presented anxiogenesis as result of sleep deprivation, others reported anxiolysis. In face of such inconsistencies, this article explores the effects of experimental sleep deprivation on anxiety-like behavior in animal research through a systematic review and a series of meta-analyses. A total of 50 of articles met our inclusion criteria, 30 on mice, 19 on rats and one on Zebrafish. Our review shows that sleep deprivation induces a decrease in anxiety-like behavior in preclinical models, which is opposite to results observed in human settings. These results were corroborated in stratified analyses according to species, sleep deprivation method and anxiety measurement technique. In conclusion, the use of animal models for the evaluation of the relationship between sleep deprivation lacks translational applicability and new experimental tools are needed to properly evaluate sleep deprivation-induced anxiogenesis in rodents. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Social learning in humans and other animals.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean-François eGariépy

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Decisions made by individuals can be influenced by what others think and do. Social learning includes a wide array of behaviors such as imitation, observational learning of novel foraging techniques, peer or parental influences on individual preferences, as well as outright teaching. These processes are believed to underlie an important part of cultural variation among human populations and may also explain intraspecific variation in behavior between geographically distinct populations of animals. Recent neurobiological studies have begun to uncover the neural basis of social learning. Here we review experimental evidence from the past few decades showing that social learning is a widespread set of skills present in multiple animal species. In mammals, the temporoparietal junction, the dorsomedial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, as well as the anterior cingulate gyrus, appear to play critical roles in social learning. Birds, fish and insects also learn from others, but the underlying neural mechanisms remain poorly understood. We discuss the evolutionary implications of these findings and highlight the importance of emerging animal models that permit precise modification of neural circuit function for elucidating the neural basis of social learning.

  4. Animal-assisted therapy with chronic psychiatric inpatients: equine-assisted psychotherapy and aggressive behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nurenberg, Jeffry R; Schleifer, Steven J; Shaffer, Thomas M; Yellin, Mary; Desai, Prital J; Amin, Ruchi; Bouchard, Axel; Montalvo, Cristina

    2015-01-01

    Animal-assisted therapy (AAT), most frequently used with dogs, is being used increasingly as an adjunctive alternative treatment for psychiatric patients. AAT with larger animals, such as horses, may have unique benefits. In this randomized controlled study, equine and canine forms of AAT were compared with standard treatments for hospitalized psychiatric patients to determine AAT effects on violent behavior and related measures. The study included 90 patients with recent in-hospital violent behavior or highly regressed behavior. Hospitalization at the 500-bed state psychiatric hospital was two months or longer (mean 5.4 years). Participants were randomly selected to receive ten weekly group therapy sessions of standardized equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP), canine-assisted psychotherapy (CAP), enhanced social skills psychotherapy, or regular hospital care. Participants' mean age was 44, 37% were female, 76% had diagnoses of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, and 56% had been committed involuntarily for civil or forensic reasons. Violence-related incident reports filed by staff in the three months after study intake were compared with reports two months preintake. Interventions were well tolerated. Analyses revealed an intervention group effect (F=3.00, df=3 and 86, p=.035); post hoc tests showed specific benefits of EAP (p<.05). Similar AAT effects were found for the incidence of 1:1 clinical observation (F=2.70, df=3 and 86, p=.051); post hoc tests suggested benefits of CAP (p=.058) as well as EAP (p=.082). Covariance analyses indicated that staff can predict which patients are likely to benefit from EAP (p=.01). AAT, and perhaps EAP uniquely, may be an effective therapeutic modality for long-term psychiatric patients at risk of violence.

  5. Behavioral Modulation by Spontaneous Activity of Dopamine Neurons

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Toshiharu Ichinose

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Dopamine modulates a variety of animal behaviors that range from sleep and learning to courtship and aggression. Besides its well-known phasic firing to natural reward, a substantial number of dopamine neurons (DANs are known to exhibit ongoing intrinsic activity in the absence of an external stimulus. While accumulating evidence points at functional implications for these intrinsic “spontaneous activities” of DANs in cognitive processes, a causal link to behavior and its underlying mechanisms has yet to be elucidated. Recent physiological studies in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster have uncovered that DANs in the fly brain are also spontaneously active, and that this activity reflects the behavioral/internal states of the animal. Strikingly, genetic manipulation of basal DAN activity resulted in behavioral alterations in the fly, providing critical evidence that links spontaneous DAN activity to behavioral states. Furthermore, circuit-level analyses have started to reveal cellular and molecular mechanisms that mediate or regulate spontaneous DAN activity. Through reviewing recent findings in different animals with the major focus on flies, we will discuss potential roles of this physiological phenomenon in directing animal behaviors.

  6. Approval of raxibacumab for the treatment of inhalation anthrax under the US Food and Drug Administration Animal rule

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chia-Wei eTsai

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available On December 14, 2012, the FDA approved raxibacumab, the first product developed under Project BioShield to achieve this milestone, and the first biologic product to be approved through the FDA animal efficacy rule (or Animal Rule. Raxibacumab is approved for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with inhalational anthrax due to Bacillus anthracis in combination with appropriate antibiotic drugs and for prophylaxis of inhalational anthrax when alternative therapies are not available or are not appropriate. The approval of Raxibacumab illustrates many of the challenges that product developers may encounter when pursuing approval under the Animal Rule and highlights a number of important regulatory and policy issues.

  7. Behaviors induced or disrupted by complex partial seizures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leung, L S; Ma, J; McLachlan, R S

    2000-09-01

    We reviewed the neural mechanisms underlying some postictal behaviors that are induced or disrupted by temporal lobe seizures in humans and animals. It is proposed that the psychomotor behaviors and automatisms induced by temporal lobe seizures are mediated by the nucleus accumbens. A non-convulsive hippocampal afterdischarge in rats induced an increase in locomotor activity, which was suppressed by the injection of dopamine D(2) receptor antagonist in the nucleus accumbens, and blocked by inactivation of the medial septum. In contrast, a convulsive hippocampal or amygdala seizure induced behavioral hypoactivity, perhaps by the spread of the seizure into the frontal cortex and opiate-mediated postictal depression. Mechanisms underlying postictal psychosis, memory disruption and other long-term behavioral alterations after temporal lobe seizures, are discussed. In conclusion, many of the changes of postictal behaviors observed after temporal lobe seizures in humans may be found in animals, and the basis of the behavioral change may be explained as a change in neural processing in the temporal lobe and the connecting subcortical structures.

  8. Interpreting the Effects of Pulse Remagnetization on Animal Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirschvink, J. L.; Wang, C. X.; Golash, H. N.; Hilburn, I. A.; Wu, D. A.; Crucilla, S. J.; Badal, Y. D.; Shimojo, S.

    2017-12-01

    Observations of geomagnetic sensitivity by migratory and homing animals have puzzled biophysicists for over 70 years. Widely dismissed as biophysically implausible due to the lack of physiological ferromagnetic materials [e.g., D.R. Griffin, 1944, 1952], clear and reproducible responses to earth-strength magnetic fields is now firmly established in organisms ranging from Bacteria, Protists, and Animals from numerous phyla, including mollusks, arthropods, and the chordates. Behavior demands sensory transduction, as external stimuli only `get into the nervous system' through sensory cells specialized to transduce the physical stimulus into a modulated stream of action potentials in neurons. Three basic biophysical mechanisms could plausibly explain the biophysical transduction of geomagnetic cues, including electrical induction, hyperfine magnetic field effects on photo-activated free radicals (the `Quantum Compass'), or receptor cells containing biologically-precipitated crystals of a ferromagnetic mineral like magnetite (Fe3O4). The definitive test of a ferromagnetic receptor is the pulse-remagnetization experiment, in which you apply a brief, unidirectional magnetic pulse of about 1 mS in duration, configured to exceed the coercive force of the SD particles and reverse the orientation of the magnetic moment wrt to the crystal axis (typically, a pulse few tens of mT is adequate). A pulse configured in this fashion can be well below the dB/dt level needed to fire a sensory nerve through the induced electric fields. The pulse produces a permanent flip in magnetization direction, the same way information is coded on magnetic tape. Magnetotactic bacteria, exposed to such a pulse, reverse their magnetic swimming directions passively. There are now over 16 peer-reviewed papers in which this experiment has been applied to animals, including birds, all of which show clear and long-lasting effects of the pulse. Such a pulse would have no lasting effect on a quantum compass

  9. Animal welfare and the human-animal bond: considerations for veterinary faculty, students, and practitioners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wensley, Sean P

    2008-01-01

    Consideration of the human-animal bond typically focuses on the benefits of companion animals to human health and well-being, but it is essential that in realizing these benefits the welfare needs of the animals, both physical and mental, are also met. Positive emotional relationships with animals are likely to increase recognition of animal sentience and so help create positive attitudes toward animals at the societal level, but, at the individual level, the animals to which humans are bonded should also benefit from the human-animal relationship. A strong human-animal bond may benefit animal welfare (e.g., by motivating an owner to commit time and funds to necessary veterinary medical treatment), but may also be the source of compromised welfare. Highly bonded owners may, for example, be reluctant to permit euthanasia on humane grounds, and the anthropomorphic nature of many human-companion animal bonds can contribute to the development of problem behaviors and obesity. The challenge for the veterinary profession is to ensure that widespread positive sentiment toward animals, which the human-animal bond generates, is translated in to human behavior and actions that are conducive to good animal welfare. This, it is suggested, can be achieved through adequate veterinary education in veterinary and animal welfare science, ethics, and communication.

  10. Study on reinforced lightweight coconut shell concrete beam behavior under shear

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gunasekaran, K.; Annadurai, R.; Kumar, P.S.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • Coconut shell used as aggregate in concrete production. • Coconut shell concrete beam behavior studied under shear. • Coconut shell concrete beam behavior are compared with control concrete beams. - Abstract: Lightweight concrete has been produced using crushed coconut shell as coarse aggregate. The shear behavior of reinforced concrete beam made with coconut shell is analyzed and compared with the normal control concrete. Eight beams, four with coconut shell concrete and four with normal control concrete were fabricated and tested. Study includes the structural shear behavior, shear capacity, cracking behavior, deflection behavior, ductility, strains in concrete and in reinforcement. It was observed that the shear behavior of coconut shell concrete is comparable to that of other lightweight concretes. The results of concrete compression strain and steel tension strain showed that coconut shell concrete is able to achieve its full strain capacity under shear loadings. However, the failure zones of coconut shell concrete were larger than for control concrete beams

  11. Animal models of binge drinking, current challenges to improve face validity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeanblanc, Jérôme; Rolland, Benjamin; Gierski, Fabien; Martinetti, Margaret P; Naassila, Mickael

    2018-05-05

    Binge drinking (BD), i.e., consuming a large amount of alcohol in a short period of time, is an increasing public health issue. Though no clear definition has been adopted worldwide the speed of drinking seems to be a keystone of this behavior. Developing relevant animal models of BD is a priority for gaining a better characterization of the neurobiological and psychobiological mechanisms underlying this dangerous and harmful behavior. Until recently, preclinical research on BD has been conducted mostly using forced administration of alcohol, but more recent studies used scheduled access to alcohol, to model more voluntary excessive intakes, and to achieve signs of intoxications that mimic the human behavior. The main challenges for future research are discussed regarding the need of good face validity, construct validity and predictive validity of animal models of BD. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Meat morals: relationship between meat consumption consumer attitudes towards human and animal welfare and moral behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Backer, Charlotte J S; Hudders, Liselot

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this work is to explore the relation between morality and diet choice by investigating how animal and human welfare attitudes and donation behaviors can predict a meat eating versus flexitarian versus vegetarian diet. The results of a survey study (N=299) show that animal health concerns (measured by the Animal Attitude Scale) can predict diet choice. Vegetarians are most concerned, while full-time meat eaters are least concerned, and the contrast between flexitarians and vegetarians is greater than the contrast between flexitarians and full-time meat eaters. With regards to human welfare (measured by the Moral Foundations Questionnaire), results show that attitudes towards human suffering set flexitarians apart from vegetarians and attitudes towards authority and respect distinguish between flexitarians and meat eaters. To conclude, results show that vegetarians donate more often to animal oriented charities than flexitarians and meat eaters, while no differences between the three diet groups occur for donations to human oriented charities. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Animal Models of Speech and Vocal Communication Deficits Associated With Psychiatric Disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konopka, Genevieve; Roberts, Todd F

    2016-01-01

    Disruptions in speech, language, and vocal communication are hallmarks of several neuropsychiatric disorders, most notably autism spectrum disorders. Historically, the use of animal models to dissect molecular pathways and connect them to behavioral endophenotypes in cognitive disorders has proven to be an effective approach for developing and testing disease-relevant therapeutics. The unique aspects of human language compared with vocal behaviors in other animals make such an approach potentially more challenging. However, the study of vocal learning in species with analogous brain circuits to humans may provide entry points for understanding this human-specific phenotype and diseases. We review animal models of vocal learning and vocal communication and specifically link phenotypes of psychiatric disorders to relevant model systems. Evolutionary constraints in the organization of neural circuits and synaptic plasticity result in similarities in the brain mechanisms for vocal learning and vocal communication. Comparative approaches and careful consideration of the behavioral limitations among different animal models can provide critical avenues for dissecting the molecular pathways underlying cognitive disorders that disrupt speech, language, and vocal communication. Copyright © 2016 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Behavioral pattern of Rohilkhandi kids under different feeding systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anjali Kumari

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Aim: The present study designed to evaluate the effect of different feeding systems on the behavior of local Rohilkhandi kids. Materials and Methods: A total of 21 growing goats (local goat of Rohilkhand region, weighing around 7-11 kg and aging 4-5 months, were used. These animals were kept in three groups. Group I was fed un-chopped green fodder in circular feeder (newly designed. Group II was fed un-chopped green fodder in linear feeder that was similar to the existing farm practice. Group III was fed chopped green fodder in linear feeder (modified version. Amount of concentrate and dry fodder fed was kept constant for all the three groups subject to equal increment in accordance with their increasing age. Adlibitum green fodder was made available to the animals. The experiment was conducted for 3 months. On-going behavior was recorded each day 4 h (2 h in the morning from 9:00 am to 11:00 am, after offering the feed, and same was repeated for 2 h in the afternoon, i.e., from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm was made between 9 am and 5 pm. The individual behaviors, viz., feeding, drinking, lying down, ruminating, idling, butting, pressing, pushing, frontal clashing, and physical displacement at feed barrier (active and passive: Without physical contact of the goat were recorded using time-sampling method. Further, incidental activities such as defecation and urination were also recorded. Results: Among all the groups, butting, head to head, and pushing were the common agonistic behavior found but values did not differ significantly. The pushing while feeding was relatively less in Group II (0.22±0.04 min which differed significantly (p<0.05 from the other two groups. The idling time was found significantly (p<0.05 lower in Group II (1.68±0.21 as compared to Group I (4.67±0.52 and Group III (4.27±0.56. Time spent in rumination near the feeding trough as well as away from the feeding trough was also significantly higher in Group I (p<0.05 than the other

  15. Fatigue crack growth behavior under cyclic thermal transient stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ueda, Masahiro; Kano, Takashi; Yoshitoshi, Atsushi.

    1986-01-01

    Thermal fatigue tests were performed using straight pipe specimens subjected to cyclic thermal shocks of liquid sodium, and crack growth behaviors were estimated using striation patterns observed clearly on any crack surface. Crack growth rate under cyclic thermal strain reaches the maximum at one depth, and after that it decreases gradually with crack depth. The peak location of crack growth rate becomes deeper by superposition of constant primary stress. Parallel cracks co-existing in the neighborhood move the peak to shallower location and decrease the maximum crack growth rate. The equivalent stress intensity factor range calculated by Walker's formula is successfully applied to the case of negative stress ratio. Fatigue crack growth rate under cyclic thermal strain agreed well with that under the constant temperature equal to the maximum value in the thermal cycle. Simplified methods for calculating the stress intensity factor and the crack interference factor have been developed. Crack growth behavior under thermal fatigue could be well predicted using numerical analysis results. (author)

  16. Fatigue crack growth behavior under cyclic transient thermal stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ueda, Masahiro; Kano, Takashi; Yoshitoshi, Atsushi.

    1987-01-01

    Thermal fatigue tests were performed using straight pipe specimens subjected to cyclic thermal shocks of liquid sodium, and crack growth behaviors were estimated using striation patterns observed clearly on any crack surface. Crack growth rate under cyclic thermal strain reaches the maximum at one depth, and after that it decreases gradually with crack depth. The peak location of crack growth rate becomes deeper by superposition of constant primary stress. Parallel cracks co-existing in the neighborhood move the peak to shallower location and decrease the maximum crack growth rate. The equivalent stress intensity factor range calculated by Walker's formula is successfully applied to the case of negative stress ratio. Fatigue crack growth rate under cyclic thermal strain agreed well with that under the constant temperature equal to the maximum value in the thermal cycle. Simplified methods for calculating the stress intensity factor and the crack interference factor have been developed. Crack growth behavior under thermal fatigue could be well predicted using numerical analysis results. (author)

  17. Animal behaviour learning environment: software to facilitate learning in canine and feline behavior therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGreevy, P D; Della Torre, P K; Evans, D L

    2003-01-01

    Interactive software has been developed on CD-ROM to facilitate learning of problem formulation, diagnostic methodology, and therapeutic options in dog and cat behavior problems. Students working in small groups are presented with a signalment, a case history, and brief description of the problem behavior as perceived by the client. Students then navigate through the case history by asking the client questions from an icon-driven question pad. Animated video responses to the questions are provided. Students are then required to rate the significance of the questions and answers with respect to the development of the unwelcome behavior. Links to online self-assessments and to resource materials about causation and treatment options are provided to assist students in their decision-making process. The activity concludes with a software-generated e-mail submission that includes the recorded history, diagnosis, and recommended treatment for assessment purposes.

  18. The role of progestins in the behavioral effects of cocaine and other drugs of abuse: human and animal research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anker, Justin J; Carroll, Marilyn E

    2010-11-01

    This review summarizes findings from human and animal research investigating the influence of progesterone and its metabolites allopreganolone and pregnanolone (progestins) on the effects of cocaine and other drugs of abuse. Since a majority of these studies have used cocaine, this will be the primary focus; however, the influence of progestins on other drugs of abuse will also be discussed. Collectively, findings from these studies support a role for progestins in (1) attenuating the subjective and physiological effects of cocaine in humans, (2) blocking the reinforcing and other behavioral effects of cocaine in animal models of drug abuse, and (3) influencing behavioral responses to other drugs of abuse such as alcohol and nicotine in animals. Administration of several drugs of abuse in both human and nonhuman animals significantly increased progestin levels, and this is explained in terms of progestins acting as homeostatic regulators that decrease and normalize heightened stress and reward responses which lead to increased drug craving and relapse. The findings discussed here highlight the complexity of progestin-drug interactions, and they suggest a possible use for these agents in understanding the etiology of and developing treatments for drug abuse. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Safety Evaluations Under the Proposed US Safe Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Act of 2013 : Animal Use and Cost Estimates

    OpenAIRE

    Knight, Jean; Rovida, Costanza

    2014-01-01

    The proposed Safe Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Act of 2013 calls for a new evaluation program for cosmetic ingredients in the US, with the new assessments initially dependent on expanded animal testing. This paper considers possible testing scenarios under the proposed Act and estimates the number of test animals and cost under each scenario. It focuses on the impact for the first 10 years of testing, the period of greatest impact on animals and costs. The analysis suggests the first ...

  20. [Animal ethics in the 19th century and Swiss animal protection law].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bloch, I

    2018-01-01

    The development of animal ethics and animal rights from the antiquity up to modern times is described. The relationship of humans to animals was primarily based on fear and animal cult, developed by the domestication to a partnership. The philosophers of the early modern age denied the animals the reason, what was disadvantageous to the position of the animals in the society and the behavior of humans to the animals. By the end of the 19th century the animal protection concept developed with numerous postulates for legal regulations. With the Swiss animal protection law, which came into force in 1981, most of the postulates could be realised. It is shown, how animal protection has developed since that time.

  1. Experiments in Animal Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polt, James M.

    1971-01-01

    Describes experiments in conditioning, sensory processes, social behavior, imprinting, innate preferences for color and form, and discrimination learning suitable for secondary school students. Mealworms, crickets, and chicks are used as subjects. (AL)

  2. Crack closure and growth behavior of short fatigue cracks under random loading (part I : details of crack closure behavior)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Shin Young; Song, Ji Ho

    2000-01-01

    Crack closure and growth behavior of physically short fatigue cracks under random loading are investigated by performing narrow-and wide-band random loading tests for various stress ratios. Artificially prepared two-dimensional, short through-thickness cracks are used. The closure behavior of short cracks under random loading is discussed, comparing with that of short cracks under constant-amplitude loading and also that of long cracks under random loading. Irrespective of random loading spectrum or block length, the crack opening load of short cracks is much lower under random loading than under constant-amplitude loading corresponding to the largest load cycle in a random load history, contrary to the behavior of long cracks that the crack opening load under random loading is nearly the same as or slightly higher than constant-amplitude results. This result indicates that the largest load cycle in a random load history has an effect to enhance crack opening of short cracks

  3. Resveratrol Prevents Cellular and Behavioral Sensory Alterations in the Animal Model of Autism Induced by Valproic Acid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mellanie Fontes-Dutra

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Autism spectrum disorder (ASD is characterized by impairments in both social communication and interaction and repetitive or stereotyped behaviors. Although its etiology remains unknown, genetic and environmental risk factors have been associated with this disorder, including the exposure to valproic acid (VPA during pregnancy. Resveratrol (RSV is an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant molecule known to prevent social impairments in the VPA animal model of autism. This study aimed to analyze the effects of prenatal exposure to VPA, as well as possible preventive effects of RSV, on sensory behavior, the localization of GABAergic parvalbumin (PV+ neurons in sensory brain regions and the expression of proteins of excitatory and inhibitory synapses. Pregnant rats were treated daily with RSV (3.6 mg/kg from E6.5 to E18.5 and injected with VPA (600 mg/kg in the E12.5. Male pups were analyzed in Nest Seeking (NS behavior and in whisker nuisance task (WNT. At P30, the tissues were removed and analyzed by immunofluorescence and western blotting. Our data showed for the first time an altered localization of PV+-neurons in primary sensory cortex and amygdala. We also showed a reduced level of gephyrin in the primary somatosensory area (PSSA of VPA animals. The treatment with RSV prevented all the aforementioned alterations triggered by VPA. Our data shed light on the relevance of sensory component in ASD and highlights the interplay between RSV and VPA animal model as an important tool to investigate the pathophysiology of ASD.

  4. Modelling human behaviours and reactions under dangerous environment

    OpenAIRE

    Kang, J; Wright, D K; Qin, S F; Zhao, Y

    2005-01-01

    This paper describes the framework of a real-time simulation system to model human behavior and reactions in dangerous environments. The system utilizes the latest 3D computer animation techniques, combined with artificial intelligence, robotics and psychology, to model human behavior, reactions and decision making under expected/unexpected dangers in real-time in virtual environments. The development of the system includes: classification on the conscious/subconscious behaviors and reactions...

  5. The dynamic behavior of mortar under impact-loading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawai, Nobuaki; Inoue, Kenji; Misawa, Satoshi; Tanaka, Kyoji; Hayashi, Shizuo; Kondo, Ken-Ichi; Riedel, Werner

    2007-06-01

    Concrete and mortar are the most fundamental structural material. Therefore, considerable interest in characterizing the dynamic behavior of them under impact-loading exists. In this study, plate impact experiments have been performed to determine the dynamic behavior of mortar. Longitudinal and lateral stresses have been directly measured by means of embedded polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) gauges up to 1 GPa. A 200 mm-cal. powder gun enable us to measure longitudinal and lateral stresses at several point from the impact surface, simultaneously. The shear strength under impact-loading has been obtained from measured longitudinal and lateral stresses. The longitudinal stress profile shows a two-wave structure. It is indicated that this structure is associated with the onset of pore compaction and failure of mortar by comparing with hydrocode simulations using an elastic-plastic damage model for concrete.

  6. Communication in Animal Social Networks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Snijders, Lysanne; Naguib, Marc

    2017-01-01

    Animal social networks and animal communication networks are key disciplines for understanding animal social behavior, yet these disciplines remain poorly integrated. In this review, we show how communication and social networks are inherently linked, with social signals reflecting and affecting

  7. Neural Circuit Mechanisms of Social Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Patrick; Hong, Weizhe

    2018-04-04

    We live in a world that is largely socially constructed, and we are constantly involved in and fundamentally influenced by a broad array of complex social interactions. Social behaviors among conspecifics, either conflictive or cooperative, are exhibited by all sexually reproducing animal species and are essential for the health, survival, and reproduction of animals. Conversely, impairment in social function is a prominent feature of several neuropsychiatric disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia. Despite the importance of social behaviors, many fundamental questions remain unanswered. How is social sensory information processed and integrated in the nervous system? How are different social behavioral decisions selected and modulated in brain circuits? Here we discuss conceptual issues and recent advances in our understanding of brain regions and neural circuit mechanisms underlying the regulation of social behaviors. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Prediction of fretting fatigue behavior under elastic-plastic conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shin, Ki Su

    2009-01-01

    Fretting fatigue generally leads to the degradation of the fatigue strength of a material due to cyclic micro-slip between two contacting materials. Fretting fatigue is regarded as an important issue in designing aerospace structures. While many studies have evaluated fretting fatigue behavior under elastic deformation conditions, few have focused on fretting fatigue behavior under elastic-plastic deformation conditions, especially the crack orientation and fatigue life prediction for Ti-6Al-4V. The primary goal of this study was to characterize the fretting fatigue crack initiation behavior in the presence of plasticity. Experimental tests were performed using pad configurations involving elastic-plastic deformations. To calculate stress distributions under elastic-plastic fretting fatigue conditions, FEA was also performed. Several parametric approaches were used to predict fretting fatigue life along with stress distribution resulting from FEA. However, those parameters using surface stresses were unable to establish an equivalence between elastic fretting fatigue data and elastic-plastic fretting fatigue data. Based on this observation, the critical distance methods, which are commonly used in notch analysis, were applied to the fretting fatigue problem. In conclusion, the effective strain range method when used in conjunction with the SMSSR parameter showed a good correlation of data points between the pad configurations involving elastic and elastic plastic deformations

  9. Community Health Seeking Behavior for Suspected Human and Animal Rabies Cases, Gomma District, Southwest Ethiopia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tsegaye Tewelde G/hiwot

    Full Text Available Timely presentation to appropriate health service provider of sick animals/humans from zoonotic diseases like rabies is important for early case/outbreak detection and management. However, data on community's health seeking practice for rabies in Ethiopia is limited. Therefore the objective of this study was to determine community's health seeking behavior on rabies, Southwest Ethiopia.A cross-sectional survey was conducted from January 16-February 14, 2015 to collect data from 808 respondents where the respondents were selected using multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using interviewer administered structured questionnaire by trained epidemiology graduate level students. Data were entered to Epidata version 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 20 for windows.Eight hundred three (99.4% respondents participated in the study. Out of 28 respondents who reported their family members' exposure to rabies, 8 of them replied that the exposed family members sought treatment from traditional healers. More than nine in ten respondents perceived that humans and domestic animals with rabies exposure should seek help of which 85% of them suggested modern health care facilities as the preferred management option for the sick humans and domestic animals. However, among those who reported sick domestic animals, near to 72% of them had either slaughtered for human consumption, sold immediately, visited traditional healer, given home care or did nothing for the sick domestic animals.Majority of the respondents had favorable perception of seeking treatment from modern health care facilities for rabies. However, significant number of them had managed inappropriately for the sick domestic animals from rabies. Hence, raising awareness of the community about management of sick domestic animals from rabies and the need for reporting to both human and animal health service providers is needed.

  10. Theoretical model for the mechanical behavior of prestressed beams under torsion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sérgio M.R. Lopes

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available In this article, a global theoretical model previously developed and validated by the authors for reinforced concrete beams under torsion is reviewed and corrected in order to predict the global behavior of beams under torsion with uniform longitudinal prestress. These corrections are based on the introduction of prestress factors and on the modification of the equilibrium equations in order to incorporate the contribution of the prestressing reinforcement. The theoretical results obtained with the new model are compared with some available results of prestressed concrete (PC beams under torsion found in the literature. The results obtained in this study validate the proposed computing procedure to predict the overall behavior of PC beams under torsion.

  11. Applying incentive sensitization models to behavioral addiction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rømer Thomsen, Kristine; Fjorback, Lone; Møller, Arne

    2014-01-01

    The incentive sensitization theory is a promising model for understanding the mechanisms underlying drug addiction, and has received support in animal and human studies. So far the theory has not been applied to the case of behavioral addictions like Gambling Disorder, despite sharing clinical...... symptoms and underlying neurobiology. We examine the relevance of this theory for Gambling Disorder and point to predictions for future studies. The theory promises a significant contribution to the understanding of behavioral addiction and opens new avenues for treatment....

  12. Effects of Hypericum perforatum on turning behavior in an animal model of Parkinson's disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Débora Dalla Vecchia

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Parkinson's disease (PD is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the slow and progressive death of dopaminergic neurons in the (substantia nigra pars compact. Hypericum perforatum (H. perforatum is a plant widely used as an antidepressant, that also presents antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. We evaluated the effects of H. perforatum on the turning behavior of rats submitted to a unilateral administration of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA into the medial forebrain bundle as an animal model of PD. The animals were treated with H. perforatum (100, 200, or 400 mg/kg, v.o. for 35 consecutive days (from the 28th day before surgery to the 7th day after. The turning behavior was evaluated at 7, 14 and 21 days after the surgery, and the turnings were counted as contralateral or ipsilateral to the lesion side. All tested doses significantly reduced the number of contralateral turns in all days of evaluation, suggesting a neuroprotective effect. However, they were not able to prevent the 6-OHDA-induced decrease of tyrosine hydroxylase expression in the lesioned striatum. We propose that H. perforatum may counteract the overexpression of dopamine receptors on the lesioned striatum as a possible mechanism for this effect. The present findings provide new evidence that H. perforatum may represent a promising therapeutic tool for PD.

  13. [The opportunity to use combined stem cells transplantation for haemopoesis activation in the old and mature laboratory animals under the conditions of ionizing radiation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grebnev, D Iu; Maklakova, I Iu; Iastrebov, A P

    2014-01-01

    The objective of this work was to study the influence of combined transplantation of stem cells (multypotent mesenchimal stromal and haemopoetic stem cells) on the haemopoesis of old and mature laboratory animals under the condition of ionizing radiation. The result of the experiment shows that under physiological conditions the combined transplantation brings the erithropoesis activation, under the ionizing radiation conditions it brings the erythroid and granulocytopoesis activation. Moreover the combined MMSC and HSC transplantation gives cytoprotective action on the myeloid tissue due to decrease of cyto genically changed cells in the mature animals under the condition of ionizing radiation, but in the old animals this effect can be seen even under physiological condition. Combined transplantation of MMSC and GSC can be used in the mature and old laboratory animals under the conditions of ionising radiation for the haemopoesis activation.

  14. Behavioral and cognitive impact of early life stress: Insights from an animal model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Hesong; Atrooz, Fatin; Salvi, Ankita; Salim, Samina

    2017-08-01

    Children subjected to traumatic events during childhood are reported to exhibit behavioral and cognitive deficits later in life, often leading to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression. Interestingly, some children continue to remain normal despite being exposed to the same risk factors. These trauma-related behavioral and cognitive profiles across different stages of life are not well understood. Animal studies can offer useful insights. The goal of this study was to determine the impact of early life exposure to traumatic events on behavioral and cognitive profile in rats by tracking the behavior of each rat at different ages. We utilized the single prolonged stress (SPS), a rodent model of PTSD, to study the effects of early life stress. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to SPS on post-natal day (PND) 25. Tests to assess anxiety- and depression-like behavior, as well as learning and memory function were performed at PND32, 60 and 90. Rats exposed to SPS exhibited both anxiety- and depression-like behavior at PND32. And, short-term (STM) but not long-term memory (LTM) was impaired. Rats exposed to SPS at PND60 exhibited anxiety- but not depression-like behavior. STM but not LTM was impaired. Rats exposed to SPS at PND90 exhibited fearful (as indicated by elevated plus maze test) but not an overall anxiety-like behavior (in light and dark test). These rats also displayed significant depression-like behavior with no changes in STM or LTM. Interestingly, when data was further analyzed, two subsets of PND90 rats exposed to SPS were identified, "susceptible": with depression-like behavior and "resilient": without depression-like behavior. Importantly, while resilient group expressed early signs of anxiety- (at PND32 and PND60) and depression-like behavior (at PND32), these behavioral deficits were absent at PND90. On the other hand, susceptible PND90 rats exposed to SPS expressed later onset of anxiety-like behavior (at PND60), while depression

  15. Deciphering interactions in moving animal groups.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacques Gautrais

    Full Text Available Collective motion phenomena in large groups of social organisms have long fascinated the observer, especially in cases, such as bird flocks or fish schools, where large-scale highly coordinated actions emerge in the absence of obvious leaders. However, the mechanisms involved in this self-organized behavior are still poorly understood, because the individual-level interactions underlying them remain elusive. Here, we demonstrate the power of a bottom-up methodology to build models for animal group motion from data gathered at the individual scale. Using video tracks of fish shoal in a tank, we show how a careful, incremental analysis at the local scale allows for the determination of the stimulus/response function governing an individual's moving decisions. We find in particular that both positional and orientational effects are present, act upon the fish turning speed, and depend on the swimming speed, yielding a novel schooling model whose parameters are all estimated from data. Our approach also leads to identify a density-dependent effect that results in a behavioral change for the largest groups considered. This suggests that, in confined environment, the behavioral state of fish and their reaction patterns change with group size. We debate the applicability, beyond the particular case studied here, of this novel framework for deciphering interactions in moving animal groups.

  16. Translational Rodent Paradigms to Investigate Neuromechanisms Underlying Behaviors Relevant to Amotivation and Altered Reward Processing in Schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, Jared W; Markou, Athina

    2015-09-01

    Amotivation and reward-processing deficits have long been described in patients with schizophrenia and considered large contributors to patients' inability to integrate well in society. No effective treatments exist for these symptoms, partly because the neuromechanisms mediating such symptoms are poorly understood. Here, we propose a translational neuroscientific approach that can be used to assess reward/motivational deficits related to the negative symptoms of schizophrenia using behavioral paradigms that can also be conducted in experimental animals. By designing and using objective laboratory behavioral tools that are parallel in their parameters in rodents and humans, the neuromechanisms underlying behaviors with relevance to these symptoms of schizophrenia can be investigated. We describe tasks that measure the motivation of rodents to expend physical and cognitive effort to gain rewards, as well as probabilistic learning tasks that assess both reward learning and feedback-based decision making. The latter tasks are relevant because of demonstrated links of performance deficits correlating with negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. These tasks utilize operant techniques in order to investigate neural circuits targeting a specific domain across species. These tasks therefore enable the development of insights into altered mechanisms leading to negative symptom-relevant behaviors in patients with schizophrenia. Such findings will then enable the development of targeted treatments for these altered neuromechanisms and behaviors seen in schizophrenia. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  17. SEARCH: Spatially Explicit Animal Response to Composition of Habitat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pauli, Benjamin P; McCann, Nicholas P; Zollner, Patrick A; Cummings, Robert; Gilbert, Jonathan H; Gustafson, Eric J

    2013-01-01

    Complex decisions dramatically affect animal dispersal and space use. Dispersing individuals respond to a combination of fine-scale environmental stimuli and internal attributes. Individual-based modeling offers a valuable approach for the investigation of such interactions because it combines the heterogeneity of animal behaviors with spatial detail. Most individual-based models (IBMs), however, vastly oversimplify animal behavior and such behavioral minimalism diminishes the value of these models. We present program SEARCH (Spatially Explicit Animal Response to Composition of Habitat), a spatially explicit, individual-based, population model of animal dispersal through realistic landscapes. SEARCH uses values in Geographic Information System (GIS) maps to apply rules that animals follow during dispersal, thus allowing virtual animals to respond to fine-scale features of the landscape and maintain a detailed memory of areas sensed during movement. SEARCH also incorporates temporally dynamic landscapes so that the environment to which virtual animals respond can change during the course of a simulation. Animals in SEARCH are behaviorally dynamic and able to respond to stimuli based upon their individual experiences. Therefore, SEARCH is able to model behavioral traits of dispersing animals at fine scales and with many dynamic aspects. Such added complexity allows investigation of unique ecological questions. To illustrate SEARCH's capabilities, we simulated case studies using three mammals. We examined the impact of seasonally variable food resources on the weight distribution of dispersing raccoons (Procyon lotor), the effect of temporally dynamic mortality pressure in combination with various levels of behavioral responsiveness in eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus), and the impact of behavioral plasticity and home range selection on disperser mortality and weight change in virtual American martens (Martes americana). These simulations highlight the relevance of

  18. Solidarity with Animals: Assessing a Relevant Dimension of Social Identification with Animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amiot, Catherine E; Bastian, Brock

    2017-01-01

    Interactions with animals are pervasive in human life, a fact that is reflected in the burgeoning field of human-animal relations research. The goal of the current research was to examine the psychology of our social connection with other animals, by specifically developing a measure of solidarity with animals. In 8 studies using correlational, experimental, and longitudinal designs, solidarity with animals predicted more positive attitudes and behaviors toward animals, over and above existing scales of identification, and even when this implied a loss of resources and privileges for humans relative to animals. Solidarity with animals also displayed predicted relationships with relevant variables (anthropomorphism, empathy). Pet owners and vegetarians displayed higher levels of solidarity with animals. Correlational and experimental evidence confirmed that human-animal similarity heightens solidarity with animals. Our findings provide a useful measure that can facilitate important insights into the nature of our relationships with animals.

  19. Animal models of female sexual dysfunction: basic considerations on drugs, arousal, motivation and behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ågmo, Anders

    2014-06-01

    Female sexual dysfunctions are a heterogeneous group of symptoms with unknown but probably varying etiology. Social factors may contribute both to the prevalence and to the origin of these dysfunctions. The present review focuses on female hypoactive sexual desire disorder, sexual arousal disorder and orgasmic disorder. These disorders are generally the most common, according to epidemiological studies, and they can all be considered as disorders of motivation. An incentive motivational model of sexual behavior, applicable to humans as well as to non-human animals, is described and the dysfunctions placed into the context of this model. It is shown that endocrine alterations as well as observable alterations in neurotransmitter activity are unlikely causes of the disorders. A potential role of learning is stressed. Nevertheless, the role of some transmitters in female rodent sexual behavior is analyzed, and compared to data from women, whenever such data are available. The conclusion is that there is no direct coincidence between effects on rodent copulatory behavior and sexual behavior in women. Based on these and other considerations, it is suggested that sexual approach behaviors rather than copulatory reflexes in rodents might be of some relevance for human sexual behavior, and perhaps even for predicting the effects of interventions, perhaps even the effects of drugs. Female copulatory behaviors, including the proceptive behaviors, are less appropriate. The common sexual dysfunctions in women are not problems with the performance of copulatory acts, but with the desire for such acts, by feeling aroused by such acts and experiencing the pleasure expected to be caused by such acts. Finally, it is questioned whether female sexual dysfunctions are appropriate targets for pharmacological treatment. © 2013.

  20. Animal models of tinnitus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brozoski, Thomas J; Bauer, Carol A

    2016-08-01

    Presented is a thematic review of animal tinnitus models from a functional perspective. Chronic tinnitus is a persistent subjective sound sensation, emergent typically after hearing loss. Although the sensation is experientially simple, it appears to have central a nervous system substrate of unexpected complexity that includes areas outside of those classically defined as auditory. Over the past 27 years animal models have significantly contributed to understanding tinnitus' complex neurophysiology. In that time, a diversity of models have been developed, each with its own strengths and limitations. None has clearly become a standard. Animal models trace their origin to the 1988 experiments of Jastreboff and colleagues. All subsequent models derive some of their features from those experiments. Common features include behavior-dependent psychophysical determination, acoustic conditions that contrast objective sound and silence, and inclusion of at least one normal-hearing control group. In the present review, animal models have been categorized as either interrogative or reflexive. Interrogative models use emitted behavior under voluntary control to indicate hearing. An example would be pressing a lever to obtain food in the presence of a particular sound. In this type of model animals are interrogated about their auditory sensations, analogous to asking a patient, "What do you hear?" These models require at least some training and motivation management, and reflect the perception of tinnitus. Reflexive models, in contrast, employ acoustic modulation of an auditory reflex, such as the acoustic startle response. An unexpected loud sound will elicit a reflexive motor response from many species, including humans. Although involuntary, acoustic startle can be modified by a lower-level preceding event, including a silent sound gap. Sound-gap modulation of acoustic startle appears to discriminate tinnitus in animals as well as humans, and requires no training or

  1. Effect of Tskaltubo radon mineral waters on aggressive behavior of animals and distribution of free amino acids in structures of the brain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oniani, D.; Mchedluri, T.; Oniani, T.; Museliani, T.; Grebenchuk, G.; Nikolaishvili, M.

    2006-01-01

    The analysis of experimental results allow claiming that desamination of the amino acids by radon after treatment with Tskaltubo radon mineral water, decreases and normalizes free amino acids, which is reflected in behavior of animals - aggressive behavior is decreasing and they became more tame. (author)

  2. Vaccinium virgatum fruit extract as an important adjuvant in biochemical and behavioral alterations observed in animal model of metabolic syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveira, Pathise Souto; Gazal, Marta; Flores, Natália Porto; Zimmer, Aline Rigon; Chaves, Vitor Clasen; Reginatto, Flávio Henrique; Kaster, Manuella Pinto; Tavares, Rejane Giacomelli; Spanevello, Roselia Maria; Lencina, Claiton Leoneti; Stefanello, Francieli Moro

    2017-04-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of blueberry (Vaccinium virgatum) fruit extract on metabolic, behavioral and oxidative stress parameters in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex of mice submitted to an experimental model of metabolic syndrome induced by a highly palatable diet (HPD). Mice C57BL/6 were divided into 4 experimental groups: (1) received standard chow and saline orally, (2) received standard chow and blueberry hydroalcoholic extract, (3) received HPD and saline orally, (4) received HPD and blueberry hydroalcoholic extract. The animals were treated for 150days. Our results showed that the animals fed with HPD presented insulin resistance, increased body weight, visceral fat, glucose, triglycerides, and total cholesterol when compared to the control group. The blueberry extract prevented the increase of these metabolic parameters. Also, the extract was able to reduce the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of animals submitted to HPD. In contrast, no differences were observed in the total thiol content, activity of the antioxidant enzymes catalase and superoxide dismutase. In addition, the HPD fed animals showed a significant increase in immobility time in the forced swimming test and blueberry prevented this alteration, although no changes were observed in the ambulatory behavior, as well as in the anxiolytic profile of these animals. Overall, our findings suggest that chronic consumption of blueberry extract exhibits hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, antidepressant-like and antiperoxidative effects in an animal model of metabolic syndrome. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

  3. An Animal Model of Genetic Vulnerability to Behavioral Disinhibition and Responsiveness to Reward-Related Cues: Implications for Addiction

    OpenAIRE

    Flagel, Shelly B; Robinson, Terry E; Clark, Jeremy J; Clinton, Sarah M; Watson, Stanley J; Seeman, Phillip; Phillips, Paul E M; Akil, Huda

    2009-01-01

    Rats selectively bred based on high or low reactivity to a novel environment were characterized for other behavioral and neurobiological traits thought to be relevant to addiction vulnerability. The two lines of animals, which differ in their propensity to self-administer drugs, also differ in the value they attribute to cues associated with reward, in impulsive behavior, and in their dopamine system. When a cue was paired with food or cocaine reward bred high-responder rats (bHRs) learned to...

  4. Behavior of durum wheat genotypes under normal irrigation and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Behavior of durum wheat genotypes under normal irrigation and drought stress conditions in the greenhouse. ... African Journal of Biotechnology ... Genotypes were grouped in cluster analysis (using Ward's method) based on Yp, Ys and ...

  5. Deformation behavior of human enamel and dentin-enamel junction under compression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaytsev, Dmitry; Panfilov, Peter

    2014-01-01

    Deformation behavior under uniaxial compression of human enamel and dentin-enamel junction (DEJ) is considered in comparison with human dentin. This deformation scheme allows estimating the total response from all levels of the hierarchical composite material in contrast with the indentation, which are limited by the mesoscopic and microscopic scales. It was shown for the first time that dental enamel is the strength (up to 1850MPa) hard tissue, which is able to consider some elastic (up to 8%) and plastic (up to 5%) deformation under compression. In so doing, it is almost undeformable substance under the creep condition. Mechanical properties of human enamel depend on the geometry of sample. Human dentin exhibits the similar deformation behavior under compression, but the values of its elasticity (up to 40%) and plasticity (up to 18%) are much more, while its strength (up to 800MPa) is less in two times. Despite the difference in mechanical properties, human enamel is able to suppress the cracking alike dentin. Deformation behavior under the compression of the samples contained DEJ as the same to dentin. This feature allows a tooth to be elastic-plastic (as dentin) and wear resistible (as enamel), simultaneously. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Modelling 3H and 14C transfer to farm animals and their products under steady state conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galeriu, D.; Melintescu, A.; Beresford, N.A.; Crout, N.M.J.; Peterson, R.; Takeda, H.

    2007-01-01

    The radionuclides 14 C and 3 H may both be released from nuclear facilities. These radionuclides are unusual, in that they are isotopes of macro-elements which form the basis of animal tissues, feed and, in the case of 3 H, water. There are few published values describing the transfer of 3 H and 14 C from feed to animal derived food products under steady state conditions. Approaches are described which enable the prediction of 14 C and 3 H transfer parameter values from readily available information on the stable H or C concentration of animal feeds, tissues and milk, water turnover rates, and feed intakes and digestibilities. We recommend that the concentration ratio between feed and animal product activity concentrations be used as it is less variable than the transfer coefficient (ratio between radionuclide activity concentration in animal milk or tissue to the daily intake of a radionuclide)

  7. Effect of concentrate level on feeding behavior and rumen and blood parameters in dairy goats: relationships between behavioral and physiological parameters and effect of between-animal variability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giger-Reverdin, S; Rigalma, K; Desnoyers, M; Sauvant, D; Duvaux-Ponter, C

    2014-07-01

    This work aimed first to compare 2 diets differing in their percentage of concentrate [low (LO): 30% concentrate vs. High (HI): 60% concentrate] by measuring simultaneously feeding behavior, rumen parameters, blood and plasma parameters, and milk yield and composition in 8 mid-lactation goats. The second aim was to study the interrelationships between these variables and to analyze the between-animal variability to better understand the between-animal differences in acidosis susceptibility. All of the animals received the 2 diets ad libitum as total mixed ration according to a crossover design of two 4-wk periods. Mean daily DMI was similar between the 2 diets but the variability was higher for the HI than for the LO diet. Goats produced more milk when fed the HI diet compared with the LO diet but with a lower fat:protein ratio (0.81 vs. 0.99). They ate more rapidly the HI than the LO diet but stopped eating sooner after the afternoon feed allowance, and spent less time chewing. The increase in concentrate percentage modified rumen parameters: the pH and acetate:propionate ratio decreased and total VFA, ammonia, and soluble carbohydrate concentrations increased. Hematocrit, plasma NEFA, and blood K and Ca concentrations decreased but glycemia and uremia increased. Other parameters were not modified: milk fat content, blood pH, and bicarbonate and Na concentrations. A large between-animal variability was detected for all the measured parameters, especially for feeding behavior, with important consequences on rumen and blood parameters. This work confirmed the effects of a high percentage of concentrate on feeding behavior, rumen and blood parameters, and milk production, and some known relationships such as the positive link between rumen pH and chewing index. It also pointed out other relationships between parameters seldom measured at the same time, such as rumen redox potential or blood pH and chewing index, or the negative link between blood and rumen pH. When

  8. Failure mode and dynamic behavior of nanophase iron under compression

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jia, D.; Ramesh, K.T.; Ma, E.

    1999-12-17

    Materials with ultra-fine grains down to the nanophase range (<100 nm) have been attracting considerable interest because of their unique properties compared with conventional materials. In general, the understanding of the deformation behavior of ultrafine- and nano-grained metals and alloys is still in the rudimentary stage. In this paper, the authors report on the compressive deformation behavior and failure mode of near full-density (99.2% of theoretical density) elemental Fe with an average grain size of 80 nm. Even less is known about the behavior of ultrafine- or nano-grained alloys under dynamic loading of high strain rates. Such response is relevant to possible applications of these alloys under impact conditions, such as for kinetic energy penetrators currently under investigation. The authors will present the results of high-strain-rate (Kolsky bar) tests for nano-Fe and compare them with those obtained in quasi-static compression tests of the same material. The authors demonstrate that little strain rate sensitivity is observable in the rate of 10{sup {minus}4} to 3 x 10{sup +3} s{sup {minus}1}, in sharp contrast to the strong rate sensitivity known for conventional coarse-grained bcc Fe. The weak rate dependence is correlated with shear banding as the dominant deformation and failure mechanism. This strain rate hardening behavior, together with the high strength, absence of strain hardening, and failure mechanism observed, are discussed in the context of potential applications for penetrator materials.

  9. Neural plasticity in hypocretin neurons: the basis of hypocretinergic regulation of physiological and behavioral functions in animals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiao-Bing eGao

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The neuronal system that resides in the perifornical and lateral hypothalamus (Pf/LH and synthesizes the neuropeptide hypocretin/orexin participates in critical brain functions across species from fish to human. The hypocretin system regulates neural activity responsible for daily functions (such as sleep/wake homeostasis, energy balance, appetite, etc and long-term behavioral changes (such as reward seeking and addiction, stress response, etc in animals. The most recent evidence suggests that the hypocretin system undergoes substantial plastic changes in response to both daily fluctuations (such as food intake and sleep-wake regulation and long-term changes (such as cocaine seeking in neuronal activity in the brain. The understanding of these changes in the hypocretin system is essential in addressing the role of the hypocretin system in normal physiological functions and pathological conditions in animals and humans. In this review, the evidence demonstrating that neural plasticity occurs in hypocretin-containing neurons in the Pf/LH will be presented and possible physiological behavioral, and mental health implications of these findings will be discussed.

  10. Neural plasticity in hypocretin neurons: the basis of hypocretinergic regulation of physiological and behavioral functions in animals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Xiao-Bing; Hermes, Gretchen

    2015-01-01

    The neuronal system that resides in the perifornical and lateral hypothalamus (Pf/LH) and synthesizes the neuropeptide hypocretin/orexin participates in critical brain functions across species from fish to human. The hypocretin system regulates neural activity responsible for daily functions (such as sleep/wake homeostasis, energy balance, appetite, etc.) and long-term behavioral changes (such as reward seeking and addiction, stress response, etc.) in animals. The most recent evidence suggests that the hypocretin system undergoes substantial plastic changes in response to both daily fluctuations (such as food intake and sleep-wake regulation) and long-term changes (such as cocaine seeking) in neuronal activity in the brain. The understanding of these changes in the hypocretin system is essential in addressing the role of the hypocretin system in normal physiological functions and pathological conditions in animals and humans. In this review, the evidence demonstrating that neural plasticity occurs in hypocretin-containing neurons in the Pf/LH will be presented and possible physiological, behavioral, and mental health implications of these findings will be discussed. PMID:26539086

  11. Use of Laboratory Animals in Biomedical and Behavioral Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ministry of Education, Addis Ababa (Ethiopia).

    The use of animals in scientific research has been a controversial issue for over a hundred years. Research with animals has saved human lives, lessened human suffering, and advanced scientific understanding, yet that same research can cause pain and distress for the animals involved and may result in their death. It is hardly surprising that…

  12. Virtual reality for freely moving animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stowers, John R; Hofbauer, Maximilian; Bastien, Renaud; Griessner, Johannes; Higgins, Peter; Farooqui, Sarfarazhussain; Fischer, Ruth M; Nowikovsky, Karin; Haubensak, Wulf; Couzin, Iain D; Tessmar-Raible, Kristin; Straw, Andrew D

    2017-10-01

    Standard animal behavior paradigms incompletely mimic nature and thus limit our understanding of behavior and brain function. Virtual reality (VR) can help, but it poses challenges. Typical VR systems require movement restrictions but disrupt sensorimotor experience, causing neuronal and behavioral alterations. We report the development of FreemoVR, a VR system for freely moving animals. We validate immersive VR for mice, flies, and zebrafish. FreemoVR allows instant, disruption-free environmental reconfigurations and interactions between real organisms and computer-controlled agents. Using the FreemoVR platform, we established a height-aversion assay in mice and studied visuomotor effects in Drosophila and zebrafish. Furthermore, by photorealistically mimicking zebrafish we discovered that effective social influence depends on a prospective leader balancing its internally preferred directional choice with social interaction. FreemoVR technology facilitates detailed investigations into neural function and behavior through the precise manipulation of sensorimotor feedback loops in unrestrained animals.

  13. Relaxation behavior of a microbubble under ultrasonic field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kang, Sarng Woo; Kwak, Ho Young

    2000-01-01

    Nonlinear oscillation of a microbubble under ultrasound was investigated theoretically. The bubble radius-time curves calculated by the Rayleigh-Plesset equation with a polytropic index and by the Keller-Miksis equation with the analytical solution for the Navier-Stokes equations of the gases were compared with the observed results by the light scattering method. This study has revealed that the bubble behavior such as the expansion ratio and the bouncing motion after the first collapse under ultrasound depends crucially on the retarded time of the bubble motion to the applied ultrasound

  14. Animal welfare and use of silkworm as a model animal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sekimizu, N; Paudel, A; Hamamoto, H

    2012-08-01

    Sacrificing model animals is required for developing effective drugs before being used in human beings. In Japan today, at least 4,210,000 mice and other mammals are sacrificed to a total of 6,140,000 per year for the purpose of medical studies. All the animals treated in Japan, including test animals, are managed under control of "Act on Welfare and Management of Animals". Under the principle of this Act, no person shall kill, injure, or inflict cruelty on animals without due cause. "Animal" addressed in the Act can be defined as a "vertebrate animal". If we can make use of invertebrate animals in testing instead of vertebrate ones, that would be a remarkable solution for the issue of animal welfare. Furthermore, there are numerous advantages of using invertebrate animal models: less space and small equipment are enough for taking care of a large number of animals and thus are cost-effective, they can be easily handled, and many biological processes and genes are conserved between mammals and invertebrates. Today, many invertebrates have been used as animal models, but silkworms have many beneficial traits compared to mammals as well as other insects. In a Genome Pharmaceutical Institute's study, we were able to achieve a lot making use of silkworms as model animals. We would like to suggest that pharmaceutical companies and institutes consider the use of the silkworm as a model animal which is efficacious both for financial value by cost cutting and ethical aspects in animals' welfare.

  15. Risky behavior and its effect on survival: snowshoe hare behavior under varying moonlight conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gigliotti, Laura C.; Diefenbach, Duane R.

    2018-01-01

    Predation and predation risk can exert strong influences on the behavior of prey species. However, risk avoidance behaviors may vary among populations of the same species. We studied a population of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) near the southern edge of their range, in Pennsylvania. This population occupies different habitat types, experiences different environmental conditions, and are exposed to different predator species and densities than northern hare populations; therefore, they might exhibit differences in risk avoidance behaviors. We analyzed hare survival, movement rates, and habitat use under different levels of predation risk, as indexed by moonlight. Similar to previous work, we found snowshoe hare survival decreased with increased moon illumination during the winter, but we found differences in behavioral responses to increased predation risk. We found that snowshoe hares did not reduce movement rates during high‐risk nights, but instead found that hares selected areas with denser canopy cover, compared to low‐risk nights. We suggest that behavioral plasticity in response to predation risk allows populations of the same species to respond to localized conditions.

  16. Effect of vision angle on the phase transition in flocking behavior of animal groups

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, P. The; Lee, Sang-Hee; Ngo, V. Thanh

    2015-09-01

    The nature of the phase transition in a system of self-propelling particles has been extensively studied during the past few decades. A theoretical model was proposed by [T. Vicsek et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 1226 (1995), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.75.1226] with a simple rule for updating the direction of motion of each particle. Based on the model of Vicsek et al., in this paper, we consider a group of animals as particles moving freely in a two-dimensional space. Due to the fact that the viewable area of animals depends on the species, we consider the motion of each individual within an angle φ =ϕ /2 (ϕ is called the angle of view) of a circle centered at its position of radius R . We obtained a phase diagram in the space (φ ,ηc ) with ηc being the critical noise. We show that the phase transition exists only in the case of a wide view's angle φ ≥0.5 π . The flocking of animals is a universal behavior of the species of prey but not the one of the predator. Our simulation results are in good agreement with experimental observation [C. Beccoa et al., Physica A 367, 487 (2006), 10.1016/j.physa.2005.11.041].

  17. Animal health care seeking behavior of pets or livestock owners and knowledge and awareness on zoonoses in a university community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Awosanya, Emmanuel J; Akande, H O

    2015-07-01

    We investigated the attitude of pets or livestock owning households in a university community to animal health care services and assessed the knowledge and awareness level of the residents on zoonoses. Structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on demography, pet or livestock ownership, animal health care seeking behavior, awareness and knowledge of zoonoses from 246 households. We did descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis to determine the level of association in discrete variables between owners and non-owners of pets or livestock at a significant level of panimal health care seeking behavior of the 80 pets or livestock owners in terms of treatment and vaccination was 70%. Of the 56 (70%) who provided health care services for their animals, about 48 (85.7%) engaged the services of a veterinarian. Dog owning households (42) had the highest frequency of treating their pets against endoparasites (97.6%); ectoparasites (81%) and vaccination against diseases (73.8%). Of the 246 respondents, only 47 (19.1%) have heard of the term zoonoses. Of the considered zoonoses; their awareness of rabies (79.3%) was the highest, followed by Lassa fever (66.3%), the least was pasteurellosis with 18.7%. Having pets or livestock was significantly associated (p=0.04) with rabies awareness. However, there is no significant difference in the level of awareness of zoonoses; knowledge of zoonoses, knowledge of prevention of zoonoses and knowledge of risk of zoonoses between owners and non-owners of pets or livestock. The animal health care seeking behavior of households with pets or livestock is good and should be encouraged. Public education should be created for other zoonoses aside from rabies, Lassa fever, and avian influenza.

  18. Four factors underlying mouse behavior in an open field.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanaka, Shoji; Young, Jared W; Halberstadt, Adam L; Masten, Virginia L; Geyer, Mark A

    2012-07-15

    The observation of the locomotor and exploratory behaviors of rodents in an open field is one of the most fundamental methods used in the field of behavioral pharmacology. A variety of behaviors can be recorded automatically and can readily generate a multivariate pattern of pharmacological effects. Nevertheless, the optimal ways to characterize observed behaviors and concomitant drug effects are still under development. The aim of this study was to extract meaningful behavioral factors that could explain variations in the observed variables from mouse exploration. Behavioral data were recorded from male C57BL/6J mice (n=268) using the Behavioral Pattern Monitor (BPM). The BPM data were subjected to the exploratory factor analysis. The factor analysis extracted four factors: activity, sequential organization, diversive exploration, and inspective exploration. The activity factor and the two types of exploration factors correlated positively with one another, while the sequential organization factor negatively correlated with the remaining factors. The extracted factor structure constitutes a behavioral model of mouse exploration. This model will provide a platform on which one can assess the effects of psychoactive drugs and genetic manipulations on mouse exploratory behavior. Further studies are currently underway to examine the factor structure of similar multivariate data sets from humans tested in a human BPM. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Animal models of social stress: the dark side of social interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masis-Calvo, Marianela; Schmidtner, Anna K; de Moura Oliveira, Vinícius E; Grossmann, Cindy P; de Jong, Trynke R; Neumann, Inga D

    2018-05-10

    Social stress occurs in all social species, including humans, and shape both mental health and future interactions with conspecifics. Animal models of social stress are used to unravel the precise role of the main stress system - the HPA axis - on the one hand, and the social behavior network on the other, as these are intricately interwoven. The present review aims to summarize the insights gained from three highly useful and clinically relevant animal models of psychosocial stress: the resident-intruder (RI) test, the chronic subordinate colony housing (CSC), and the social fear conditioning (SFC). Each model brings its own focus: the role of the HPA axis in shaping acute social confrontations (RI test), the physiological and behavioral impairments resulting from chronic exposure to negative social experiences (CSC), and the neurobiology underlying social fear and its effects on future social interactions (SFC). Moreover, these models are discussed with special attention to the HPA axis and the neuropeptides vasopressin and oxytocin, which are important messengers in the stress system, in emotion regulation, as well as in the social behavior network. It appears that both nonapeptides balance the relative strength of the stress response, and simultaneously predispose the animal to positive or negative social interactions.

  20. Prelimbic Stimulation Ameliorates Depressive-Like Behaviors and Increases Regional BDNF Expression in a Novel Drug-Resistant Animal Model of Depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moshe, Hagar; Gal, Ram; Barnea-Ygael, Noam; Gulevsky, Tatiana; Alyagon, Uri; Zangen, Abraham

    2016-01-01

    Approximately one third of all major depression patients fail to respond to conventional pharmacological antidepressants, and brain stimulation methods pose a promising alternative for this population. Recently, based on repeated multifactorial selective inbreeding of rats for depressive-like behaviors, we introduced a novel animal model for MDD. Rats from this Depressive Rat Line (DRL) exhibit inherent depressive-like behaviors, which are correlated with lower levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in specific brain regions. In addition, DRL rats do not respond to antidepressant medication but respond to electroconvulsive treatment, and they can thus be utilized to test the effectiveness of brain stimulation on hereditary, medication-resistant depressive-like behaviors. To test the effect of sub-convulsive electrical stimulation (SCES) of the prelimbic cortex, using TMS-like temporal pattern of stimulation, on depressive-like behaviors and regional BDNF levels in DRL rats. SCES sessions were administered daily for 10 days through chronically implanted electrodes. Temporal stimulation parameters were similar to those used in TMS for major depression in human patients. Depressive-like behaviors were assayed after treatment, followed by brain extraction and regional BDNF measurements. SCES normalized both the depressive-like behaviors and the reduced BDNF levels observed in DRL rats. Correlation analyses suggest that changes in specific behaviors are mediated, at least in part, by BDNF expression in reward-related brain regions. Brain stimulation is effective in a drug-resistant, inherited animal model for depression. BDNF alterations in specific regions may mediate different antidepressant effects. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Behavior of reinforcement SCC beams under elevated temperatures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fathi, Hamoon; Farhang, Kianoosh

    2015-09-01

    This experimental study focuses on the behavior of heated reinforced concrete beams. Four types of concrete mixtures were used for the tested self-compacting concrete beams. A total of 72 reinforced concrete beams and 72 standard cylindrical specimens were tested. The compressive strength under uniaxial loading at 23 °C ranged from 30 to 45 MPa. The specimens were exposed to different temperatures. The test parameters of interest were the compressive strength and the temperature of the specimens. The effect of changes in the parameters was examined so as to control the behavior of the tested concrete and that of the reinforced concrete beam. The results indicated that flexibility and compressive strength of the reinforced concrete beams decreased at higher temperatures. Furthermore, heating beyond 400 °C produced greater variations in the structural behavior of the materials in both the cylindrical samples and the reinforced concrete beams.

  2. How animals move along? Exactly solvable model of superdiffusive spread resulting from animal's decision making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tilles, Paulo F C; Petrovskii, Sergei V

    2016-07-01

    Patterns of individual animal movement have been a focus of considerable attention recently. Of particular interest is a question how different macroscopic properties of animal dispersal result from the stochastic processes occurring on the microscale of the individual behavior. In this paper, we perform a comprehensive analytical study of a model where the animal changes the movement velocity as a result of its behavioral response to environmental stochasticity. The stochasticity is assumed to manifest itself through certain signals, and the animal modifies its velocity as a response to the signals. We consider two different cases, i.e. where the change in the velocity is or is not correlated to its current value. We show that in both cases the early, transient stage of the animal movement is super-diffusive, i.e. ballistic. The large-time asymptotic behavior appears to be diffusive in the uncorrelated case but super-ballistic in the correlated case. We also calculate analytically the dispersal kernel of the movement and show that, whilst it converge to a normal distribution in the large-time limit, it possesses a fatter tail during the transient stage, i.e. at early and intermediate time. Since the transients are known to be highly relevant in ecology, our findings may indicate that the fat tails and superdiffusive spread that are sometimes observed in the movement data may be a feature of the transitional dynamics rather than an inherent property of the animal movement.

  3. Following the genes: a framework for animal modeling of psychiatric disorders

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Mitchell, Kevin

    2011-11-11

    Abstract The number of individual cases of psychiatric disorders that can be ascribed to identified, rare, single mutations is increasing with great rapidity. Such mutations can be recapitulated in mice to generate animal models with direct etiological validity. Defining the underlying pathogenic mechanisms will require an experimental and theoretical framework to make the links from mutation to altered behavior in an animal or psychopathology in a human. Here, we discuss key elements of such a framework, including cell type-based phenotyping, developmental trajectories, linking circuit properties at micro and macro scales and definition of neurobiological phenotypes that are directly translatable to humans.

  4. Adaptive Response in Animals Exposed to Non-Ionizing Radiofrequency Fields: Some Underlying Mechanisms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi Cao

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available During the last few years, our research group has been investigating the phenomenon of adaptive response in animals exposed to non-ionizing radiofrequency fields. The results from several separate studies indicated a significant increase in survival, decreases in genetic damage as well as oxidative damage and, alterations in several cellular processes in mice pre-exposed to radiofrequency fields and subsequently subjected to sub-lethal or lethal doses of γ-radiation or injected with bleomycin, a radiomimetic chemical mutagen. These observations indicated the induction of adaptive response providing the animals the ability to resist subsequent damage. Similar studies conducted by independent researchers in mice and rats have supported our observation on increased survival. In this paper, we have presented a brief review of all of our own and other independent investigations on radiofrequency fields-induced adaptive response and some underlying mechanisms discussed.

  5. Omega-3 fatty acids alter behavioral and oxidative stress parameters in animals subjected to fenproporex administration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Model, Camila S; Gomes, Lara M; Scaini, Giselli; Ferreira, Gabriela K; Gonçalves, Cinara L; Rezin, Gislaine T; Steckert, Amanda V; Valvassori, Samira S; Varela, Roger B; Quevedo, João; Streck, Emilio L

    2014-03-01

    Studies have consistently reported the participation of oxidative stress in bipolar disorder (BD). Evidences indicate that omega-3 (ω3) fatty acids play several important roles in brain development and functioning. Moreover, preclinical and clinical evidence suggests roles for ω3 fatty acids in BD. Considering these evidences, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of ω3 fatty acids on locomotor behavior and oxidative stress parameters (TBARS and protein carbonyl content) in brain of rats subjected to an animal model of mania induced by fenproporex. The fenproporex treatment increased locomotor behavior in saline-treated rats under reversion and prevention model, and ω3 fatty acids prevented fenproporex-related hyperactivity. Moreover, fenproporex increased protein carbonyls in the prefrontal cortex and cerebral cortex, and the administration of ω3 fatty acids reversed this effect. Lipid peroxidation products also are increased in prefrontal cortex, striatum, hippocampus and cerebral after fenproporex administration, but ω3 fatty acids reversed this damage only in the hippocampus. On the other hand, in the prevention model, fenproporex increased carbonyl content only in the cerebral cortex, and administration of ω3 fatty acids prevented this damage. Additionally, the administration of fenproporex resulted in a marked increased of TBARS in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, striatum and cerebral cortex, and prevent this damage in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and striatum. In conclusion, we are able to demonstrate that fenproporex-induced hyperlocomotion and damage through oxidative stress were prevented by ω3 fatty acids. Thus, the ω3 fatty acids may be important adjuvant therapy of bipolar disorder.

  6. Regulation of brain reward by the endocannabinoid system: a critical review of behavioral studies in animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vlachou, S; Panagis, G

    2014-01-01

    The endocannabinoid system has been implicated in the regulation of a variety of physiological processes, including a crucial involvement in brain reward systems and the regulation of motivational processes. Behavioral studies have shown that cannabinoid reward may involve the same brain circuits and similar brain mechanisms with other drugs of abuse, such as nicotine, cocaine, alcohol and heroin, as well as natural rewards, such as food, water and sucrose, although the conditions under which cannabinoids exert their rewarding effects may be more limited. The purpose of the present review is to briefly describe and evaluate the behavioral and pharmacological research concerning the major components of the endocannabinoid system and reward processes. Special emphasis is placed on data received from four procedures used to test the effects of the endocannabinoid system on brain reward in animals; namely, the intracranial self-stimulation paradigm, the self-administration procedure, the conditioned place preference procedure and the drug-discrimination procedure. The effects of cannabinoid 1 (CB1) and cannabinoid 2 (CB2) receptor agonists, antagonists and endocannabinoid modulators in these procedures are examined. Further, the involvement of CB1 and CB2 receptors, as well the fatty acid amid hydrolase (FAAH) enzyme in reward processes is investigated through presentation of respective genetic ablation studies in mice. We suggest that the endocannabinoid system plays a major role in modulating motivation and reward processes. Further research will provide us with a better understanding of these processes and, thus, could lead to the development of potential therapeutic compounds for the treatment of reward-related disorders.

  7. Adult Tea Green Leafhoppers, Empoasca onukii (Matsuda), Change Behaviors under Varying Light Conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Longqing; Vasseur, Liette; Huang, Huoshui; Zeng, Zhaohua; Hu, Guiping; Liu, Xin; You, Minsheng

    2017-01-01

    Insect behaviors are often influenced by light conditions including photoperiod, light intensity, and wavelength. Understanding pest insect responses to changing light conditions may help with developing alternative strategies for pest control. Little is known about the behavioral responses of leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) to light conditions. The behavior of the tea green leafhopper, Empoasca onukii Matsuda, was examined when exposed to different light photoperiods or wavelengths. Observations included the frequency of locomotion and cleaning activities, and the duration of time spent searching. The results suggested that under normal photoperiod both female and male adults were generally more active in darkness (i.e., at night) than in light. In continuous darkness (DD), the locomotion and cleaning events in Period 1 (7:00-19:00) were significantly increased, when compared to the leafhoppers under normal photoperiod (LD). Leafhoppers, especially females, changed their behavioral patterns to a two day cycle under DD. Under continuous illumination (continuous quartz lamp light, yellow light at night, and green light at night), the activities of locomotion, cleaning, and searching were significantly suppressed during the night (19:00-7:00) and locomotion activities of both females and males were significantly increased during the day (7:00-19:00), suggesting a shift in circadian rhythm. Our work suggests that changes in light conditions, including photoperiod and wavelength, can influence behavioral activities of leafhoppers, potentially affecting other life history traits such as reproduction and development, and may serve as a method for leafhopper behavioral control.

  8. Assessing behavior in Aseel pullets under free-range, part-time free-range, and cage system during growing phase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rehman, M S; Mahmud, A; Mehmood, S; Pasha, T N; Khan, M T; Hussain, J

    2018-03-01

    The objective of this study was to explore the effects of free-range (FR), part-time free-range (PTFR), and cage system (CS) on behavioral repertoire in Lakha (LK), Mushki (MS), Peshawari (PW), and Sindhi (SN) varieties of Aseel chicken during the growing phase (9 to 18 wk of age). In total, 144 Aseel pullets were allotted to 12 treatment groups in a 3 × 4 (rearing system × Aseel variety) factorial arrangement, according to a randomized complete block design (RCBD). Each treatment group was replicated 3 times with 4 birds in each replicate (12 birds per treatment group). The pullets were randomly marked weekly for identification, and their behavior was observed through the focal animal sampling method. Time spent on different behavioral activities was recorded and converted to a percentage. The data were analyzed using 2-way ANOVA under a factorial arrangement using SAS 9.1, and the behavioral parameters were evaluated. The results indicated greater (P < 0.05) sitting, standing, drinking, preening, and aggressiveness in CS; walking, running, and jumping in PTFR; and foraging and dustbathing in both FR and PTFR, whereas feather pecking was found to be reduced in FR compared with PTFR and CS. Among varieties, PW showed the least feeding/foraging and feather pecking behavior, and greater standing, running, and jumping behavior (P < 0.05). However, SN spent less time in walking and preening, and more time in sitting, drinking, and aggressiveness. Dustbathing was found to be similar in all Aseel varieties (P = 0.135). In conclusion, the PTFR system could be suggested as a substitute for conventional housing systems because it better accommodates normal behavior in Aseel pullets.

  9. The Relationship between Bullying and Animal Abuse Behaviors in Adolescents: The Importance of Witnessing Animal Abuse

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gullone, Eleonora; Robertson, Nerida

    2008-01-01

    Children's abuse of animals may be predictive of aggression towards humans. This study assessed concurrent engagement in animal abuse and bullying behaviour in 241 adolescents aged 12 to 16 years. A total of 20.6% of youths reported abusing animals at least "sometimes" and 17.8% reported bullying others on at least one occasion in the past year.…

  10. Preparation of Biodiesel through Transesterification of Animal Oil and AlcoholUnder the Catalysis of SO42- / TiO2

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiu-Yan Pang

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Biodiesel was obtained through transesterification of animal oil and ethanol under the catalysis of SO42- / TiO2 We have inspected the activation of SO42- / TiO2prepared under different dipping vitriol concentration,baking activation temperature. The optimum conditions to prepare SO42- / TiO2are; dipping vitriol concentration of TiCl4 hydrolysis product is 1.5 mol / L, baking activation temperature for this catalyst takes 500°C. It can guarantee the catalyst has a smaller size and a higher load of vitriol. With animal oil as raw materials, ethanol as transesterifying agent and SO42- / TiO2as catalyst, the influence of reaction time, mass ratio of ethanol to oil and the dosage of catalyst were investigated. Optimum condition to obtain biodiesel was studied through orthogonal experiment, and it is listed as follow: mass ratio of ethanol to oil is 1.5:1.0, dosage of catalyst is 30 g SO42- / TiO2versus per 100 g animal oil, and reaction time is 8.0 h when reaction temperature is controlled as 80°C. The yield of biodiesel is 0.796 g/g under the above condition. SO42- / TiO2can be used as an effective catalyst during transesterification of animal oil and ethanol, and it can be reused

  11. Longevity of animals under reactive oxygen species stress and disease susceptibility due to global warming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paital, Biswaranjan; Panda, Sumana Kumari; Hati, Akshaya Kumar; Mohanty, Bobllina; Mohapatra, Manoj Kumar; Kanungo, Shyama; Chainy, Gagan Bihari Nityananda

    2016-02-26

    The world is projected to experience an approximate doubling of atmospheric CO2 concentration in the next decades. Rise in atmospheric CO2 level as one of the most important reasons is expected to contribute to raise the mean global temperature 1.4 °C-5.8 °C by that time. A survey from 128 countries speculates that global warming is primarily due to increase in atmospheric CO2 level that is produced mainly by anthropogenic activities. Exposure of animals to high environmental temperatures is mostly accompanied by unwanted acceleration of certain biochemical pathways in their cells. One of such examples is augmentation in generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and subsequent increase in oxidation of lipids, proteins and nucleic acids by ROS. Increase in oxidation of biomolecules leads to a state called as oxidative stress (OS). Finally, the increase in OS condition induces abnormality in physiology of animals under elevated temperature. Exposure of animals to rise in habitat temperature is found to boost the metabolism of animals and a very strong and positive correlation exists between metabolism and levels of ROS and OS. Continuous induction of OS is negatively correlated with survivability and longevity and positively correlated with ageing in animals. Thus, it can be predicted that continuous exposure of animals to acute or gradual rise in habitat temperature due to global warming may induce OS, reduced survivability and longevity in animals in general and poikilotherms in particular. A positive correlation between metabolism and temperature in general and altered O2 consumption at elevated temperature in particular could also increase the risk of experiencing OS in homeotherms. Effects of global warming on longevity of animals through increased risk of protein misfolding and disease susceptibility due to OS as the cause or effects or both also cannot be ignored. Therefore, understanding the physiological impacts of global warming in relation to

  12. Longevity of animals under reactive oxygen species stress and disease susceptibility due to global warming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paital, Biswaranjan; Panda, Sumana Kumari; Hati, Akshaya Kumar; Mohanty, Bobllina; Mohapatra, Manoj Kumar; Kanungo, Shyama; Chainy, Gagan Bihari Nityananda

    2016-01-01

    The world is projected to experience an approximate doubling of atmospheric CO2 concentration in the next decades. Rise in atmospheric CO2 level as one of the most important reasons is expected to contribute to raise the mean global temperature 1.4 °C-5.8 °C by that time. A survey from 128 countries speculates that global warming is primarily due to increase in atmospheric CO2 level that is produced mainly by anthropogenic activities. Exposure of animals to high environmental temperatures is mostly accompanied by unwanted acceleration of certain biochemical pathways in their cells. One of such examples is augmentation in generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and subsequent increase in oxidation of lipids, proteins and nucleic acids by ROS. Increase in oxidation of biomolecules leads to a state called as oxidative stress (OS). Finally, the increase in OS condition induces abnormality in physiology of animals under elevated temperature. Exposure of animals to rise in habitat temperature is found to boost the metabolism of animals and a very strong and positive correlation exists between metabolism and levels of ROS and OS. Continuous induction of OS is negatively correlated with survivability and longevity and positively correlated with ageing in animals. Thus, it can be predicted that continuous exposure of animals to acute or gradual rise in habitat temperature due to global warming may induce OS, reduced survivability and longevity in animals in general and poikilotherms in particular. A positive correlation between metabolism and temperature in general and altered O2 consumption at elevated temperature in particular could also increase the risk of experiencing OS in homeotherms. Effects of global warming on longevity of animals through increased risk of protein misfolding and disease susceptibility due to OS as the cause or effects or both also cannot be ignored. Therefore, understanding the physiological impacts of global warming in relation to

  13. Anxiolytic effects of GLYX-13 in animal models of posttraumatic stress disorder-like behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Zeng-Liang; Liu, Jin-Xu; Liu, Xu; Zhang, Li-Ming; Ran, Yu-Hua; Zheng, Yuan-Yuan; Tang, Yu; Li, Yun-Feng; Xiong, Jie

    2016-09-01

    In the present study, we investigated the effectiveness of GLYX-13, an NMDA receptor glycine site functional partial agonist, to alleviate the enhanced anxiety and fear response in both a mouse and rat model of stress-induced behavioral changes that might be relevant to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Studies over the last decades have suggested that the hyperactivity of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is one of the most consistent findings in stress-related disease. Herein, we used these animal models to further investigate the effect of GLYX-13 on the stress hormone levels and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) expression. We found that exposure to foot shock induced long-lasting behavioral deficiencies in mice, including freezing and anxiety-like behaviors, that were significantly ameliorated by the long-term administration of GLYX-13 (5 or 10 mg/kg). Our enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay results showed that long-term administration of GLYX-13 at behaviorally effective doses (5 or 10 mg/kg) significantly decreased the elevated serum levels of both corticosterone and its upstream stress hormone adrenocorticotropic hormone in rats subjected to the TDS procedure. These results suggest that GLYX-13 exerts a therapeutic effect on PTSD-like stress responding that is accompanied by (or associated with) modulation of the HPA axis, including inhibition of stress hormone levels and upregulation of hippocampal GR expression. © The Author(s) 2016.

  14. Forensic aspects of animal abusing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aleksić Jelena

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Animal abuse is important social issue, which includes a wide range of behaviors of humans that are harmful to animals, starting from unintentional neglect to intentional cruelty. Types of animal abuse are different and they can include physical, sexual, emotional abuse or neglect. Training dogs for fights and dog fighting are considered to be neglection of animals. Forensic veterinarians are called for testifining more often now for presenting the evidence that can lead to making a case regarding animal abuse. This study will include an explanation of forensic vet's role and different types of animal abuse.

  15. Feeding behavior in lambs fed diets containing crambe cake

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirna Adriane Syperreck

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available It was evaluated the feeding behavior of lambs fed diets containing 30% sorghum silage and 70% crambe cake (30:70 diet, and 70% sorghum silage and 30% crambe cake (70:30 diet under voluntary and controlled consumption. The experimental design used was a 4 × 4 Latin square, with four animals, four periods, and four treatments; feeding behavior was determined by observation. The results indicated that animals fed the 30:70 diet showed higher DM and NDF (g day-1 than those fed the 70:30 diet. Animals fed the 70:30 diet showed longer feeding times (h kg-1 DM, mastication (min kg-1 DM and min kg-1 NDF, rumination (min day-1 and min kg-1 DM, and the largest number of mericics chewing per bolus; however, a higher feed efficiency (g DM h-1 was observed in the 30:70 diet group. Furthermore, animals feeding voluntarily had higher DM intake and chewed for longer. Therefore, the combined results indicated that crambe cake could be used in the diet of sheep without affecting feeding behavior.

  16. Investigation program on PWR-steel-containment behavior under accident conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krieg, R.; Eberle, F.; Goeller, B.; Gulden, W.; Kadlec, J.; Messemer, G.; Mueller, S.; Wolf, E.

    1983-10-01

    This report is a first documentation of the KfK/PNS activities and plans to investigate the behaviour of steel containments under accident conditions. The investigations will deal with a free standing spherical containment shell built for the latest type of a German pressurized water reactor. The diameter of the containment shell is 56 m. The minimum wall thickness is 38 mm. The material used is the ferritic steel 15MnNi63. According to the actual planning the program is concerned with four different problems which are beyond the common design and licensing practice: Containment behavior under quasi-static pressure increase up to containment failure. Containment behavior under high transient pressures. Containment oscillations due to earthquake loadings; consideration of shell imperfections. Containment buckling due to earthquake loadings. The investigation program consists of both theoretical and experimental activities including membrane tests allowing for very high plastic strains and oscillation tests with a thin-walled, high-accurate spherical shell. (orig.) [de

  17. Forensic aspects of animal abusing

    OpenAIRE

    Aleksić Jelena; Jović Slavoljub

    2008-01-01

    Animal abuse is important social issue, which includes a wide range of behaviors of humans that are harmful to animals, starting from unintentional neglect to intentional cruelty. Types of animal abuse are different and they can include physical, sexual, emotional abuse or neglect. Training dogs for fights and dog fighting are considered to be neglection of animals. Forensic veterinarians are called for testifining more often now for presenting the evidence that can lead to making a case rega...

  18. [Suicidal behavior prevention for children under age 13: A systematic review].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baux-Cazal, L; Gokalsing, E; Amadeo, S; Messiah, A

    2017-05-01

    Our objective was to review international literature on suicidal behavior prevention for children under age 13. We gathered all relevant articles on suicide prevention for children under 13. We researched all publications in the French and English languages in PubMed (MEDLINE), PsychINFO and SUDOC databases published until February 2014, with the keywords "child", "child preschool", "prevention and control", "suicide", and "suicide attempted". Publications were included if they described suicidal behavior prevention programs (suicide prevention programs, attempted-suicide prevention programs, suicidal ideation screening programs), and if the studies concerned children under age 13. We also included references cited in the articles if they were not already present in our searches but met inclusion criteria. Studies were excluded if they analyzed populations of children and adolescents without sub-analysis for children under age 13. A total of 350 potentially relevant articles were identified, 33 of which met the inclusion criteria, including 4 retrieved from articles' bibliography. Preventive measures against suicidal behavior for children under 13 exist and include: social programs, maltreatment prevention, curriculum-based suicide prevention programs, suicide screening in schools, gatekeepers, reduction of access of lethal means of suicide, suicide screening by primary care, and post-suicide intervention programs. Overall, the evidence was limited by methodological concerns, particularly a lack of RCTs. However, positive effects were found: school-based suicide prevention programs and gatekeepers increased knowledge about suicide and how to seek help, post-suicide programs helped to reduce psychological distress in the short term. One study showed a decreased risk of attempted-suicide after entry into the child welfare system. There are promising interventions but there is not enough scientific evidence to support any efficient preventive measure against

  19. Pricing Decision under Dual-Channel Structure considering Fairness and Free-Riding Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yongmei Liu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Under dual-channel structure, the free-riding behavior based on different service levels between online channel and offline channel cannot be avoided, which would lead to channel unfairness. This study implies that the dual-channel supply chain is built up by online channel controlled by manufacturer and traditional channel controlled by retailer, respectively. Under this channel structure, we rebuild the linear demand function considering free-riding behavior and modify the pricing model based on channel fairness. Then the influences of fair factor and free-riding behavior on manufacturer and retailer pricing and performance are discussed. Finally, we propose some numerical analysis to provide some valuable recommendations for manufacturer and retailer improving channel management performance.

  20. Sex-Age Related Rumination Behavior of Père David's Deer under Constraints of Feeding Habitat and Rainfall.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhongqiu Li

    Full Text Available Extensive studies have been conducted on the rumination behavior of domestic herbivores. However, studies on wild animals are limited, particularly wild animals with specific ruminating parameters. In this study, Père David's deer, a previously extirpated species, was observed to analyze the effects of sex-age, feeding habitat, and rainfall on rumination behavior in the Dafeng Nature Reserve, China. Rumination behavior was investigated based on four parameters: proportion of bedding time spent chewing, bolus processing time (s/bolus, chewing frequency (chews/bolus, and chewing rate (chews/s. Results showed that all three factors affect rumination behavior. The extent of their effects varied based on the four rumination parameters. Chewing rate and frequency decreased based on sex-age levels, i.e., from fawns to juvenile female, juvenile male, adult female, stag, and harem holder. Therefore, body size played a major role in shaping rumination behavior. Deer found in grasslands could chew faster compared with deer found in woodlands. This result might be caused by the effects of dietary composition and sunlight intensity. A deer spends a longer time ruminating while bedding during rainy days compared with rainless days to maximize energy and nutrition intake and compensate for the loss of feeding time during rainy days. Therefore, rumination behavior is plastic and is shaped by intrinsic and extrinsic factors.

  1. The corrosion behavior of iron and aluminum under waste disposal conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fujisawa, R.; Cho, T.; Sugahara, K.; Takizawa, Y.; Hironaga, M.

    1997-01-01

    The generation of hydrogen gas from metallic waste in corrosive disposal environment is an important issue for the safety analysis of low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities in Japan. In particular iron and aluminum are the possibly important elements regarding the gas generation. However, the corrosion behavior of these metals has not been sufficiently investigated under the highly alkaline non-oxidizing disposal conditions yet. The authors studied the corrosion behavior of iron and aluminum under simulated disposal environments. The quantity of hydrogen gas generated from iron was measured in a closed cell under highly alkaline non-oxidizing conditions. The observed corrosion rate of iron in the initial period of immersion was 4 nm/year at 15 C, 20 nm/year at 30 C, and 200 nm/year at 45 C. The activation energy was found to be 100 kJ/mol from Arrhenius plotting of the above corrosion rates. The corrosion behavior of aluminum was studied under an environment simulating conditions in which aluminum was solidified with mortar. In the initial period aluminum corroded rapidly with a corrosion rate of 20 mm/year. However, the corrosion rate decreased with time, and after 1,000 hours the rate reached 0.001 to 0.01 mm/year. Thus the authors obtained data on hydrogen gas generation from iron and aluminum under the disposal environment relevant to the safety analysis of low-level radioactive disposal facilities in Japan

  2. Nonlinear behavior of micro bubbles under ultrasound due to heat transfer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lim, Chan Soo; Kwak, Ho Young; Kim, Jeong Eun; Lee, Jae Young

    2009-01-01

    We investigated the nonlinear behavior of a microbubble under ultrasound, taking into account the heat transfer inside the bubble and through the bubble wall. The polytropic relation, which has been used for the process of pressure change depending on the volume variation of ideal gases, cannot properly treat heat transfer involving the oscillating bubble under ultrasound. In this study, a set of solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations for the gas inside the bubble along with an analytical treatment of the Navier-Stokes equations for the liquid adjacent to the bubble wall was used to treat properly the heat transfer process for the oscillating bubble under ultrasound. Entropy generation due to finite heat transfer, which induces the lost work during bubble evolution, reduces the collapsing process and considerably affects the nonlinear behavior of the bubble

  3. Effect of vision angle on the phase transition in flocking behavior of animal groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, P The; Lee, Sang-Hee; Ngo, V Thanh

    2015-09-01

    The nature of the phase transition in a system of self-propelling particles has been extensively studied during the past few decades. A theoretical model was proposed by [T. Vicsek et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 1226 (1995)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.75.1226] with a simple rule for updating the direction of motion of each particle. Based on the model of Vicsek et al., in this paper, we consider a group of animals as particles moving freely in a two-dimensional space. Due to the fact that the viewable area of animals depends on the species, we consider the motion of each individual within an angle φ=ϕ/2 (ϕ is called the angle of view) of a circle centered at its position of radius R. We obtained a phase diagram in the space (φ,η_{c}) with η_{c} being the critical noise. We show that the phase transition exists only in the case of a wide view's angle φ≥0.5π. The flocking of animals is a universal behavior of the species of prey but not the one of the predator. Our simulation results are in good agreement with experimental observation [C. Beccoa et al., Physica A 367, 487 (2006)PHYADX0378-437110.1016/j.physa.2005.11.041].

  4. Setting apart the affected: the use of behavioral criteria in animal models of post traumatic stress disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Hagit; Zohar, Joseph; Matar, Michael A; Zeev, Kaplan; Loewenthal, Uri; Richter-Levin, Gal

    2004-11-01

    Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects about 20-30% of exposed individuals. Clinical studies of PTSD generally employ stringent criteria for inclusion in study populations, and yet in animal studies the data collection and analysis are generally expressed as a function of exposed vs nonexposed populations, regardless of individual variation in response. Prior data support an approach to animal models analogous to inclusion criteria in clinical studies. This series of studies sought to assess prevalence rates of maladaptive vs adaptive responses determined according to a more stringent approach to the concept of inclusion/exclusion criteria (cutoff behavioral criteria-CBC), consisting of two successive behavioral tests (elevated plus maze and acoustic startle response tests). The rats were exposed to stressors in two different paradigms; exposure to a predator and underwater trauma. The prevalence rates of maladaptive responses to stress in these two distinct models dropped over time from 90% in the acute phase to 25% enduring/maladaptive response at 7 days, to remain constant over 30 days. As setting the affected individuals apart from the unaffected approximates clinical studies, it might also help to clarify some of the pending issues in PTSD research.

  5. Brain Region-Specific Effects of cGMP-Dependent Kinase II Knockout on AMPA Receptor Trafficking and Animal Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Seonil; Pick, Joseph E.; Abera, Sinedu; Khatri, Latika; Ferreira, Danielle D. P.; Sathler, Matheus F.; Morison, Sage L.; Hofmann, Franz; Ziff, Edward B.

    2016-01-01

    Phosphorylation of GluA1, a subunit of AMPA receptors (AMPARs), is critical for AMPAR synaptic trafficking and control of synaptic transmission. cGMP-dependent protein kinase II (cGKII) mediates this phosphorylation, and cGKII knockout (KO) affects GluA1 phosphorylation and alters animal behavior. Notably, GluA1 phosphorylation in the KO…

  6. ["Animal hypnosis" and defensive dominant, behavioral aspect].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavlygina, R A; Galashina, A G; Bogdanov, A V

    2002-01-01

    A stationary excitation focus produced in the sensorimotor cortex of a rabbit by rhythmic electrodermal paw stimulation was manifested in the reaction to a testing sound stimulus earlier indifferent for the animal. Regardless of the stimulated paw (left or right), reactions to the testing stimuli appeared approximately in the equal percent of cases (70.7% and 71.5%, respectively). After a single-trial induction of the "animal hypnosis" state, it was difficult to produce the dominant focus by simulation of the left paw, whereas the results of the right-paw stimulation did not differ from those obtained during control stimulation. Consequently, the influence of hypnosis on defensive stationary excitation foci in different hemispheres was not the same.

  7. Environmental enrichment induces behavioral recovery and enhanced hippocampal cell proliferation in an antidepressant-resistant animal model for PTSD.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hendrikus Hendriksen

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD can be considered the result of a failure to recover after a traumatic experience. Here we studied possible protective and therapeutic aspects of environmental enrichment (with and without a running wheel in Sprague Dawley rats exposed to an inescapable foot shock procedure (IFS. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: IFS induced long-lasting contextual and non-contextual anxiety, modeling some aspects of PTSD. Even 10 weeks after IFS the rats showed reduced locomotion in an open field. The antidepressants imipramine and escitalopram did not improve anxiogenic behavior following IFS. Also the histone deacetylase (HDAC inhibitor sodium butyrate did not alleviate the IFS induced immobility. While environmental enrichment (EE starting two weeks before IFS did not protect the animals from the behavioral effects of the shocks, exposure to EE either immediately after the shock or one week later induced complete recovery three weeks after IFS. In the next set of experiments a running wheel was added to the EE to enable voluntary exercise (EE/VE. This also led to reduced anxiety. Importantly, this behavioral recovery was not due to a loss of memory for the traumatic experience. The behavioral recovery correlated with an increase in cell proliferation in hippocampus, a decrease in the tissue levels of noradrenalin and increased turnover of 5-HT in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This animal study shows the importance of (physical exercise in the treatment of psychiatric diseases, including post-traumatic stress disorder and points out the possible role of EE in studying the mechanism of recovery from anxiety disorders.

  8. Professor: The Animal Planet Optimization

    OpenAIRE

    Satish Gajawada

    2014-01-01

    This paper is dedicated to everyone who is interested in making this planet a better place to live. In the past, researchers have explored behavior of several animals separately. But there is scope to explore in the direction where various artificial animals together solve the optimization problem. In this paper, Satish Gajawada proposed The AnimalPlanet Optimization. The concept of this paper is to imitate all the animals on this planet. The idea is to solve the optimization problem where al...

  9. Frictional behavior of automotive brake materials under wet and dry conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Blau, P.J.; Martin, R.L. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States); Weintraub, M.H.; Jang, Ho; Donlon, W. [Ford Motor Co., Dearborn, MI (United States)

    1996-12-15

    The purpose of this effort was to develop an improved understanding of the relationship between the structure and frictional behavior of materials in the disc brake/rotor interface with a view toward improving the performance of automotive disc brakes. The three tasks involved in this Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) were as follows: Task 1. Investigation of Brake Pads and Rotors. Characterize surface features of worn brake pads and rotors, with special attention to the transfer film which forms on them during operation. Ford to supply specimens for examination and other supporting information. Task 2. Effects of Atmosphere and Repeated Applications on Brake Material Friction. Conduct pin-on-disk friction tests at ORNL under controlled moisture levels to determine effects of relative humidity on frictional behavior of brake pad and rotor materials. Conduct limited tests on the characteristics of friction under application of repeated contacts. Task 3. Comparison of Dynamometer Tests with Laboratory Friction Tests. Compare ORNL friction data with Ford dynamometer test data to establish the degree to which the simple bench tests can be useful in helping to understand frictional behavior in full-scale brake component tests. This final report summarizes work performed under this CRADA.

  10. Irradiation behavior of German PWR RPV steels under operating conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    May, J.; Hein, H. [AREVA NP Gmbh (Germany); Ganswind, J. [VGB PowerTech e.V. (Germany); Widera, M. [RWE Power AG (Germany)

    2011-07-01

    In 2007, the last standard surveillance capsule of the original RPV (Reactor Pressure Vessel) surveillance programs of the 11 currently operating German PWR has been evaluated. With it the standard irradiation surveillance programs of these plants was completed. In the present paper, irradiation data of these surveillance programs will be presented and a final assessment of the irradiation behavior of the German PWR RPV steels with respect to current standards KTA 3203 and Reg. Guide 1.99 Rev. 2 will be given. Data from two units which are currently under decommissioning will also be included, so that data from all 13 German PWR manufactured by the former Siemens/KWU company (now AREVA NP GmbH) are shown. It will be shown that all surveillance data within the approved area of chemical composition verify the limit curve RT(limit) of the KTA 3203, which is the relevant safety standard for these plants. An analysis of the data shows, that the prediction formulas of Reg. Guide 1.99 Rev. 2 Pos. 1 or from the TTS model tend to overestimate the irradiation behavior of the German PWR RPV steels. Possible reasons for this behavior are discussed. Additionally, the data will be compared to data from the research project CARISMA to demonstrate that these data are representative for the irradiation behavior of the German PWR RPV steels. Since the data of these research projects cover a larger neutron fluence range than the original surveillance data, they offer a future outlook into the irradiation behavior of the German PWR RPV steels under long term conditions. In general, as a consequence of the relatively large and beneficial water gap between core and RPV, especially in all Siemens/KWU 4-loop PWR, the EOL neutron fluence and therefore the irradiation induced changes in mechanical properties of the German PWR RPV materials are rather low. Moreover the irradiation data indicate that the optimized RPV materials specifications that have been applied in particular for the

  11. Evolutionary Developmental Soft Robotics As a Framework to Study Intelligence and Adaptive Behavior in Animals and Plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesco Corucci

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, a comprehensive methodology and simulation framework will be reviewed, designed in order to study the emergence of adaptive and intelligent behavior in generic soft-bodied creatures. By incorporating artificial evolutionary and developmental processes, the system allows to evolve complete creatures (brain, body, developmental properties, sensory, control system, etc. for different task environments. Whether the evolved creatures will resemble animals or plants is in general not known a priori, and depends on the specific task environment set up by the experimenter. In this regard, the system may offer a unique opportunity to explore differences and similarities between these two worlds. Different material properties can be simulated and optimized, from a continuum of soft/stiff materials, to the interconnection of heterogeneous structures, both found in animals and plants alike. The adopted genetic encoding and simulation environment are particularly suitable in order to evolve distributed sensory and control systems, which play a particularly important role in plants. After a general description of the system some case studies will be presented, focusing on the emergent properties of the evolved creatures. Particular emphasis will be on some unifying concepts that are thought to play an important role in the emergence of intelligent and adaptive behavior across both the animal and plant kingdoms, such as morphological computation and morphological developmental plasticity. Overall, with this paper, we hope to draw attention on set of tools, methodologies, ideas and results, which may be relevant to researchers interested in plant-inspired robotics and intelligence.

  12. Deformation Behavior of Human Dentin under Uniaxial Compression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dmitry Zaytsev

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Deformation behavior of a human dentin under compression including size and rate effects is studied. No difference between mechanical properties of crown and root dentin is found. It is mechanically isotropic high elastic and strong hard tissue, which demonstrates considerable plasticity and ability to suppress a crack growth. Mechanical properties of dentin depend on a shape of samples and a deformation rate.

  13. Current Status of Animal Models of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Behavioral and Biological Phenotypes, and Future Challenges in Improving Translation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deslauriers, Jessica; Toth, Mate; Der-Avakian, Andre; Risbrough, Victoria B

    2018-05-15

    Increasing predictability of animal models of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has required active collaboration between clinical and preclinical scientists. Modeling PTSD is challenging, as it is a heterogeneous disorder with ≥20 symptoms. Clinical research increasingly utilizes objective biological measures (e.g., imaging, peripheral biomarkers) or nonverbal behaviors and/or physiological responses to complement verbally reported symptoms. This shift toward more-objectively measurable phenotypes enables refinement of current animal models of PTSD, and it supports the incorporation of homologous measures across species. We reviewed >600 articles to examine the ability of current rodent models to probe biological phenotypes of PTSD (e.g., sleep disturbances, hippocampal and fear-circuit dysfunction, inflammation, glucocorticoid receptor hypersensitivity) in addition to behavioral phenotypes. Most models reliably produced enduring generalized anxiety-like or depression-like behaviors, as well as hyperactive fear circuits, glucocorticoid receptor hypersensitivity, and response to long-term selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Although a few paradigms probed fear conditioning/extinction or utilized peripheral immune, sleep, and noninvasive imaging measures, we argue that these should be incorporated more to enhance translation. Data on female subjects, on subjects at different ages across the life span, or on temporal trajectories of phenotypes after stress that can inform model validity and treatment study design are needed. Overall, preclinical (and clinical) PTSD researchers are increasingly incorporating homologous biological measures to assess markers of risk, response, and treatment outcome. This shift is exciting, as we and many others hope it not only will support translation of drug efficacy from animal models to clinical trials but also will potentially improve predictability of stage II for stage III clinical trials. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  14. Improving the Reliability of Tinnitus Screening in Laboratory Animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Aikeen; May, Bradford J

    2017-02-01

    Behavioral screening remains a contentious issue for animal studies of tinnitus. Most paradigms base a positive tinnitus test on an animal's natural tendency to respond to the "sound" of tinnitus as if it were an actual sound. As a result, animals with tinnitus are expected to display sound-conditioned behaviors when no sound is present or to miss gaps in background sounds because tinnitus "fills in the gap." Reliable confirmation of the behavioral indications of tinnitus can be problematic because the reinforcement contingencies of conventional discrimination tasks break down an animal's tendency to group tinnitus with sound. When responses in silence are rewarded, animals respond in silence regardless of their tinnitus status. When responses in silence are punished, animals stop responding. This study introduces stimulus classification as an alternative approach to tinnitus screening. Classification procedures train animals to respond to the common perceptual features that define a group of sounds (e.g., high pitch or narrow bandwidth). Our procedure trains animals to drink when they hear tinnitus and to suppress drinking when they hear other sounds. Animals with tinnitus are revealed by their tendency to drink in the presence of unreinforced probe sounds that share the perceptual features of the tinnitus classification. The advantages of this approach are illustrated by taking laboratory rats through a testing sequence that includes classification training, the experimental induction of tinnitus, and postinduction screening. Behavioral indications of tinnitus are interpreted and then verified by simulating a known tinnitus percept with objective sounds.

  15. Behavior under Extreme Conditions: The Titanic Disaster

    OpenAIRE

    Bruno S. Frey; David A. Savage; Benno Torgler

    2011-01-01

    During the night of April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic collided with an iceberg on her maiden voyage. Two hours and 40 minutes later she sank, resulting in the loss of 1,501 lives—more than two-thirds of her 2,207 passengers and crew. This remains one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history and by far the most famous. For social scientists, evidence about how people behaved as the Titanic sunk offers a quasi-natural field experiment to explore behavior under extreme conditions o...

  16. Response Acquisition under Targeted Percentile Schedules: A continuing Quandary for Molar Models of Operant Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    1993-07-01

    dimensions topics such as timing (e.g., Gibbon & Allan, from interresponse-time duration (e.g.. Alle- 1984), numerositv (e.g., Gallistel , 1989), and...Behavior, 51, 145-162. Snapper, A. G., & Inglis, G. B. (1985). SKED-li soft- Gallistel , C. R. (1989). Animal cognition: The repre- ware system. Kalamazoo

  17. Animal Models for the Study of Female Sexual Dysfunction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marson, Lesley; Giamberardino, Maria Adele; Costantini, Raffaele; Czakanski, Peter; Wesselmann, Ursula

    2017-01-01

    Introduction Significant progress has been made in elucidating the physiological and pharmacological mechanisms of female sexual function through preclinical animal research. The continued development of animal models is vital for the understanding and treatment of the many diverse disorders that occur in women. Aim To provide an updated review of the experimental models evaluating female sexual function that may be useful for clinical translation. Methods Review of English written, peer-reviewed literature, primarily from 2000 to 2012, that described studies on female sexual behavior related to motivation, arousal, physiological monitoring of genital function and urogenital pain. Main Outcomes Measures Analysis of supporting evidence for the suitability of the animal model to provide measurable indices related to desire, arousal, reward, orgasm, and pelvic pain. Results The development of female animal models has provided important insights in the peripheral and central processes regulating sexual function. Behavioral models of sexual desire, motivation, and reward are well developed. Central arousal and orgasmic responses are less well understood, compared with the physiological changes associated with genital arousal. Models of nociception are useful for replicating symptoms and identifying the neurobiological pathways involved. While in some cases translation to women correlates with the findings in animals, the requirement of circulating hormones for sexual receptivity in rodents and the multifactorial nature of women’s sexual function requires better designed studies and careful analysis. The current models have studied sexual dysfunction or pelvic pain in isolation; combining these aspects would help to elucidate interactions of the pathophysiology of pain and sexual dysfunction. Conclusions Basic research in animals has been vital for understanding the anatomy, neurobiology, and physiological mechanisms underlying sexual function and urogenital pain

  18. Following the genes: a framework for animal modeling of psychiatric disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sawa Akira

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The number of individual cases of psychiatric disorders that can be ascribed to identified, rare, single mutations is increasing with great rapidity. Such mutations can be recapitulated in mice to generate animal models with direct etiological validity. Defining the underlying pathogenic mechanisms will require an experimental and theoretical framework to make the links from mutation to altered behavior in an animal or psychopathology in a human. Here, we discuss key elements of such a framework, including cell type-based phenotyping, developmental trajectories, linking circuit properties at micro and macro scales and definition of neurobiological phenotypes that are directly translatable to humans.

  19. Free the animals? Investigating attitudes toward animal testing in Britain and the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swami, Viren; Furnham, Adrian; Christopher, Andrew N

    2008-06-01

    In this study, 185 British and 143 American undergraduates completed a battery of tests that measured attitudes toward animal testing and various individual difference variables. Attitudes toward animal testing factored into two interpretable factors: general attitudes toward animal testing, and animal welfare and conditions of testing. Overall, there was support for animal testing under the right conditions, although there was also concern for the welfare of animals and the conditions under which testing takes place. There were small but significant national difference on both factors (with Americans more positive about testing and less positive about animal welfare), and a significant sex difference on the first factor (women were more negative about testing). Correlation and regression analyses showed that there were few significant individual difference predictors of both factors. These results are discussed in relation to past and future work on attitudes toward animal testing.

  20. Effect of laser irradiation for healing of the skin-muscle wounds of animals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lapina, Victoria A.; Veremei, Eduard I.; Pancovets, Evgeniy A.

    2000-05-01

    The purpose of our investigation was to study the medical effect of low-intensity laser influence on healing of skin- muscle wounds of agricultural animals. We used the laser radiation of low intensity for cub's therapy: to sucking-pigs after herniotomy and castration, to cattle cubs after skin- muscle wounds. The animals were kept under clinical observation up to their recovery. The recuperation dynamic was observed by changing of blood quotients, leukograms, sizes of inflammatory edema, general behavior of animals. The positive dynamic of blood quotients of the experimental animal groups was really higher than that in control. The analysis of wound healing after laser influence shows that wound surface of experimental group was to a great extent smaller in comparison with control group of animals. So, these facts testify about anti-inflammatory action of laser radiation, which hastens regenerative and rehabilitative processes. Analysis of the obtained experimental data has revealed the positive influence of laser irradiation on the dynamics of wound adhesion of agricultural animals.

  1. Mechanical Behavior of Shale Rock under Uniaxial Cyclic Loading and Unloading Condition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Baoyun Zhao

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to investigate the mechanical behavior of shale rock under cyclic loading and unloading condition, two kinds of incremental cyclic loading tests were conducted. Based on the result of the short-term uniaxial incremental cyclic loading test, the permanent residual strain, modulus, and damage evolution were analyzed firstly. Results showed that the relationship between the residual strains and the cycle number can be expressed by an exponential function. The deformation modulus E50 and elastic modulus ES first increased and then decreased with the peak stress under the loading condition, and both of them increased approximately linearly with the peak stress under the unloading condition. On the basis of the energy dissipation, the damage variables showed an exponential increasing with the strain at peak stress. The creep behavior of the shale rock was also analyzed. Results showed that there are obvious instantaneous strain, decay creep, and steady creep under each stress level and the specimen appears the accelerated creep stage under the 4th stress of 51.16 MPa. Based on the characteristics of the Burgers creep model, a viscoelastic-plastic creep model was proposed through viscoplastic mechanics, which agrees very well with the experimental results and can better describe the creep behavior of shale rock better than the Burgers creep model. Results can provide some mechanics reference evidence for shale gas development.

  2. A comparison of the different animal models of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and their use in studying complex behaviors.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna R Patten

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Prenatal ethanol exposure (PNEE has been linked to widespread impairments in brain structure and function. There are a number of animal models that are used to study the structural and functional deficits caused by prenatal ethanol exposure, including, but not limited to: invertebrates, fish, rodents and non-human primates. Animal models enable a researcher to control important variables such as the route of ethanol administration, as well as the timing, frequency and amount of ethanol exposure. Each animal model and system of exposure has its place, depending on the research question being undertaken. In this review we will examine the different routes of ethanol administration and the various animal models of FASD that are commonly used in research, emphasizing their strengths and limitations. We will also present an up-to-date summary on the effects of prenatal/neonatal ethanol exposure on behavior across the lifespan, focusing on learning and memory, olfaction, social, executive and motor functions. Special emphasis will be placed where the various animal models best represent deficits observed in the human condition and offer a viable test bed to examine potential therapeutics for humans with FASD.

  3. Study on reinforced lightweight coconut shell concrete beam behavior under torsion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gunasekaran, K.; Ramasubramani, R.; Annadurai, R.; Prakash Chandar, S.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Use of coconut shell as aggregate in concrete production. • Behavior of coconut shell concrete under torsion. • Pre and post cracking behavior and analysis. • Torsional reinforcement and ductility. • Crack width and stiffness. - Abstract: This research investigates and evaluates the results of coconut shell concrete beams subjected to torsion and compared with conventional concrete beams. Eight beams, four with coconut shell concrete and four with conventional concrete were fabricated and tested. Study includes the general cracking characteristics, pre cracking behavior and analysis, post cracking behavior and analysis, minimum torsional reinforcement, torsional reinforcement, ductility, crack width and stiffness. It was observed that the torsional behavior of coconut shell concrete is comparable to that of conventional concrete. Compare to ACI prediction, equation suggested by Macgregor is more conservative in calculating cracking torsional resistance. But for the calculation of ultimate torque strength ACI prediction is more conservative compared to the equation suggested by Macgregor. Indian standard is also conservative in this regard, but it was under estimated compared to ACI and Macgregor equations. Minimum torsional reinforcement in beams is necessary to ensure that the beam do not fail at cracking. Compared to conventional concrete specimens, coconut shell concrete specimens have more ductility. Crack width at initial cracking torque for both conventional and coconut shell concrete with corresponding reinforcement ratios is almost similar

  4. Guinea Pigs: Versatile Animals for the Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barman, Charles R.

    1977-01-01

    Guinea pigs are presented as versatile classroom animals. Suggestions for animal behavior and genetics studies are given. Also included is information concerning sex determination and the breeding of guinea pigs, and hints on keeping these animals in the classroom. References and illustrations complete the article. (MA)

  5. Behavioral changes following PCB 153 exposure in the Spontaneously Hypertensive rat – an animal model of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a behavioral disorder affecting 3-5% of children. Although ADHD is highly heritable, environmental factors like exposure during early development to various toxic substances like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) may contribute to the prevalence. PCBs are a group of chemical industrial compounds with adverse effects on neurobiological and cognitive functioning, and may produce behavioral impairments that share significant similarities with ADHD. The present study examined the relation between exposure to PCB 153 and changes in ADHD-like behavior in an animal model of ADHD, the spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR/NCrl), and in Wistar Kyoto (WKY/NHsd) controls. Methods SHR/NCrl and WKY/NHsd, males and females, were orally given PCB 153 dissolved in corn oil at around postnatal day (PND) 8, 14, and 20 at a dosage of 1, 3 or 6 mg/kg bodyweight at each exposure. The control groups were orally administered corn oil only. The animals were behaviorally tested for exposure effects from PND 37 to 64 using an operant procedure. Results Exposure to PCB 153 was associated with pronounced and long-lasting behavioral changes in SHR/NCrl. Exposure effects in the SHR/NCrl depended on dose, where 1 mg/kg tended to reduce ADHD-like behaviors and produce opposite behavioral effects compared to 3 mg/kg and 6 mg/kg, especially in the females. In the WKY/NHsd controls and for the three doses tested, PCB 153 exposure produced a few specific behavioral changes only in males. The data suggest that PCB 153 exposure interacts with strain and sex, and also indicate a non-linear dose–response relation for the behaviors observed. Conclusions Exposure to PCB 153 seems to interact with several variables including strain, sex, dose, and time of testing. To the extent that the present findings can be generalized to humans, exposure effects of PCB 153 on ADHD behavior depends on amount of exposure, where high doses may aggravate ADHD

  6. The fatigue behavior of composite laminates under various mean stresses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rotem, A.

    1991-01-01

    A method is developed for predicting the S-N curve of a composite laminate which is subjected to an arbitrary stress ratio, R (minimum stress/maximum stress). The method is based on the measuring of the S-N behavior of two distinct cases, tension-tension and compression-compression fatigue loadings. Using these parameters, expressions are formulated that estimate the fatigue behavior under any stress ratio loading. Experimental results from the testing of graphite/epoxy laminates, with various structures, are compared with the predictions and show good agreement.

  7. From bench to bed: putative animal models of REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krenzer, Martina; Lu, Jun; Mayer, Geert; Oertel, Wolfgang

    2013-04-01

    REM behavior disorder (RBD) is a parasomnia characterized by REM sleep without atonia, leading to abnormal and potentially injurious behavior during REM sleep. It is considered one of the most specific predictors of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's disease. In this paper, we provide an overview of animal models contributing to our current understanding of REM-associated atonia, and, as a consequence, the pathophysiology of RBD. The generator of REM-associated atonia is located in glutamatergic neurons of the pontine sublaterodorsal nucleus (SLD), as shown in cats, rats and mice. These findings are supported by clinical cases of patients with lesions of the homologous structure in humans. Glutamatergic SLD neurons, presumably in conjunction with others, project to (a) the ventromedial medulla, where they either directly target inhibitory interneurons to alpha motor neurons or are relayed, and (b) the spinal cord directly. At the spinal level, alpha motor neurons are inhibited by GABAergic and glycinergic interneurons. Our current understanding is that lesions of the glutamatergic SLD are the key factor for REM sleep behavior disorder. However, open questions remain, e.g. other features of RBD (such as the typically aggressive dream content) or the frequent progression from idiopathic RBD to neurodegenerative disorders, to name only a few. In order to elucidate these questions, a constant interaction between basic and clinical researchers is required, which might, ultimately, create an early therapeutic window for neurodegenerative disorders.

  8. Differential effects of ethanol on feline rage and predatory attack behavior: an underlying neural mechanism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schubert, K; Shaikh, M B; Han, Y; Poherecky, L; Siegel, A

    1996-08-01

    Previous studies have shown that, at certain dose levels, ethanol can exert a powerful, facilitatory effect on aggressive behavior in both animals and humans. In the cat, however, it was discovered that ethanol differentially alters two forms of aggression that are common to this species. Defensive rage behavior is significantly enhanced, whereas predatory attack behavior is suppressed by ethanol administration. One possible mechanism governing alcohol's potentiation of defensive rage behavior is that it acts on the descending pathway from the medial hypothalamus to the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG)-an essential pathway for the expression of defensive rage behavior that uses excitatory amino acids as a neurotransmitter. This hypothesis is supported by the finding that the excitatory effects of alcohol on defensive rage behavior are blocked by administration of the N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonist alpha-2-amino-7-phosphoheptanoic acid (AP-7) when microinjected into the periaqueductal gray, a primary neuronal target of descending fibers from the medial hypothalamus that mediate the expression of defensive rage behavior. Thus, the present study establishes for the first time a specific component of the neural circuit for defensive rage behavior over which the potentiating effects of ethanol are mediated.

  9. Behavior of single lap composite bolted joint under traction loading: Experimental investigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Awadhani, L. V.; Bewoor, Anand

    2018-04-01

    Composite bolted joints are preferred connection in the composite structures to facilitate the dismantling for the replacements/ maintenance work. The joint behavior under tractive forces has been studied in order to understand the safety of the structure designed. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the behavior of single-lap joints in carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composites under traction loading conditions. The experiments were designed to identify the effect of bolt diameter, stacking sequence and loading rate on the properties of the joint. The experimental results show that the parameters influence the joint performance significantly.

  10. External dose estimation of the human associated with companion animals under veterinary nuclear medical diagnosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ito, Nobuhiko; Hanawa, Asumi; Suzuki, Kanan

    2004-01-01

    This study was performed in order to make a safety guideline for veterinary nuclear medicine in Japan. Well often used radionuclides ( 18 F and 99 mTc) were employed for evaluating the external radiation exposures of veterinarians, animal owners, and the public. The human external radiation exposure from radiation sources in phantom likened to animal was considered by comparing the results of computer simulation and the actually measured exposure. The computer simulation was performed by using macro program of Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). In this simulation calculation process, radiation absorption and buildup were taken into consideration with the gamma ray emitted from radioactive materials in the body of the animal. Both corresponded well though the simulation result tended to be overvalued from the actual measurement value. Therefore, it is thought that this system can be applied to the estimation of human's external exposure. When the calculation was done on the condition that the radioactive substance exists only in internal organs (heart, liver, kidneys, and bladder), the unequal distribution of the dose rate was found near the animal body. External radiation exposure estimation to the veterinarian, the animal owner and the public was performed under consideration of the actual working condition, the distance from the source, and the time of exposure. In the calculation, the radiation dose of the animal owner and the public did not exceed the dose limit (5 mSv/yr for the animal owner, and 1 mSv/yr for the general public: International Commission of Radiological Protection (ICRP) 1990) in the release after 24 hours of the radiopharmaceutical administering. The calculation condition used in this study was actually more excessive. So the authors consider these exposures would cause no significant issue by starting the veterinary nuclear medicine in Japan. Moreover, since injected radiopharmaceutical is excreted out of the body actually, the

  11. Metabolic and behavioral effects of ractopamine at continuous low levels in rats under stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edna Lopes

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed at evaluating the effect of ractopamine (RAC on metabolism, zootechnical performance, body composition, and behavior in Wistar rats submitted to acute and chronic restrain stress. The oral dose of 5 mg/kg of RAC was administered in periods of 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days. The elevated plus-maze test (EPMT was used for behavioral assessment. Blood, carcass and viscera characteristics were evaluated. Insulin-dependent glucose transporters (GLUT-4 were semi-quantified by Western Blot in epididymal adipocytes. RAC periods associated with chronic stress increased the GLUT-4 protein expression in adipose tissue in a time-dependent manner (P=0.01, i.e., the longer the RAC addition period, the higher the GLUT-4 concentration in chronically stressed animals (0=1.42; 7=1.19; 14=2.03; 21=1.59; 28=2.35. The stress periods combined with RAC increased the time spent in the opened arms of the maze (Chronic stress: 0=10.6; 7=8.7; 14=5.9; 21=12.3; 28=4.0; Acute stress 0=3.1; 7= 4.7; 14=7.5; 21=0.0; 28=2.8 (P=0.04. Chronic (entries on the closed arms [ECA]=3.60 and acute (ECA=3.80 stress reduced locomotive activity in the maze (P=0.03. The results suggested that stress could negatively affect the possible benefits offered by the RAC, mainly impairing the adipose tissue metabolism and behavior in the animals.

  12. Childhood animal cruelty, bestiality, and the link to adult interpersonal violence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holoyda, Brian J; Newman, William J

    2016-01-01

    Animal cruelty has been a concern of the legal and psychiatric communities for many years. Beginning in the early 1800s, state legislatures in the United States established laws to protect the basic safety and security of animals in their jurisdictions. Legislatures have differed in opinion on the animals to receive protection under the law and have instituted differing penalties for infractions of anti-cruelty measures. In the 1960s, the psychiatric community took notice of childhood animal cruelty as a potential risk factor for violent acts against humans. Since that time there has been increasing evidence that children who engage in animal cruelty may be at increased risk of interpersonal offenses in adulthood. Less is known about children and adults who engage in bestiality and the potential risk that these individuals may pose for interpersonal sexual or nonsexual violent acts. We review the legal status of animal cruelty in the United States, summarize the history of psychiatric interest in and research of animal cruelty, describe current knowledge regarding the link between animal cruelty and violence, and propose a novel classification scheme for individuals who engage in bestiality to assist forensic psychiatric examiners in determining the risk that such behavior poses for future interpersonal offending. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Depression and substance use comorbidity: What we have learned from animal studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, Enoch; Browne, Caleb J; Samsom, James N; Wong, Albert H C

    2017-07-01

    Depression and substance use disorders are often comorbid, but the reasons for this are unclear. In human studies, it is difficult to determine how one disorder may affect predisposition to the other and what the underlying mechanisms might be. Instead, animal studies allow experimental induction of behaviors relevant to depression and drug-taking, and permit direct interrogation of changes to neural circuits and molecular pathways. While this field is still new, here we review animal studies that investigate whether depression-like states increase vulnerability to drug-taking behaviors. Since chronic psychosocial stress can precipitate or predispose to depression in humans, we review studies that use psychosocial stressors to produce depression-like phenotypes in animals. Specifically, we describe how postweaning isolation stress, repeated social defeat stress, and chronic mild (or unpredictable) stress affect behaviors relevant to substance abuse, especially operant self-administration. Potential brain changes mediating these effects are also discussed where available, with an emphasis on mesocorticolimbic dopamine circuits. Postweaning isolation stress and repeated social defeat generally increase acquisition or maintenance of drug self-administration, and alter dopamine sensitivity in various brain regions. However, the effects of chronic mild stress on drug-taking have been much less studied. Future studies should consider standardizing stress-induction protocols, including female subjects, and using multi-hit models (e.g. genetic vulnerabilities and environmental stress).

  14. Commodifying animals: ethical issues in genetic engineering of animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almond, B

    2000-03-01

    The genetic modification of living beings raises special ethical concerns which go beyond general discussion of animal rights or welfare. Although the goals may be similar, biotechnology has accelerated the process of modification of types traditionally carried out by cross-breeding. These changes are discussed in relation to two areas: biomedicine, and animal husbandry. Alternative ethical approaches are reviewed, and it is argued that the teleological thesis underlying virtue ethics has special relevance here. The case for and the case against genetic engineering and patenting of life-forms are examined, and conclusions are drawn which favour regulation, caution and respect for animals and animal species.

  15. Features of tuned mass damper behavior under strong earthquakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nesterova, Olga; Uzdin, Alexander; Fedorova, Maria

    2018-05-01

    Plastic deformations, cracks and destruction of structure members appear in the constructions under strong earthquakes. Therefore constructions are characterized by a nonlinear deformation diagram. Two types of construction non-linearity are considered in the paper. The first type of nonlinearity is elastoplastic one. In this case, plastic deformations occur in the structural elements, and when the element is unloaded, its properties restores. Among such diagrams are the Prandtl diagram, the Prandtl diagram with hardening, the Ramberg-Osgood diagram and others. For systems with such nonlinearity there is an amplitude-frequency characteristic and resonance oscillation frequencies. In this case one can pick up the most dangerous accelerograms for the construction. The second type of nonlinearity is nonlinearity with degrading rigidity and dependence of behavior on the general loading history. The Kirikov-Amankulov model is one of such ones. Its behavior depends on the maximum displacement in the stress history. Such systems do not have gain frequency characteristic and resonance frequency. The period of oscillation of such system is increasing during the system loading, and the system eigen frequency decreases to zero at the time of collapse. In the cases under consideration, when investigating the system with MD behavior, the authors proposed new efficiency criteria. These include the work of plastic deformation forces for the first type of nonlinearity, which determines the possibility of progressive collapse or low cycle fatigue of the structure members. The period of system oscillations and the time to collapse of the structural support members are the criterion for systems with degrading rigidity. In the case of non-linear system behavior, the efficiency of MD application decreases, because the fundamental structure period is reduced because of structure damages and the MD will be rebound from the blanking regime. However, the MD using can significantly reduce

  16. Creep behavior of Zircaloy cladding under variable conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsuo, Y.

    1989-01-01

    Various creep tests of Zircaloy cladding tubes under variable conditions were conducted to investigate which hardening rule can be applicable for the creep behavior associated with condition changes. The results show that the strain-hardening rule is applicable in general when either the stress or temperature conditions change, provided that a certain amount of creep strain recovery is observed in case of stress drop. In stress reversal conditions, however, softening of the material was observed. Strain rate after stress reversal is much higher than that predicted by the strain-hardening rule. In this case, the modified strain-hardening model, considering a recoverable creep-hardening range together with the strain recovery, predicts the creep behavior well. The applicability of the model is ascertained through a verification test that includes stress reversal, strain recovery, stress changes, and temperature changes

  17. Physiological mechanisms underlying animal social behaviour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seebacher, Frank; Krause, Jens

    2017-08-19

    Many species of animal live in groups, and the group represents the organizational level within which ecological and evolutionary processes occur. Understanding these processes, therefore, relies on knowledge of the mechanisms that permit or constrain group formation. We suggest that physiological capacities and differences in physiology between individuals modify fission-fusion dynamics. Differences between individuals in locomotor capacity and metabolism may lead to fission of groups and sorting of individuals into groups with similar physiological phenotypes. Environmental impacts such as hypoxia can influence maximum group sizes and structure in fish schools by altering access to oxygenated water. The nutritional environment determines group cohesion, and the increase in information collected by the group means that individuals should rely more on social information and form more cohesive groups in uncertain environments. Changing environmental contexts require rapid responses by individuals to maintain group coordination, which are mediated by neuroendocrine signalling systems such as nonapeptides and steroid hormones. Brain processing capacity may constrain social complexity by limiting information processing. Failure to evaluate socially relevant information correctly limits social interactions, which is seen, for example, in autism. Hence, functioning of a group relies to a large extent on the perception and appropriate processing of signals from conspecifics. Many if not all physiological systems are mechanistically linked, and therefore have synergistic effects on social behaviour. A challenge for the future lies in understanding these interactive effects, which will improve understanding of group dynamics, particularly in changing environments.This article is part of the themed issue 'Physiological determinants of social behaviour in animals'. © 2017 The Author(s).

  18. The fiber-optic imaging and manipulation of neural activity during animal behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miyamoto, Daisuke; Murayama, Masanori

    2016-02-01

    Recent progress with optogenetic probes for imaging and manipulating neural activity has further increased the relevance of fiber-optic systems for neural circuitry research. Optical fibers, which bi-directionally transmit light between separate sites (even at a distance of several meters), can be used for either optical imaging or manipulating neural activity relevant to behavioral circuitry mechanisms. The method's flexibility and the specifications of the light structure are well suited for following the behavior of freely moving animals. Furthermore, thin optical fibers allow researchers to monitor neural activity from not only the cortical surface but also deep brain regions, including the hippocampus and amygdala. Such regions are difficult to target with two-photon microscopes. Optogenetic manipulation of neural activity with an optical fiber has the advantage of being selective for both cell-types and projections as compared to conventional electrophysiological brain tissue stimulation. It is difficult to extract any data regarding changes in neural activity solely from a fiber-optic manipulation device; however, the readout of data is made possible by combining manipulation with electrophysiological recording, or the simultaneous application of optical imaging and manipulation using a bundle-fiber. The present review introduces recent progress in fiber-optic imaging and manipulation methods, while also discussing fiber-optic system designs that are suitable for a given experimental protocol. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  19. Trade, Environment & Animal Welfare

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Morrison, Peter; Nielsen, Laura

    2013-01-01

    Regulation of animal welfare and the environment under the WTO GATT and GATS Agreements - including introduction of the innovative idea of limiting consumption abroad (mode 2) for e.g. bull fights.......Regulation of animal welfare and the environment under the WTO GATT and GATS Agreements - including introduction of the innovative idea of limiting consumption abroad (mode 2) for e.g. bull fights....

  20. Pathogenesis of depression- and anxiety-like behavior in an animal model of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dossat, Amanda M; Sanchez-Gonzalez, Marcos A; Koutnik, Andrew P; Leitner, Stefano; Ruiz, Edda L; Griffin, Brittany; Rosenberg, Jens T; Grant, Samuel C; Fincham, Francis D; Pinto, Jose R; Kabbaj, Mohamed

    2017-06-01

    Cardiovascular dysfunction is highly comorbid with mood disorders, such as anxiety and depression. However, the mechanisms linking cardiovascular dysfunction with the core behavioral features of mood disorder remain poorly understood. In this study, we used mice bearing a knock-in sarcomeric mutation, which is exhibited in human hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), to investigate the influence of HCM over the development of anxiety and depression. We employed behavioral, MRI, and biochemical techniques in young (3-4 mo) and aged adult (7-8 mo) female mice to examine the effects of HCM on the development of anxiety- and depression-like behaviors. We focused on females because in both humans and rodents, they experience a 2-fold increase in mood disorder prevalence vs. males. Our results showed that young and aged HCM mice displayed echocardiographic characteristics of the heart disease condition, yet only aged HCM females displayed anxiety- and depression-like behaviors. Electrocardiographic parameters of sympathetic nervous system activation were increased in aged HCM females vs. controls and correlated with mood disorder-related symptoms. In addition, when compared with controls, aged HCM females exhibited adrenal gland hypertrophy, reduced volume in mood-related brain regions, and reduced hippocampal signaling proteins, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor and its downstream targets vs. controls. In conclusion, prolonged systemic HCM stress can lead to development of mood disorders, possibly through inducing structural and functional brain changes, and thus, mood disorders in patients with heart disease should not be considered solely a psychologic or situational condition.-Dossat, A. M., Sanchez-Gonzalez, M. A., Koutnik, A. P., Leitner, S., Ruiz, E. L., Griffin, B., Rosenberg, J. T., Grant, S. C., Fincham, F. D., Pinto, J. R. Kabbaj, M. Pathogenesis of depression- and anxiety-like behavior in an animal model of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. © FASEB.

  1. Electrochemical behavior of single-walled carbon nanotube supercapacitors under compressive stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xin; Rong, Jiepeng; Wei, Bingqing

    2010-10-26

    The effect of compressive stress on the electrochemical behavior of flexible supercapacitors assembled with single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) film electrodes and 1 M aqueous electrolytes with different anions and cations were thoroughly investigated. The under-pressed capacitive and resistive features of the supercapacitors were studied by means of cyclic voltammetry measurements and electrochemical impedance analysis. The results demonstrated that the specific capacitance increased first and saturated in corresponding decreases of the series resistance, the charge-transfer resistance, and the Warburg diffusion resistance under an increased pressure from 0 to 1723.96 kPa. Wettability as well as ion-size effect of different aqueous electrolytes played important roles to determine the pressure dependence behavior of the suerpcapacitors under an applied pressure. An improved high-frequency capacitive response with 1172 Hz knee frequency, which is significantly higher compared to reported values, was observed under the compressive pressure of 1723.96 kPa, indicating an improving and excellent high-power capability of the supercapacitors under the pressure. The experimental results and the thorough analysis described in this work not only provide fundamental insight of pressure effects on supercapacitors but also give an important guideline for future design of next generation flexible/stretchable supercapacitors for industrial and consumer applications.

  2. Monitoring Animal Well-being

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gronskyte, Ruta

    environment. In video surveillance, the behavior of humans and animals is monitored based on extremes: event is present/event is not present, objects behave normally/objects behave abnormally, action 1/action 2/action 3, etc. In nature, the motion of humans and animals is continuous with transitions from one...... action to another. The second aim of this thesis is to propose a method to monitor motion as a continuous process using common classification methods....... are handled. Ensuring the well-being of such large numbers of pigs using only personnel is a complicated task. Video surveillance of humans has been widely used to ensure safety and order in multiple situations. Methods have been developed to detect individual actions or abnormal behavior in small groups...

  3. Spent fuel's behavior under dynamic drip tests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Finn, P.A.; Buck, E.C.; Hoh, J.C.; Bates, J.K.

    1995-01-01

    In the potential repository at Yucca Mountain, failure of the waste package container and the cladding of the spent nuclear fuel would expose the fuel to water under oxidizing conditions. To simulate the release behavior of radionuclides from spent fuel, dynamic drip and vapor tests with spent nuclear fuel have been ongoing for 2.5 years. Rapid alteration of the spent fuel has been noted with concurrent release of radionuclides. Colloidal species containing americium and plutonium have been found in the leachate. This observation suggests that colloidal transport of radionuclides should be included in the performance assessment of a potential repository

  4. Maintaining the clinical relevance of animal models in translational studies of post-traumatic stress disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Hagit; Matar, Michael A; Zohar, Joseph

    2014-01-01

    The diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is conditional on directly experiencing or witnessing a significantly threatening event and the presence of a certain minimal number of symptoms from each of four symptom clusters (re-experiencing, avoidance, negative cognition and mood, and hyperarousal) at least one month after the event (DSM 5) (American Psychiatric Association 2013). Only a proportion of the population exposed develops symptoms fulfilling the criteria. The individual heterogeneity in responses of stress-exposed animals suggested that adapting clearly defined and reliably reproducible "diagnostic", i.e. behavioral, criteria for animal responses would augment the clinical validity of the analysis of study data. We designed cut-off (inclusion/exclusion) behavioral criteria (CBC) which classify study subjects as being severely, minimally or partially affected by the stress paradigm, to be applied retrospectively in the analysis of behavioral data. Behavioral response classification enables the researcher to correlate (retrospectively) specific anatomic, bio-molecular and physiological parameters with the degree and pattern of the individual behavioral response, and also introduces "prevalence rates" as a valid study-parameter. The cumulative results of our studies indicate that, by classifying the data from individual subjects according to their response patterns, the animal study can more readily be translated into clinical "follow-up" studies and back again. This article will discuss the concept of the model and its background, and present a selection of studies employing and examining the model, alongside the underlying translational rationale of each. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. Rare Animal Education Usingaugmented Reality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hening Artdias

    2018-01-01

    They are extinction because destruction of forest habitats, a conflict between humans and animals, trade, hunting, the arrests beyond capacity. [1]. Is that the issue of the extinction of the animals is dominated by human behavior and nature of the wrath of them. For that, education game “Rare Animal” become formulations to raise awareness of endangered species.

  6. Fatigue crack propagation behavior under creep conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohji, Kiyotsugu; Kubo, Shiro

    1991-01-01

    The crack propagation behavior of the SUS 304 stainless steel under creep-fatigue conditions was reviewed. Cracks propagated either in purely time-dependent mode or in purely cycle-dependent mode, depending on loading conditions. The time-dependent crack propagation rate was correlated with modified J-integral J * and the cycle-dependent crack propagation rate was correlated with J-integral range ΔJ f . Threshold was observed in the cycle-dependent crack propagation, and below this threshold the time-dependent crack propagation appeared. The crack propagation rates were uniquely characterized by taking the effective values of J * and ΔJ f , when crack closure was observed. Change in crack propagation mode occurred reversibly and was predicted by the competitive damage model. The threshold disappeared and the cycle-dependent crack propagation continued in a subthreshold region under variable amplitude conditions, where the threshold was interposed between the maximum and minimum ΔJ f . (orig.)

  7. Performance and goats behavior in pasture of Andropogon grass under different forage allowances

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Louçana da Costa Araújo

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available This study was accomplished to evaluate the behavior and performance of goats in to grazing on grass Andropogon gayanus Kunth var. Bisquamulatus (Hochst Hack. cv. Planaltina submitted to three forage allowances: 11, 15 and 19% BW/day, under continuous grazing. The experimental design to assess the grazing behaviour was randomized blocks in a split-plot with five replicates within the block. In the plots, we evaluated the effect of forage allowances and in the subplots, the months May and June. While for evaluation of animal performance was in complete block design with five replicates within the block. The different forage allowance did not cause structural changes in the pasture, except in height. However, there was an increase of dead material, leaf/stem ratio and reducing of height during the grazing period. The behavioral variables were not affected by forage allowance, except for the time of displacement, whereby goats spent more time in pastures with offer of 11% BW. The goats remained most part of the time in grazing and idle, corresponding to 89% and 5% of the evaluation time, respectively. Higher bit rate was observed in June, among the offerings, and 15 and 19% BW. The ingestive and grazing behaviour in goats is changed by the accumulation of dead material and stem in pasture from Andropogon grass during at rainy season. The forage supply 11% of BW increases the time of displacement of goats grazing on Andropogon grass. The management of grazing Andropogon grass with forage allowance being 11 and 19% of BW provides low weight gains in goats during the rainy season.

  8. Consumers’ social media brand behaviors: uncovering underlying motivators and deriving meaningful consumer segments

    OpenAIRE

    Dimitriu, Radu; Guesalaga Trautmann, Rodrigo

    2017-01-01

    The current research identifies the range of social media brand behaviors (i.e., brand touch points) that consumers can exhibit on social media, and subsequently queries a representative sample of consumers with regard to such behaviors. The analysis reveals four underlying motivators for consumers’ social media behaviors, including brand tacit engagement, brand exhibiting, brand patronizing and brand deal seeking. These motivators are used to derive meaningful consumer segments identified as...

  9. Impaired decision making under ambiguity but not under risk in individuals with pathological buying-behavioral and psychophysiological evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trotzke, Patrick; Starcke, Katrin; Pedersen, Anya; Müller, Astrid; Brand, Matthias

    2015-09-30

    Pathological buying (PB) is described as dysfunctional buying behavior, associated with harmful consequences. It is discussed whether decision-making deficits are related to PB, because affected individuals often choose the short-term rewarding option of buying despite persistent negative long-term consequences. We investigated 30 patients suffering from PB and 30 matched control participants with two different decision-making tasks: the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) measures decisions under ambiguity and involves emotional feedback processing, whereas the Game of Dice Task (GDT) measures decisions under risk and can be solved strategically. Potential emotional and cognitive correlates of decision making were investigated by assessing skin conductance response (SCR) and executive functioning. In comparison to the control participants, the patients showed more disadvantageous decisions under ambiguity in the IGT. These data were supported by the SCR results: patients failed to generate SCRs that usually occur before disadvantageous decisions. The physiological and behavioral performance on decisions under risk and executive functioning did not differ between groups. Thus, deficits in emotional feedback processing might be one potential factor in etiology and pathogenesis of PB and should be considered in theory and treatment. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  10. Sound at the zoo: Using animal monitoring, sound measurement, and noise reduction in zoo animal management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orban, David A; Soltis, Joseph; Perkins, Lori; Mellen, Jill D

    2017-05-01

    A clear need for evidence-based animal management in zoos and aquariums has been expressed by industry leaders. Here, we show how individual animal welfare monitoring can be combined with measurement of environmental conditions to inform science-based animal management decisions. Over the last several years, Disney's Animal Kingdom® has been undergoing significant construction and exhibit renovation, warranting institution-wide animal welfare monitoring. Animal care and science staff developed a model that tracked animal keepers' daily assessments of an animal's physical health, behavior, and responses to husbandry activity; these data were matched to different external stimuli and environmental conditions, including sound levels. A case study of a female giant anteater and her environment is presented to illustrate how this process worked. Associated with this case, several sound-reducing barriers were tested for efficacy in mitigating sound. Integrating daily animal welfare assessment with environmental monitoring can lead to a better understanding of animals and their sensory environment and positively impact animal welfare. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. Modeling behavioral thermoregulation in a climate change sentinel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moyer-Horner, Lucas; Mathewson, Paul D; Jones, Gavin M; Kearney, Michael R; Porter, Warren P

    2015-12-01

    When possible, many species will shift in elevation or latitude in response to rising temperatures. However, before such shifts occur, individuals will first tolerate environmental change and then modify their behavior to maintain heat balance. Behavioral thermoregulation allows animals a range of climatic tolerances and makes predicting geographic responses under future warming scenarios challenging. Because behavioral modification may reduce an individual's fecundity by, for example, limiting foraging time and thus caloric intake, we must consider the range of behavioral options available for thermoregulation to accurately predict climate change impacts on individual species. To date, few studies have identified mechanistic links between an organism's daily activities and the need to thermoregulate. We used a biophysical model, Niche Mapper, to mechanistically model microclimate conditions and thermoregulatory behavior for a temperature-sensitive mammal, the American pika (Ochotona princeps). Niche Mapper accurately simulated microclimate conditions, as well as empirical metabolic chamber data for a range of fur properties, animal sizes, and environmental parameters. Niche Mapper predicted pikas would be behaviorally constrained because of the need to thermoregulate during the hottest times of the day. We also showed that pikas at low elevations could receive energetic benefits by being smaller in size and maintaining summer pelage during longer stretches of the active season under a future warming scenario. We observed pika behavior for 288 h in Glacier National Park, Montana, and thermally characterized their rocky, montane environment. We found that pikas were most active when temperatures were cooler, and at sites characterized by high elevations and north-facing slopes. Pikas became significantly less active across a suite of behaviors in the field when temperatures surpassed 20°C, which supported a metabolic threshold predicted by Niche Mapper. In general

  12. Animal Hairs as Water-stimulated Shape Memory Materials: Mechanism and Structural Networks in Molecular Assemblies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Xueliang; Hu, Jinlian

    2016-05-01

    Animal hairs consisting of α-keratin biopolymers existing broadly in nature may be responsive to water for recovery to the innate shape from their fixed deformation, thus possess smart behavior, namely shape memory effect (SME). In this article, three typical animal hair fibers were first time investigated for their water-stimulated SME, and therefrom to identify the corresponding net-points and switches in their molecular and morphological structures. Experimentally, the SME manifested a good stability of high shape fixation ratio and reasonable recovery rate after many cycles of deformation programming under water stimulation. The effects of hydration on hair lateral size, recovery kinetics, dynamic mechanical behaviors and structural components (crystal, disulfide and hydrogen bonds) were then systematically studied. SME mechanisms were explored based on the variations of structural components in molecular assemblies of such smart fibers. A hybrid structural network model with single-switch and twin-net-points was thereafter proposed to interpret the water-stimulated shape memory mechanism of animal hairs. This original work is expected to provide inspiration for exploring other natural materials to reveal their smart functions and natural laws in animals including human as well as making more remarkable synthetic smart materials.

  13. Improving behavioral performance under full attention by adjusting response criteria to changes in stimulus predictability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katzner, Steffen; Treue, Stefan; Busse, Laura

    2012-09-04

    One of the key features of active perception is the ability to predict critical sensory events. Humans and animals can implicitly learn statistical regularities in the timing of events and use them to improve behavioral performance. Here, we used a signal detection approach to investigate whether such improvements in performance result from changes of perceptual sensitivity or rather from adjustments of a response criterion. In a regular sequence of briefly presented stimuli, human observers performed a noise-limited motion detection task by monitoring the stimulus stream for the appearance of a designated target direction. We manipulated target predictability through the hazard rate, which specifies the likelihood that a target is about to occur, given it has not occurred so far. Analyses of response accuracy revealed that improvements in performance could be accounted for by adjustments of the response criterion; a growing hazard rate was paralleled by an increasing tendency to report the presence of a target. In contrast, the hazard rate did not affect perceptual sensitivity. Consistent with previous research, we also found that reaction time decreases as the hazard rate grows. A simple rise-to-threshold model could well describe this decrease and attribute predictability effects to threshold adjustments rather than changes in information supply. We conclude that, even under conditions of full attention and constant perceptual sensitivity, behavioral performance can be optimized by dynamically adjusting the response criterion to meet ongoing changes in the likelihood of a target.

  14. Concepts of animal welfare in relation to positions in animal ethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Kirsten

    2011-06-01

    When animal ethicists deal with welfare they seem to face a dilemma: On the one hand, they recognize the necessity of welfare concepts for their ethical approaches. On the other hand, many animal ethicists do not want to be considered reformist welfarists. Moreover, animal welfare scientists may feel pressed by moral demands for a fundamental change in our attitude towards animals. The analysis of this conflict from the perspective of animal ethics shows that animal welfare science and animal ethics highly depend on each other. Welfare concepts are indispensable in the whole field of animal ethics. Evidence for this can be found by analyzing the structure of theories of animal ethics and the different ways in which these theories employ welfare concepts. Furthermore, the background of values underneath every welfare theory is essential to pursue animal welfare science. Animal ethics can make important contributions to the clarification of underlying normative assumptions with regard to the value of the animal, with regard to ideas about what is valuable for the animal, and with regard to the actions that should follow from the results of animal welfare science.

  15. Some aspects of chicken behavior and welfare

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LS Costa

    2012-09-01

    with the European Union's (EU guidelines for animal protein production, Brazilian poultry production needs to undergo a process of adaptation. In May, 2007, the EU Commission established its new guidelines for animal welfare in poultry production, pressured by consumer demand. In the EU, there is a growing concern among consumers as to how poultry are reared and slaughtered. European consumers are in the fore front of the demand of high quality products produced with under better welfare conditions, and have spread this concern throughout the world. Beaumont et al. (2010 mentioned that European consumers frequently perceive that standard commercial poultry production has poor animal welfare practices. According to Nääs et al. (2008, Brazilian poultry production today needs to find a balance between cruelty and productivity. In fact, ensuring animal welfare may provide better financial results, as it increases the producer's profit margins and allows maintaining Brazilian chicken export quotas to the EU. França (2008 noted that biological studies that define ethical limits and guidelines for poultry production foster the development of new production practices that may ensure good product quality and productivity without putting bird welfare at risk. Gonyou (1994 states that, when animal welfare started to be studied, the only behavioral factors considered were those related to feeding and reproduction. These first studies used as indicators of animal welfare reduced life expectancy, impaired growth, impaired reproduction, body damage, disease, immunosuppression, adrenal activity, behavior anomalies, and self-narcotization (Broom, 1991. However, current studies evaluate additional indicators, such as natural behaviors, behavioral needs, preferences, behavioral problems, emotional state, cognitive abilities, etc. In the field of ethology, the expression of natural behavior is a frequently used tool used to estimate the welfare of poultry destined to human consumption

  16. Brain and behavioral pathology in an animal model of Wernicke's encephalopathy and Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vetreno, Ryan P; Ramos, Raddy L; Anzalone, Steven; Savage, Lisa M

    2012-02-03

    Animal models provide the opportunity for in-depth and experimental investigation into the anatomical and physiological underpinnings of human neurological disorders. Rodent models of thiamine deficiency have yielded significant insight into the structural, neurochemical and cognitive deficits associated with thiamine deficiency as well as proven useful toward greater understanding of memory function in the intact brain. In this review, we discuss the anatomical, neurochemical and behavioral changes that occur during the acute and chronic phases of thiamine deficiency and describe how rodent models of Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome aid in developing a more detailed picture of brain structures involved in learning and memory. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Behavioral effects of D3 receptor inhibition and 5-HT4 receptor activation on animals undergoing chronic cannabinoid exposure during adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abboussi, Oualid; Said, Nadia; Fifel, Karim; Lakehayli, Sara; Tazi, Abdelouahhab; El Ganouni, Soumaya

    2016-04-01

    Chronic exposure to cannabinoids during adolescence results in long-lasting behavioral deficits that match some symptomatologic aspects of schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to investigate the reversibility of the emotional and the cognitive effects of chronic exposure to cannabinoids during adolescence, via subsequent modulation of the serotoninergic 5-HT4 and dopaminergic D3 receptors. RS67333 as a 5-HT4 agonist and U-99194A as a D3 antagonist were administered separately at 1 mg/kg and 20 mg/kg, and in combination at 0.5 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg to adult animals undergoing chronic treatment with the synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist WIN55,212-2 (1 mg/kg) during adolescence. Animals were tested for anxiety-like behavior and episodic-like memory in the open field and novel object recognition tests respectively 30 minutes after the last drug administration. Chronic WIN55,212-2 treated animals exhibited a lasting disruption of episodic memory and increased anxiety levels. The effect on episodic-like memory were partially restored by acute administration of RS67333 and U-99194A and completely by administration of both drugs in combination at lower doses. However, only RS67333 (20 mg/kg) improved the anxiogenic-like effect of WIN55,212-2. These findings give further support that chronic exposure to cannabinoids during adolescence may be used as an animal model for schizophrenia, and highlight D3 and 5-HT4 receptors as potential targets for an enhanced treatment of the cognitive aspect of this disease.

  18. Using human brain imaging studies as a guide towards animal models of schizophrenia

    Science.gov (United States)

    BOLKAN, Scott S.; DE CARVALHO, Fernanda D.; KELLENDONK, Christoph

    2015-01-01

    Schizophrenia is a heterogeneous and poorly understood mental disorder that is presently defined solely by its behavioral symptoms. Advances in genetic, epidemiological and brain imaging techniques in the past half century, however, have significantly advanced our understanding of the underlying biology of the disorder. In spite of these advances clinical research remains limited in its power to establish the causal relationships that link etiology with pathophysiology and symptoms. In this context, animal models provide an important tool for causally testing hypotheses about biological processes postulated to be disrupted in the disorder. While animal models can exploit a variety of entry points towards the study of schizophrenia, here we describe an approach that seeks to closely approximate functional alterations observed with brain imaging techniques in patients. By modeling these intermediate pathophysiological alterations in animals, this approach offers an opportunity to (1) tightly link a single functional brain abnormality with its behavioral consequences, and (2) to determine whether a single pathophysiology can causally produce alterations in other brain areas that have been described in patients. In this review we first summarize a selection of well-replicated biological abnormalities described in the schizophrenia literature. We then provide examples of animal models that were studied in the context of patient imaging findings describing enhanced striatal dopamine D2 receptor function, alterations in thalamo-prefrontal circuit function, and metabolic hyperfunction of the hippocampus. Lastly, we discuss the implications of findings from these animal models for our present understanding of schizophrenia, and consider key unanswered questions for future research in animal models and human patients. PMID:26037801

  19. Potency of Animal Models in KANSEI Engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozaki, Shigeru; Hisano, Setsuji; Iwamoto, Yoshiki

    Various species of animals have been used as animal models for neuroscience and provided critical information about the brain functions. Although it seems difficult to elucidate a highly advanced function of the human brain, animal models have potency to clarify the fundamental mechanisms of emotion, decision-making and social behavior. In this review, we will pick up common animal models and point to both the merits and demerits caused by the characteristics. We will also mention that wide-ranging approaches from animal models are advantageous to understand KANSEI as well as mind in humans.

  20. Influence of Immobilization and X-rays on the Animal Behavior

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Melitauri, N.; Jojua, M.; Chabashvili, M.; Marsagishvili, G.; Maisuradze, I.; Nikolaishvili, M.; Iordanishvili, G.

    2006-01-01

    It was shown that four-hour immobilization of the normal rats, in 70% of the animals induced elevated aggressiveness; it diminishes at twelfth day, while in a case of 7 Gy X-ray irradiation, aggressiveness disappears at second day. The X-rays decreased the number of the immobilized animals with retained fear reactions, and abolished the already acquired active avoidance responses. It was determined that the immobilized animals in the ''Open field'' test differed from the normal ones with lesser ambulation, orienting-exploratory activity, and emotionality, which reversed to the contrary values after the X-rays. (authors)

  1. EFFECTS OF THE LITHIUM – CONTAINING SORBENT ON TERMS OF BEHAVIORAL REACTIONS UNDER CHRONIC ALCOHOL INTOXICATION MODEL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. A. Kotlyarova

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Lithium preparations are widely used for stabilize mood in case of bipolar affective disorder. Currently neuroprotective and neuroregenerative effects of lithium are of interest as in case of acute brain injury, also in chronic neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, alcoholism, Alzheimer disease, etc. [1–5]. In clinical practice use of lithium preparations is limited due to difficult adjustment of drug dosage, necessity of monitoring its concentration in blood, side effects development as a result of accumulation of lithium in a body. For the purpose of improvement of pharmacologic properties lithium is combined with other agents (for example modifying sorbent thus it can produce longer-term and more harmless (less side reactions effect in the long view. Lithium immobilization on sorption basis will allow to use sorbent as detoxicant and carrying agent of drugs to body. The purpose of the work is studying the effect of the lithium – containing sorbent on terms of behavioral reactions under chronic alcohol intoxication model.Materials and methods. During the work we used nonlinear mice – males, which weight 25–30 g (180 animals. Chronic alcohol intoxication was precipitated via 40% proof spirit injections (oral supplementation in quantity of 3 g/kg during 2 weeks, additionally mice drunk 5% proof spirit from drinking bowl. Each experimental group consisted of 10 animals. Study drugs were inserted inside while ethanol injecting. Control animals were inserted 0,9% salin solution. Emotional state of animals was assessed through forced swim test, short – term memory assessment was performed through conditioned passive avoidance reflex. Effect of chronic alcohol intoxication on the parameters of conditioned reflex activity was measured every 7 days.Results. It was found that the investigated lithium-containing sorbent increases: the number of mice are trained passive avoidance reflex, remembering percent of electric shock

  2. Neuromodulation of Innate Behaviors in Drosophila.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Susy M; Su, Chih-Ying; Wang, Jing W

    2017-07-25

    Animals are born with a rich repertoire of robust behaviors that are critical for their survival. However, innate behaviors are also highly adaptable to an animal's internal state and external environment. Neuromodulators, including biogenic amines, neuropeptides, and hormones, are released to signal changes in animals' circumstances and serve to reconfigure neural circuits. This circuit flexibility allows animals to modify their behavioral responses according to environmental cues, metabolic demands, and physiological states. Aided by powerful genetic tools, researchers have made remarkable progress in Drosophila melanogaster to address how a myriad of contextual information influences the input-output relationship of hardwired circuits that support a complex behavioral repertoire. Here we highlight recent advances in understanding neuromodulation of Drosophila innate behaviors, with a special focus on feeding, courtship, aggression, and postmating behaviors.

  3. Environmental enrichment in farm, zoo, companion and experimental animals

    OpenAIRE

    Vučinić Marijana

    2009-01-01

    The paper deals with environmental enrichment for domestic animals at farms, animals in zoos, experimental animals and pet animals. Also, the paper defines and describes different strategies of environmental enrichment. Environmental enrichment is a simple and effective mean of prevention of boredom, behavioral disorders as well as an effective mean of improving animal welfare in farm, zoo, companion and experimental animals. Different items and materials may be used for environmental enrichm...

  4. Studying Behavioral Ecology on High School & College Campuses: A Practical Guide to Measuring Foraging Behavior Using Urban Wildlife

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Mohammad A. Abu; Emerson, Sara E.; Brown, Joel S.

    2015-01-01

    We present a practical field exercise for ecology and animal behavior classes that can be carried out on campus, using urban wildlife. Students document an animal's feeding behavior to study its interactions with the surrounding environment. In this approach, an animal's feeding behavior is quantified at experimental food patches placed within its…

  5. Cytokines as mediators of depression: what can we learn from animal studies?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunn, Adrian J; Swiergiel, Artur H; de Beaurepaire, Renaud

    2005-01-01

    It has recently been postulated that cytokines may cause depressive illness in man. This hypothesis is based on the following observations: 1. Treatment of patients with cytokines can produce symptoms of depression; 2. Activation of the immune system is observed in many depressed patients; 3. Depression occurs more frequently in those with medical disorders associated with immune dysfunction; 4. Activation of the immune system, and administration of endotoxin (LPS) or interleukin-1 (IL-1) to animals induces sickness behavior, which resembles depression, and chronic treatment with antidepressants has been shown to inhibit sickness behavior induced by LPS; 5. Several cytokines can activate the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (HPAA), which is commonly activated in depressed patients; 6. Some cytokines activates cerebral noradrenergic systems, also commonly observed in depressed patients; 7. Some cytokines activate brain serotonergic systems, which have been implicated in major depressive illness and its treatment. The evidence for each of these tenets is reviewed and evaluated along with the effects of cytokines in classical animal tests of depression. Although certain sickness behaviors resemble the symptoms of depression, they are not identical and each has distinct features. Thus the value of sickness behavior as an animal model of major depressive disorder is limited, so that care should be taken in extrapolating results from the model to the human disorder. Nevertheless, the model may provide insight into the etiology and the mechanisms underlying some symptoms of major depressive disorder. It is concluded that immune activation and cytokines may be involved in depressive symptoms in some patients. However, cytokines do not appear to be essential mediators of depressive illness.

  6. An investigation of the mechanical behavior of initially curved microplates under electrostatic actuation

    KAUST Repository

    Saghir, Shahid

    2018-03-28

    In this article, we investigate the mechanical behavior of initially curved microplates under electrostatic actuation. Microplates are essential components of many Micro-Electro-Mechanical System devices; however, they commonly undergo an initial curvature imperfection, due to the microfabrication process. Initial curvature imperfection significantly affects the mechanical behavior of microplates. In this work, we derive a dynamic analogue of the von Kármán governing equation for such plates. These equations are then used to develop a reduced order model based on the Galerkin procedure to simulate the static and dynamic behavior of the microplate. Two profiles of initial curvature commonly encountered in microfabricated structures are considered, where one assumes a variation in shape along one dimension of the plate only (cylindrical bending shape) while the other assumes a variation in shape along both dimensions of the plate. Their effects on both the static and dynamic responses of the microplates are examined and compared. We validate the reduced order model by comparing the calculated static behavior and the fundamental natural frequency with those computed by a finite element model over a range of the initial plate rise. The static behavior of the microplate is investigated when varying the DC voltage. Then, the dynamic behavior of the microplate is examined under the application of a harmonic AC voltage superimposed to a DC voltage.

  7. Is Hiding Foot and Mouth Disease Sensitive Behavior for Farmers? A Survey Study in Sri Lanka

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anoma Gunarathne

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Foot and mouth disease (FMD has a long history in Sri Lanka and was found to be endemic in various parts of the country and constitutes a constant threat to farmers. In Sri Lanka, currently there is no regular, nationwide vaccination programme devised to control FMD. Therefore, improving farmers’ knowledge regarding distinguishing FMD from other diseases and ensuring prompt reporting of any suspicion of FMD as well as restricting movement of animals are critical activities for an effective FMD response effort. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between farmers’ knowledge levels and their behaviors to establish a strategy to control FMD. In our study, item count technique was applied to estimate the number of farmers that under-report and sell FMD-infected animals, although to do so is prohibited by law. The following findings were observed: about 63% of farmers have very poor knowledge of routes of FMD transmission; ‘under-reporting’ was found to be a sensitive behavior and nearly 23% of the farmers were reluctant to report FMD-infected animals; and ‘selling FMD-infected animals’ is a sensitive behavior among high-level knowledge group while it is a non-sensitive behavior among the low-level knowledge group. If farmers would understand the importance of prompt reporting, they may report any suspected cases of FMD to veterinary officials. However, even if farmers report honestly, they do not want to cull FMD-infected animals. Thus, education programs should be conducted not only on FMD introduction and transmission, but also its impact. Furthermore, consumers may criticize the farmers for culling their infected animals. Hence, not only farmers, but also consumers need to be educated on the economic impact of FMD and the importance of controlling an outbreak. If farmers have a high knowledge of FMD transmission, they consider selling FMD-infected animals as a sensitive behavior. Therefore, severe

  8. Rodent stereotaxic surgery and animal welfare outcome improvements for behavioral neuroscience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fornari, Raquel V; Wichmann, Romy; Atsak, Piray; Atucha, Erika; Barsegyan, Areg; Beldjoud, Hassiba; Messanvi, Fany; Thuring, Catriene M A; Roozendaal, Benno

    2012-01-30

    Stereotaxic surgery for the implantation of cannulae into specific brain regions has for many decades been a very successful experimental technique to investigate the effects of locally manipulated neurotransmitter and signaling pathways in awake, behaving animals. Moreover, the stereotaxic implantation of electrodes for electrophysiological stimulation and recording studies has been instrumental to our current understanding of neuroplasticity and brain networks in behaving animals. Ever-increasing knowledge about optimizing surgical techniques in rodents(1-4), public awareness concerning animal welfare issues and stringent legislation (e.g., the 2010 European Union Directive on the use of laboratory animals(5)) prompted us to refine these surgical procedures, particularly with respect to implementing new procedures for oxygen supplementation and the continuous monitoring of blood oxygenation and heart rate levels during the surgery as well as introducing a standardized protocol for post-surgical care. Our observations indicate that these modifications resulted in an increased survival rate and an improvement in the general condition of the animals after surgery (e.g. less weight loss and a more active animal). This video presentation will show the general procedures involved in this type of stereotaxic surgery with special attention to our several modifications. We will illustrate these surgical procedures in rats, but it is also possible to perform this type of surgery in mice or other small laboratory animals by using special adaptors for the stereotaxic apparatus(6).

  9. Variation in predator foraging behavior changes predator-prey spatio-temporal dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    1. Foraging underlies the ability of all animals to acquire essential resources and, thus, provides a critical link to understanding population dynamics. A key issue is how variation in foraging behavior affects foraging efficiency and predator-prey interactions in spatially-heterogeneous environmen...

  10. Characteristics of visual fatigue under the effect of 3D animation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Yu-Shuo; Hsueh, Ya-Hsin; Tung, Kwong-Chung; Jhou, Fong-Yi; Lin, David Pei-Cheng

    2015-01-01

    Visual fatigue is commonly encountered in modern life. Clinical visual fatigue characteristics caused by 2-D and 3-D animations may be different, but have not been characterized in detail. This study tried to distinguish the differential effects on visual fatigue caused by 2-D and 3-D animations. A total of 23 volunteers were subjected to accommodation and vergence assessments, followed by a 40-min video game program designed to aggravate their asthenopic symptoms. The volunteers were then assessed for accommodation and vergence parameters again and directed to watch a 5-min 3-D video program, and then assessed again for the parameters. The results support that the 3-D animations caused similar characteristics in vision fatigue parameters in some specific aspects as compared to that caused by 2-D animations. Furthermore, 3-D animations may lead to more exhaustion in both ciliary and extra-ocular muscles, and such differential effects were more evident in the high demand of near vision work. The current results indicated that an arbitrary set of indexes may be promoted in the design of 3-D display or equipments.

  11. Behavior of NiTiNb SMA wires under recovery stress or prestressing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Eunsoo; Nam, Tae-Hyun; Chung, Young-Soo; Kim, Yeon-Wook; Lee, Seung-Yong

    2012-01-05

    The recovery stress of martensitic shape-memory alloy [SMA] wires can be used to confine concrete, and the confining effectiveness of the SMA wires was previously proved through experimental tests. However, the behavior of SMA wires under recovery stress has not been seriously investigated. Thus, this study conducted a series of tests of NiTiNb martensitic SMA wires under recovery stress with varying degrees of prestrain on the wires and compared the behavior under recovery stress with that under prestressing of the wires. The remaining stress was reduced by the procedure of additional strain loading and unloading. More additional strains reduced more remaining stresses. When the SMA wires were heated up to the transformation temperature under prestress, the stress on the wires increased due to the state transformation. Furthermore, the stress decreased with a decreasing temperature of the wires down to room temperature. The stress of the NiTiNb wires was higher than the prestress, and the developed stress seemed to depend on the composition of the SMAs. When an additional strain was subsequently loaded and unloaded on the prestressed SMA wires, the remaining stress decreased. Finally, the remaining stress becomes zero when loading and unloading a specific large strain.

  12. Social Information on Fear and Food Drives Animal Grouping and Fitness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gil, Michael A; Emberts, Zachary; Jones, Harrison; St Mary, Colette M

    2017-03-01

    Empirical studies in select systems suggest that social information-the incidental or deliberate information produced by animals and available to other animals-can fundamentally shape animal grouping behavior. However, to understand the role of social information in animal behavior and fitness, we must establish general theory that quantifies effects of social information across ecological contexts and generates expectations that can be applied across systems. Here we used dynamic state variable modeling to isolate effects of social information about food and predators on grouping behavior and fitness. We characterized optimal behavior from a set of strategies that included grouping with different numbers of conspecifics or heterospecifics and the option to forage or be vigilant over the course of a day. We show that the use of social information alone increases grouping behavior but constrains group size to limit competition, ultimately increasing individual fitness substantially across various ecological contexts. We also found that across various contexts, foraging in mixed-species groups is generally better than foraging in conspecific groups, supporting recent theory on competition-information quality trade-offs. Our findings suggest that multiple forms of social information shape animal grouping and fitness, which are sensitive to resource availability and predation pressure that determine information usefulness.

  13. The Impact of Excluding Food Guarding from a Standardized Behavioral Canine Assessment in Animal Shelters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohan-Gibbons, Heather; Dolan, Emily D.; Reid, Pamela; Slater, Margaret R.; Mulligan, Hugh; Weiss, Emily

    2018-01-01

    Simple Summary Recent research has called into question the value of the food guarding assessment as a predictive tool for determining the safety of shelter dogs. This study examined the effect of eliminating the food guarding assessment in nine U.S. animal shelters. It was found that when the food guarding assessment was removed, bites or other injuries to staff or adopters did not increase. However, dogs exhibiting food guarding behavior were less likely to be adopted, had a longer shelter stay, and were more likely to be euthanized than dogs in the general population. Based on previous research and this study’s findings, the authors recommend that shelters discontinue the food guarding assessment. Abstract Many shelters euthanize or restrict adoptions for dogs that exhibit food guarding while in the animal shelter. However, previous research showed that only half the dogs exhibiting food guarding during an assessment food guard in the home. So, dogs are often misidentified as future food guarders during shelter assessments. We examined the impact of shelters omitting food guarding assessments. Nine shelters conducted a two-month baseline period of assessing for food guarding followed by a two-month investigative period during which they omitted the food guarding assessment. Dogs that guarded their food during a standardized assessment were less likely to be adopted, had a longer shelter stay, and were more likely to be euthanized. When the shelters stopped assessing for food guarding, there was no significant difference in the rate of returns of food guarding dogs, even though more dogs were adopted because fewer were identified with food guarding behavior. Additionally, the number of injuries to staff, volunteers, and adopters was low (104 incidents from a total of 14,180 dogs) and did not change when the food guarding assessment was omitted. These results support a recommendation that shelters discontinue the food guarding assessment. PMID:29419746

  14. Study on reinforced lightweight coconut shell concrete beam behavior under flexure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gunasekaran, K.; Annadurai, R.; Kumar, P.S.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Use of coconut shell as aggregate in concrete. ► Behavior of coconut shell concrete under flexure. ► SEM images of cement, sand, coconut shell and coconut shell aggregate concrete. ► Coconut shell hollow blocks and precast slabs are used in practice. - Abstract: Coconut shell has been used as coarse aggregate in the production of concrete. The flexural behavior of reinforced concrete beam made with coconut shell is analyzed and compared with the normal control concrete. Twelve beams, six with coconut shell concrete and six with normal control concrete, were fabricated and tested. This study includes the moment capacity, deflection, cracking, ductility, corresponding strains in both compression and tension, and end rotation. It was found that the flexural behavior of coconut shell concrete is comparable to that of other lightweight concretes. The results of concrete compression strain and steel tension strain showed that coconut shell concrete is able to achieve its full strain capacity under flexural loadings. Under serviceability condition, deflection and cracking characteristics of coconut shell concrete are comparable with control concrete. However, the failure zones of coconut shell concrete were larger than for control concrete beams. The end rotations of the coconut shell concrete beams just prior to failure values are comparable to other lightweight concretes. Coconut shell concrete was used to produce hollow blocks and precast slab in 2007 and they are being subjected to some practical loading till today without any problems such as deflection, bending, cracks, and damages for the past five years

  15. Effect of concentrate feeder design on performance, eating and animal behavior, welfare, ruminal health, and carcass quality in Holstein bulls fed high-concentrate diets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verdú, M; Bach, A; Devant, M

    2015-06-01

    A total of 240 Holstein bulls (121 ± 2.0 kg initial BW; 99 ± 1.0 d of age), from 2 consecutive fattening cycles, were randomly allocated in 1 of 6 pens and assigned to 1 of the 3 treatments consisting of different concentrate feeder designs: a control feeder with 4 feeding spaces (CF), a feeder with less concentrate capacity (CFL), and a single-space feeder with lateral protections (SF). Each pen had a straw feeder and a drinker. All animals were fed a high-concentrate diet for ad libitum intake. Concentrate consumption was recorded daily using a computerized feeder, straw consumption was recorded weekly, and BW was recorded every 14 d. Animal behavior was registered on d 1, 3, 5, 8, and 14 and every 28 d by scan sampling. Eating behavior at concentrate feeders was filmed on d 12, 125, and 206. On d 7, 120, and 204, samples of rumen contents were collected for measurement of pH and VFA and blood samples were obtained to analyze NEFA, haptoglobin, glucose, and insulin. Animals were slaughtered after 223 d, and HCW and lesions of the rumen wall and liver were recorded. The accumulative concentrate consumption per animal tended (P = 0.09) to be greater with CF than with CFL and SF. Also, CV of concentrate consumption was greater (P carcass data. Also, no differences among treatments in rumen wall evaluation and liver abscesses were observed. At 7 and 204 d of study, SF bulls had greater (P animal welfare in Holstein bulls fed high-concentrate diets. However, at the beginning, there was evidence that animals fed using SF had problems with adaptation.

  16. Hierarchy and predictability in spontaneous behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berman, Gordon; Bialek, William; Shaevitz, Joshua

    2015-03-01

    Animals perform a complex array of behaviors, from changes in body posture to vocalizations to other dynamic outputs. Far from being a disordered collection of actions, however, there is thought to be an intrinsic structure to the set of behaviors and their temporal organization. This structure has often been hypothesized to be hierarchical, with certain behaviors grouped together into modules that interact with other modules at time scales that are long with respect to that of an individual behavior. There have been few measurements, however, showing that a particular animal's behavioral repertoire is organized hierarchically. This has largely resulted from an inability to measure the entirety of an animal's behavioral repertoire or even to definite precisely what a ``behavior'' is. In this talk, I will apply our novel method for mapping the behavioral space of animals to videos of freely-behaving fruit flies (D. melanogaster), showing that the organisms' behavioral repertoire consists of a hierarchically-organized set of stereotyped behaviors. This hierarchical patterning results in the emergence of long time scales of memory in the system, providing insight into the mechanisms of behavioral control and patterning.

  17. Behavioral processes underlying the decline of narcissists' popularity over time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leckelt, Marius; Küfner, Albrecht C P; Nestler, Steffen; Back, Mitja D

    2015-11-01

    Following a dual-pathway approach to the social consequences of grandiose narcissism, we investigated the behavioral processes underlying (a) the decline of narcissists' popularity in social groups over time and (b) how this is differentially influenced by the 2 narcissism facets admiration and rivalry. In a longitudinal laboratory study, participants (N = 311) first provided narcissism self-reports using the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire, and subsequently interacted with each other in small groups in weekly sessions over the course of 3 weeks. All sessions were videotaped and trained raters coded participants' behavior during the interactions. Within the sessions participants provided mutual ratings on assertiveness, untrustworthiness, and likability. Results showed that (a) over time narcissists become less popular and (b) this is reflected in an initially positive but decreasing effect of narcissistic admiration as well as an increasing negative effect of narcissistic rivalry. As hypothesized, these patterns of results could be explained by means of 2 diverging behavioral pathways: The negative narcissistic pathway (i.e., arrogant-aggressive behavior and being seen as untrustworthy) plays an increasing role and is triggered by narcissistic rivalry, whereas the relevance of the positive narcissistic pathway (i.e., dominant-expressive behavior and being seen as assertive) triggered by narcissistic admiration decreases over time. These findings underline the utility of a behavioral pathway approach for disentangling the complex effects of personality on social outcomes. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  18. The Transition from Animal to Linguistic Communication

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Smit, Harry

    2016-01-01

    Darwin's theory predicts that linguistic behavior gradually evolved out of animal forms of communication (signaling). However, this prediction is confronted by the conceptual problem that there is an essential difference between signaling and linguistic behavior: using words is a normative practice.

  19. [Ethical issue in animal experimentation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parodi, André-Laurent

    2009-11-01

    In the 1970s, under pressure from certain sections of society and thanks to initiatives by several scientific research teams, committees charged with improving the conditions of laboratory animals started to be created, first in the United States and subsequently in Europe. This led to the development of an ethical approach to animal experimentation, taking into account new scientific advances. In addition to the legislation designed to provide a legal framework for animal experimentation and to avoid abuses, this ethical approach, based on the concept that animals are sentient beings, encourages greater respect of laboratory animals and the implementation of measures designed to reduce their suffering. Now, all animal experiments must first receive ethical approval--from in-house committees in the private sector and from regional committees for public institutions. Very recently, under the impetus of the French ministries of research and agriculture, the National committee for ethical animal experimentation published a national ethical charter on animal experimentation, setting the basis for responsible use of animals for scientific research and providing guidelines for the composition and functioning of ethics committees. Inspired by the scientific community itself this ethical standardization should help to assuage--but not eliminate--the reticence and hostility expressed by several sections of society.

  20. Behavioral and genetic evidence for a novel animal model of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Predominantly Inattentive Subtype

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang-James Y

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background According to DSM-IV there are three subtypes of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, namely: ADHD predominantly inattentive type (ADHD-PI, ADHD predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type (ADHD-HI, and ADHD combined type (ADHD-C. These subtypes may represent distinct neurobehavioral disorders of childhood onset with separate etiologies. The diagnosis of ADHD is behaviorally based; therefore, investigations into its possible etiologies should be based in behavior. Animal models of ADHD demonstrate construct validity when they accurately reproduce elements of the etiology, biochemistry, symptoms, and treatment of the disorder. Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR fulfill many of the validation criteria and compare well with clinical cases of ADHD-C. The present study describes a novel rat model of the predominantly inattentive subtype (ADHD-PI. Methods ADHD-like behavior was tested with a visual discrimination task measuring overactivity, impulsiveness and inattentiveness. Several strains with varied genetic background were needed to determine what constitutes a normal comparison. Five groups of rats were used: SHR/NCrl spontaneously hypertensive and WKY/NCrl Wistar/Kyoto rats from Charles River; SD/NTac Sprague Dawley and WH/HanTac Wistar rats from Taconic Europe; and WKY/NHsd Wistar/Kyoto rats from Harlan. DNA was analyzed to determine background differences in the strains by PCR genotyping of eight highly polymorphic microsatellite markers and 2625 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs. Results Compared to appropriate comparison strains (WKY/NHsd and SD/NTac rats, SHR/NCrl showed ADHD-C-like behavior: striking overactivity and poor sustained attention. Compared to WKY/NHsd rats, WKY/NCrl rats showed inattention, but no overactivity or impulsiveness. WH/HanTac rats deviated significantly from the other control groups by being more active and less attentive than the WKY/NHsd and SD/NTac rats. We also found substantial

  1. Facial expression: An under-utilised tool for the assessment of welfare in mammals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Descovich, Kris A; Wathan, Jennifer; Leach, Matthew C; Buchanan-Smith, Hannah M; Flecknell, Paul; Farningham, David; Vick, Sarah-Jane

    2017-01-01

    Animal welfare is a key issue for industries that use or impact upon animals. The accurate identification of welfare states is particularly relevant to the field of bioscience, where the 3Rs framework encourages refinement of experimental procedures involving animal models. The assessment and improvement of welfare states in animals depends on reliable and valid measurement tools. Behavioral measures (activity, attention, posture and vocalization) are frequently used because they are immediate and non-invasive, however no single indicator can yield a complete picture of the internal state of an animal. Facial expressions are extensively studied in humans as a measure of psychological and emotional experiences but are infrequently used in animal studies, with the exception of emerging research on pain behavior. In this review, we discuss current evidence for facial representations of underlying affective states, and how communicative or functional expressions can be useful within welfare assessments. Validated tools for measuring facial movement are outlined, and the potential of expressions as honest signals is discussed, alongside other challenges and limitations to facial expression measurement within the context of animal welfare. We conclude that facial expression determination in animals is a useful but underutilized measure that complements existing tools in the assessment of welfare.

  2. Bioluminescent system for dynamic imaging of cell and animal behavior

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hara-Miyauchi, Chikako [Department of Physiology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo 160-8582 (Japan); Laboratory for Cell Function Dynamics, Brain Science Institute, RIKEN, Saitama 351-0198 (Japan); Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Health Care Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo 113-8510 (Japan); Tsuji, Osahiko [Department of Physiology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo 160-8582 (Japan); Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo 160-8582 (Japan); Hanyu, Aki [Division of Biochemistry, The Cancer Institute of the Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo 135-8550 (Japan); Okada, Seiji [Department of Advanced Medical Initiatives, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582 (Japan); Yasuda, Akimasa [Department of Physiology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo 160-8582 (Japan); Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo 160-8582 (Japan); Fukano, Takashi [Laboratory for Cell Function Dynamics, Brain Science Institute, RIKEN, Saitama 351-0198 (Japan); Akazawa, Chihiro [Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Health Care Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo 113-8510 (Japan); Nakamura, Masaya [Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo 160-8582 (Japan); Imamura, Takeshi [Department of Molecular Medicine for Pathogenesis, Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine, Toon, Ehime 791-0295 (Japan); Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology, The Japan Science and Technology Corporation, Tokyo 135-8550 (Japan); Matsuzaki, Yumi [Department of Physiology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo 160-8582 (Japan); Okano, Hirotaka James, E-mail: hjokano@jikei.ac.jp [Department of Physiology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo 160-8582 (Japan); Division of Regenerative Medicine Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo 150-8461 (Japan); and others

    2012-03-09

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We combined a yellow variant of GFP and firefly luciferase to make ffLuc-cp156. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer ffLuc-cp156 showed improved photon yield in cultured cells and transgenic mice. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer ffLuc-cp156 enabled video-rate bioluminescence imaging of freely-moving animals. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer ffLuc-cp156 mice enabled tracking real-time drug delivery in conscious animals. -- Abstract: The current utility of bioluminescence imaging is constrained by a low photon yield that limits temporal sensitivity. Here, we describe an imaging method that uses a chemiluminescent/fluorescent protein, ffLuc-cp156, which consists of a yellow variant of Aequorea GFP and firefly luciferase. We report an improvement in photon yield by over three orders of magnitude over current bioluminescent systems. We imaged cellular movement at high resolution including neuronal growth cones and microglial cell protrusions. Transgenic ffLuc-cp156 mice enabled video-rate bioluminescence imaging of freely moving animals, which may provide a reliable assay for drug distribution in behaving animals for pre-clinical studies.

  3. Bioluminescent system for dynamic imaging of cell and animal behavior

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hara-Miyauchi, Chikako; Tsuji, Osahiko; Hanyu, Aki; Okada, Seiji; Yasuda, Akimasa; Fukano, Takashi; Akazawa, Chihiro; Nakamura, Masaya; Imamura, Takeshi; Matsuzaki, Yumi; Okano, Hirotaka James

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► We combined a yellow variant of GFP and firefly luciferase to make ffLuc-cp156. ► ffLuc-cp156 showed improved photon yield in cultured cells and transgenic mice. ► ffLuc-cp156 enabled video-rate bioluminescence imaging of freely-moving animals. ► ffLuc-cp156 mice enabled tracking real-time drug delivery in conscious animals. -- Abstract: The current utility of bioluminescence imaging is constrained by a low photon yield that limits temporal sensitivity. Here, we describe an imaging method that uses a chemiluminescent/fluorescent protein, ffLuc-cp156, which consists of a yellow variant of Aequorea GFP and firefly luciferase. We report an improvement in photon yield by over three orders of magnitude over current bioluminescent systems. We imaged cellular movement at high resolution including neuronal growth cones and microglial cell protrusions. Transgenic ffLuc-cp156 mice enabled video-rate bioluminescence imaging of freely moving animals, which may provide a reliable assay for drug distribution in behaving animals for pre-clinical studies.

  4. Weighing Animal Lives : A Critical Assessment of Justification and Prioritization in Animal-Rights Theories

    OpenAIRE

    Karlsson, Fredrik

    2009-01-01

    The project underlying this dissertation aims at analyzing three pro-animal-rights theories, evaluating the theories, and outlining an alternative theoretical account of animal rights. The analytical categories are justification and function of animal rights, the definition of the right holder, and the resolution approach to rights conflict. The categories are applied to a naturalist, a theocentric, and a contractarian approach to defend animal rights. The evaluation is substantiated by the a...

  5. Technology advancing the study of animal cognition: using virtual reality to present virtually simulated environments to investigate nonhuman primate spatial cognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolins, Francine L; Schweller, Kenneth; Milne, Scott

    2017-02-01

    Virtual simulated environments provide multiple ways of testing cognitive function and evaluating problem solving with humans (e.g., Woollett et al. 2009). The use of such interactive technology has increasingly become an essential part of modern life (e.g., autonomously driving vehicles, global positioning systems (GPS), and touchscreen computers; Chinn and Fairlie 2007; Brown 2011). While many nonhuman animals have their own forms of "technology", such as chimpanzees who create and use tools, in captive animal environments the opportunity to actively participate with interactive technology is not often made available. Exceptions can be found in some state-of-the-art zoos and laboratory facilities (e.g., Mallavarapu and Kuhar 2005). When interactive technology is available, captive animals often selectively choose to engage with it. This enhances the animal's sense of control over their immediate surroundings (e.g., Clay et al. 2011; Ackerman 2012). Such self-efficacy may help to fulfill basic requirements in a species' daily activities using problem solving that can involve foraging and other goal-oriented behaviors. It also assists in fulfilling the strong underlying motivation for contrafreeloading and exploration expressed behaviorally by many species in captivity (Young 1999). Moreover, being able to present nonhuman primates virtual reality environments under experimental conditions provides the opportunity to gain insight into their navigational abilities and spatial cognition. It allows for insight into the generation and application of internal mental representations of landmarks and environments under multiple conditions (e.g., small- and large-scale space) and subsequent spatial behavior. This paper reviews methods using virtual reality developed to investigate the spatial cognitive abilities of nonhuman primates, and great apes in particular, in comparison with that of humans of multiple age groups. We make recommendations about training, best

  6. Densification behavior of aluminum alloy powder mixed with zirconia powder inclusion under cold compaction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ryu, Hyun Seok; Lee, Sung Chul; Kim, Ki Tae

    2002-01-01

    Densification behavior of composite powders was investigated during cold compaction. Experimental data were obtained for aluminum alloy powder mixed with zirconia powder inclusion under triaxial compression. The cap model with constraint factors was implemented into a finite element program(ABAQUS) to simulate compaction responses of composite powders during cold compaction. Finite element results were compared with experimental data for densification behavior of composite powders under cold isostatic pressing and die compaction. The agreements between experimental data and finite element calculations from the cap model with constraint factors were good

  7. Nonlinear behavior of photoluminescence from silicon particles under two-photon excitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu Xingsheng; Yokoyama, Shiyoshi

    2011-01-01

    Two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF) under continuous-wave excitation from silicon particles produced by a pulsed laser is investigated. Spectra and images of TPEF from silicon particles are studied under different excitation intensities and operation modes (continuous wave or pulse). It is found that the photoluminescence depends superlinearly on the excitation intensity and that the spectral shape and peaks vary with different silicon particles. The above phenomena show the nonlinear behavior of TPEF from silicon particles, and stimulated emission is a possible process.

  8. Genes and Aggressive Behavior: Epigenetic Mechanisms Underlying Individual Susceptibility to Aversive Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sara Palumbo

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Over the last two decades, the study of the relationship between nature and nurture in shaping human behavior has encountered a renewed interest. Behavioral genetics showed that distinct polymorphisms of genes that code for proteins that control neurotransmitter metabolic and synaptic function are associated with individual vulnerability to aversive experiences, such as stressful and traumatic life events, and may result in an increased risk of developing psychopathologies associated with violence. On the other hand, recent studies indicate that experiencing aversive events modulates gene expression by introducing stable changes to DNA without modifying its sequence, a mechanism known as “epigenetics”. For example, experiencing adversities during periods of maximal sensitivity to the environment, such as prenatal life, infancy and early adolescence, may introduce lasting epigenetic marks in genes that affect maturational processes in brain, thus favoring the emergence of dysfunctional behaviors, including exaggerate aggression in adulthood. The present review discusses data from recent research, both in humans and animals, concerning the epigenetic regulation of four genes belonging to the neuroendocrine, serotonergic and oxytocinergic pathways—Nuclear receptor subfamily 3-group C-member 1 (NR3C1, oxytocin receptor (OXTR, solute carrier-family 6 member 4 (SLC6A4 and monoamine oxidase A (MAOA—and their role in modulating vulnerability to proactive and reactive aggressive behavior. Behavioral genetics and epigenetics are shedding a new light on the fine interaction between genes and environment, by providing a novel tool to understand the molecular events that underlie aggression. Overall, the findings from these studies carry important implications not only for neuroscience, but also for social sciences, including ethics, philosophy and law.

  9. The Spatial Behaviour of Animals and Men

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brindley, T. S.

    1973-01-01

    Describes some common patterns of animal spatial behavior, and discusses spatial relationships that can be observed as an important component of human social behavior. Reports the results of a study relating to the interpersonal distances of people in bus queues in Britain. (JR)

  10. Animal biometrics: quantifying and detecting phenotypic appearance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kühl, Hjalmar S; Burghardt, Tilo

    2013-07-01

    Animal biometrics is an emerging field that develops quantified approaches for representing and detecting the phenotypic appearance of species, individuals, behaviors, and morphological traits. It operates at the intersection between pattern recognition, ecology, and information sciences, producing computerized systems for phenotypic measurement and interpretation. Animal biometrics can benefit a wide range of disciplines, including biogeography, population ecology, and behavioral research. Currently, real-world applications are gaining momentum, augmenting the quantity and quality of ecological data collection and processing. However, to advance animal biometrics will require integration of methodologies among the scientific disciplines involved. Such efforts will be worthwhile because the great potential of this approach rests with the formal abstraction of phenomics, to create tractable interfaces between different organizational levels of life. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. A Study of the Characteristics of Consumers Behavior under the Web Environment

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2001-01-01

    The development of Internet has made shopping online possible.But while we are focusing ourselves on the environment design, plan for the information structures and items or business scales, another important factor has been ignored, that is, the changes of the characteristics of consumers behavior under the web environment. Because we are not able to make the exact online marketing strategy according to the changes of consumers behavior, and although many online shops have been opened, we are not able to get big sales. This article emphasises the analysis of the environment for on-line transactions, attampts to investigate the basic modes for information movement and on-line shopping of those consumers under the web environment, study the influence on consumers brought by Internet, the shopping styles and their characteristics.

  12. Epigenetic Memory Underlies Cell-Autonomous Heterogeneous Behavior of Hematopoietic Stem Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Vionnie W C; Yusuf, Rushdia Z; Oki, Toshihiko; Wu, Juwell; Saez, Borja; Wang, Xin; Cook, Colleen; Baryawno, Ninib; Ziller, Michael J; Lee, Eunjung; Gu, Hongcang; Meissner, Alexander; Lin, Charles P; Kharchenko, Peter V; Scadden, David T

    2016-11-17

    Stem cells determine homeostasis and repair of many tissues and are increasingly recognized as functionally heterogeneous. To define the extent of-and molecular basis for-heterogeneity, we overlaid functional, transcriptional, and epigenetic attributes of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) at a clonal level using endogenous fluorescent tagging. Endogenous HSC had clone-specific functional attributes over time in vivo. The intra-clonal behaviors were highly stereotypic, conserved under the stress of transplantation, inflammation, and genotoxic injury, and associated with distinctive transcriptional, DNA methylation, and chromatin accessibility patterns. Further, HSC function corresponded to epigenetic configuration but not always to transcriptional state. Therefore, hematopoiesis under homeostatic and stress conditions represents the integrated action of highly heterogeneous clones of HSC with epigenetically scripted behaviors. This high degree of epigenetically driven cell autonomy among HSCs implies that refinement of the concepts of stem cell plasticity and of the stem cell niche is warranted. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Magnetic Orientation in Birds and Other Animals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiltschko, Wolfgang

    The use of the geomagnetic field for compass orientation is widespread among animals, with two types of magnetic compass mechanisms described: an shape inclination compass in birds, turtles and salamanders and a shape polarity compass in arthropods, fishes and mammals. Additionally, some vertebrates appear to derive positional information from the total intensity and/or inclination of the geomagnetic field. For magnetoreception by animals, two models are currently discussed, the shape Radical Pair model assuming light-dependent processes by specialized photopigments, and the shape Magnetite hypothesis proposing magnetoreception by crystals of magnetite, Fe304. Behavioral experiments with migratory birds, testing them under monochromatic lights and subjecting them to a brief, strong pulse that could reverse the magnetization of magnetite particles, produced evidence for both mechanisms. However, monochromatic lights affect old, experienced and young birds alike, whereas the pulse affects only experienced birds, leaving young, inexperienced birds unaffected. These observations suggest that a radical pair mechanism provides birds with directional information for their innate magnetic compass and a magnetite-based mechanism possibly mediates information about total intensity for indicating position.

  14. Sodium Butyrate, a Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor, Reverses Behavioral and Mitochondrial Alterations in Animal Models of Depression Induced by Early- or Late-life Stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valvassori, Samira S; Resende, Wilson R; Budni, Josiane; Dal-Pont, Gustavo C; Bavaresco, Daniela V; Réus, Gislaine Z; Carvalho, André F; Gonçalves, Cinara L; Furlanetto, Camila B; Streck, Emilio L; Quevedo, João

    2015-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of sodium butyrate on depressive-like behavior and mitochondrial alteration parameters in animal models of depression induced by maternal deprivation or chronic mild stress in Wistar rats. maternal deprivation was established by separating pups from their mothers for 3 h daily from postnatal day 1 to day 10. Chronic mild stress was established by water deprivation, food deprivation, restraint stress, isolation and flashing lights. Sodium butyrate or saline was administered twice a day for 7 days before the behavioral tests. Depressive behavior was evaluated using the forced swim test. The activity of tricarboxylic acid cycle enzymes (succinate dehydrogenase and malate dehydrogenase) and of mitochondrial chain complexes (I, II, II-III and IV) was measured in the striatum of rats. From these analyses it can be observed that sodium butyrate reversed the depressive-like behavior observed in both animal models of depression. Additionally, maternal deprivation and chronic mild stress inhibited mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes and increased the activity of tricarboxylic acid cycle enzymes. Sodium butyrate treatment reversed -maternal deprivation and chronic mild stress- induced dysfunction in the striatum of rats. In conclusion, sodium butyrate showed antidepressant effects in maternal deprivation and chronic mild stress-treated rats, and this effect can be attributed to its action on the neurochemical pathways related to depression.

  15. Salmonid behavior and water temperature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sally T. Sauter; John McMillan; Jason B. Dunham

    2001-01-01

    Animals react not only to immediate changes in their environment but also to cues that signal long-term changes to which they must adapt to survive. A proximate factor stimulates an animal’s immediate behavioral response, whereas what is known as an ultimate factor causes an animal to adjust its behavior to evolving conditions, thereby increasing its fitness and...

  16. The Effect of Stress, Attitudes, and Behavior on Safety during Animal Handling in Swedish Dairy Farming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindahl, Cecilia; Pinzke, Stefan; Keeling, Linda J; Lundqvist, Peter

    2015-01-01

    Working with livestock is a hazardous activity, and animals have been found to be the most frequent injury source on dairy farms. Understanding the risk factors for injury and the causal relationships related to injuries and animal handling is important for developing prevention strategies and effective safety interventions. This study examined stress and handler attitude as possible risk factors for animal handling injuries in dairy farming, in particular when moving cows. Twelve dairy farms were visited on two occasions representing different stress levels: when cows were being moved to milking (low stress) and to hoof trimming (high stress). Behavioral observations of handlers and cows were performed, and questionnaires were completed on attitudes (risk acceptance, safety locus of control, and attitudes toward cows) and stress (perceived stress/energy level and job strain). The injury risks were found to be higher when moving cows to hoof trimming compared with moving cows to milking and gentle, moderately forceful, and forceful interactions were more frequently used. When moving cows to milking, observed risk situations were related only to the perceived energy level of the handler. When moving cows to hoof trimming, injury risks were correlated to job strain and time spent in the risk zone (defined as the area where the handler could be hit by the cow's head or hind legs). The time spent in the risk zone was positively correlated with job strain, age, and experience. Attitudes were not found to have significant impact on safety but were to some extent indirectly involved. These results suggest that the main focus in injury reduction work should be on reducing the time the handler spends in close proximity to animals during aversive procedures and on minimizing cow fear and stress by proper handling techniques and appropriate design of handling facilities.

  17. Behavior of radioactive metal surrogates under various waste combustion conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Hee Chul; Lee, Jae Hee; Kim, Jung Guk; Yoo, Jae Hyung; Kim, Joon Hyung

    2002-01-01

    A laboratory investigation of the behavior of radioactive metals under the various waste combustion atmospheres was conducted to predict the parameters that influence their partitioning behavior during waste incineration. Neodymium, samarium, cerium, gadolinium, cesium and cobalt were used as non-radioactive surrogate metals that are representative of uranium, plutonium, americium, curium, radioactive cesium, and radioactive cobalt, respectively. Except for cesium, all of the investigated surrogate metal compounds converted into each of their stable oxides at medium temperatures from 400 to 900 .deg. C, under oxygen-deficient and oxygen-sufficient atmospheres (0.001-atm and 0.21-atm O 2 ). At high temperatures above 1,400 .deg. C, cerium, neodymium and samarium in the form of their oxides started to vaporize but the vaporization rates were very slow up to 1500 .deg. C. Inorganic chlorine (NaCl) as well as organic chlorine (PVC) did not impact the volatility of investigated Nd 2 O 3 , CoO and Cs 2 O. The results of laboratory investigations suggested that the combustion chamber operating parameters affecting the entrainment of particulate and filtration equipment operating parameters affecting particle collection efficiency be the governing parameters of alpha radionuclides partitioning during waste incineration

  18. Childhood animal cruelty and interpersonal violence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, C

    2001-07-01

    Conduct disorder (CD) affects 2-9% of children in this country and has been found to be relatively stable through childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood. Although many behaviors that comprise CD have been studied, there has been a lack of research on cruelty to animals. It has been suggested that animal cruelty may be exhibited by 25% of CD children and that animal abuse may be the earliest symptom evident in CD children. In addition, several studies have found a significant relationship between childhood cruelty to animals and violence toward people. Available research is reviewed in this report, including early studies on the relationship between animal cruelty and interpersonal violence, recent assessment attempts, and intervention techniques. Future research needs are also outlined and discussed.

  19. Brain and Behavioral Pathology in an Animal Model of Wernicke’s Encephalopathy and Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vetreno, Ryan P.; Ramos, Raddy L.; Anzalone, Steven; Savage, Lisa M.

    2012-01-01

    Animal models provide the opportunity for in-depth and experimental investigation into the anatomical and physiological underpinnings of human neurological disorders. Rodent models of thiamine deficiency have yielded significant insight into the structural, neurochemical and cognitive deficits associated with thiamine deficiency as well as proven useful toward greater understanding of memory function in the intact brain. In this review, we discuss the anatomical, neurochemical and behavioral changes that occur during the acute and chronic phases of thiamine deficiency and describe how rodent models of Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome aid in developing a more detailed picture of brain structures involved in learning and memory. PMID:22192411

  20. Integrative Analysis of Genetic, Genomic, and Phenotypic Data for Ethanol Behaviors: A Network-Based Pipeline for Identifying Mechanisms and Potential Drug Targets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bogenpohl, James W; Mignogna, Kristin M; Smith, Maren L; Miles, Michael F

    2017-01-01

    Complex behavioral traits, such as alcohol abuse, are caused by an interplay of genetic and environmental factors, producing deleterious functional adaptations in the central nervous system. The long-term behavioral consequences of such changes are of substantial cost to both the individual and society. Substantial progress has been made in the last two decades in understanding elements of brain mechanisms underlying responses to ethanol in animal models and risk factors for alcohol use disorder (AUD) in humans. However, treatments for AUD remain largely ineffective and few medications for this disease state have been licensed. Genome-wide genetic polymorphism analysis (GWAS) in humans, behavioral genetic studies in animal models and brain gene expression studies produced by microarrays or RNA-seq have the potential to produce nonbiased and novel insight into the underlying neurobiology of AUD. However, the complexity of such information, both statistical and informational, has slowed progress toward identifying new targets for intervention in AUD. This chapter describes one approach for integrating behavioral, genetic, and genomic information across animal model and human studies. The goal of this approach is to identify networks of genes functioning in the brain that are most relevant to the underlying mechanisms of a complex disease such as AUD. We illustrate an example of how genomic studies in animal models can be used to produce robust gene networks that have functional implications, and to integrate such animal model genomic data with human genetic studies such as GWAS for AUD. We describe several useful analysis tools for such studies: ComBAT, WGCNA, and EW_dmGWAS. The end result of this analysis is a ranking of gene networks and identification of their cognate hub genes, which might provide eventual targets for future therapeutic development. Furthermore, this combined approach may also improve our understanding of basic mechanisms underlying gene x

  1. An Animal Model for Collective Behavior in Humans: The Impact of Manipulated Trust and Aggression

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-04-30

    political choice, in consumer preferences , etc.). Numerous terms and theories have been posited in order to explain this group effect (‘Herd morality’; ‘Herd...human collective behavior (e.g. in the stock market, in political choice, in consumer preferences , etc), as well as disclosing the underlying

  2. New frontiers in animal research of psychiatric illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaffman, Arie; Krystal, John H; Krystal, John J

    2012-01-01

    Alterations in neurodevelopment are thought to modify risk of numerous psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, autism, ADHD, mood and anxiety disorders, and substance abuse. However, little is known about the cellular and molecular changes that guide these neurodevelopmental changes and how they contribute to mental illness. In this review, we suggest that elucidating this process in humans requires the use of model organisms. Furthermore, we advocate that such translational work should focus on the role that genes and/or environmental factors play in the development of circuits that regulate specific physiological and behavioral outcomes in adulthood. This emphasis on circuit development, as a fundamental unit for understanding behavior, is distinct from current approaches of modeling psychiatric illnesses in animals in two important ways. First, it proposes to replace the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM) diagnostic system with measurable endophenotypes as the basis for modeling human psychopathology in animals. We argue that a major difficulty in establishing valid animal models lies in their reliance on the DSM/International Classification of Diseases conceptual framework, and suggest that the Research Domain Criteria project, recently proposed by the NIMH, provides a more suitable system to model human psychopathology in animals. Second, this proposal emphasizes the developmental origin of many (though clearly not all) psychiatric illnesses, an issue that is often glossed over in current animal models of mental illness. We suggest that animal models are essential to elucidate the mechanisms by which neurodevelopmental changes program complex behavior in adulthood. A better understanding of this issue, in animals, is the key for defining human psychopathology, and the development of earlier and more effective interventions for mental illness.

  3. Animal models of drug addiction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García Pardo, María Pilar; Roger Sánchez, Concepción; De la Rubia Ortí, José Enrique; Aguilar Calpe, María Asunción

    2017-09-29

    The development of animal models of drug reward and addiction is an essential factor for progress in understanding the biological basis of this disorder and for the identification of new therapeutic targets. Depending on the component of reward to be studied, one type of animal model or another may be used. There are models of reinforcement based on the primary hedonic effect produced by the consumption of the addictive substance, such as the self-administration (SA) and intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) paradigms, and there are models based on the component of reward related to associative learning and cognitive ability to make predictions about obtaining reward in the future, such as the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm. In recent years these models have incorporated methodological modifications to study extinction, reinstatement and reconsolidation processes, or to model specific aspects of addictive behavior such as motivation to consume drugs, compulsive consumption or drug seeking under punishment situations. There are also models that link different reinforcement components or model voluntary motivation to consume (two-bottle choice, or drinking in the dark tests). In short, innovations in these models allow progress in scientific knowledge regarding the different aspects that lead individuals to consume a drug and develop compulsive consumption, providing a target for future treatments of addiction.

  4. Gaps in US Animal Welfare Law for Laboratory Animals: Perspectives From an Animal Law Attorney.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frasch, Pamela D

    2016-05-01

    The use of animals in biomedical, toxicological, and basic research has been common practice, and a tool for scientists and researchers, for many years. And yet, serious conflict continues to exist between those who believe that the use of animals in research will yield scientific results that benefit humans and those who believe such practices are unethical regardless of use or outcome. High-profile undercover cases have further raised public awareness and have put the entire industry under pressure to be transparent, accountable, and aggressive in its adoption of reduction, refinement, and replacement (3R) principles. Many animal law attorneys are deeply frustrated by what they see as weak US laws that are unevenly enforced, especially when compared with legal advances in other countries and regions. This article (1) explores those gaps in US animal welfare laws with an emphasis on the Animal Welfare Act, (2) argues in favor of stronger laws and rigorous enforcement, and (3) suggests steps to advance these goals. These steps include (1) expanding the definition of "animal" in the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), (2) improving and expanding minimum care requirements in USDA regulations, (3) instituting mandatory reporting requirements, improving Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees, and allowing easier accessibility to laboratory reports and plans, (4) adding a citizen suit provision to the AWA, and (5) continuing education about the emotional and social capacities of animals and a stronger commitment to 3R principles. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. Influence of environmental enrichment on the behavior and physiology of mice infected by Trypanosoma cruzi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Déborah Maria Moreira da Silva

    Full Text Available Abstract INTRODUCTION: Enriched environments normally increase behavioral repertoires and diminish the expression of abnormal behaviors and stress-related physiological problems in animals. Although it has been shown that experimental animals infected with microorganisms can modify their behaviors and physiology, few studies have evaluated how environmental enrichment affects these parameters. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of environmental enrichment on the behavior and physiology of confined mice infected with Trypanosoma cruzi. METHODS: The behaviors of 20 T. cruzi-infected mice and 20 non-infected mice were recorded during three treatments: baseline, enrichment, and post-enrichment. Behavioral data were collected using scan sampling with instantaneous recording of behavior every 30s, totaling 360h. Plasma TNF, CCL2, and IL-10 levels and parasitemia were also evaluated in infected enriched/non-enriched mice. Behavioral data were evaluated by Friedman’s test and physiological data by one-way ANOVA and area under the curve (AUC analysis. RESULTS: Results showed that environmental enrichment significantly increased exploratory behaviors and diminished inactivity. The use of environmental enrichment did not diminish circulating levels of TNF and IL-10 but diminished circulating levels of CCL2 and parasitemia. CONCLUSIONS: Positive behavioral and physiological effects of environmental enrichment were observed in mice living in enriched cages. Thus, environmental enrichment improved the welfare of these animals.

  6. Animal serial killing: The first criminal conviction for animal cruelty in Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salvagni, Fernanda Auciello; de Siqueira, Adriana; Fukushima, Andre Rinaldi; Landi, Marina Frota de Albuquerque; Ponge-Ferreira, Heidi; Maiorka, Paulo Cesar

    2016-10-01

    Animal cruelty is a known behavior of psychopaths, and although the serial killing of humans is widely acknowledged worldwide, this type of crime against animals is seldom discussed. This report describes the necropsy and toxicological findings of 37 dogs and cats, which were found dead in plastic bags in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The animals had all been in the care of an alleged animal rescuer and were to be referred for adoption before being found dead. In the necropsy, the animals showed varying degrees of putrefaction, indicating different periods of death, as well as single or multiple perforations on the thorax. The perforations reached the heart, lungs or large thoracic vessels, culminating in hemopericardium and hemothorax that led to death by circulatory failure and cardiac tamponade. Blood from the heart and thoracic cavity was analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and tested positive for ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic. The suspect declared that she had killed only five of the animals and that they had all been fatally sick. The necropsy proved that all 37 animals were killed in the same way, that none of the animals had any terminal diseases and that a restricted drug was used. The suspect was sentenced to 12 years, 6 months and 14days of prison for the killing of the 37 animals. This was the first conviction for the crime of animal cruelty in Brazil. The combined role of police, forensic veterinary pathologists and prosecutors were essential to the conviction, which was a great historical occasion in the fight against animal cruelty. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. 32 CFR 1903.16 - Restriction on animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 6 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Restriction on animals. 1903.16 Section 1903.16... AGENCY INSTALLATIONS § 1903.16 Restriction on animals. Animals, except for those animals used for the assistance of persons with disabilities, or animals under the charge and control of the Central Intelligence...

  8. Animal Experimentation: Issues for the 1980s.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zola, Judith C.; And Others

    1984-01-01

    Examines the extent to which issues related to animal experimentation are in conflict and proposes choices that might least comprise them. These issues include animal well-being, human well-being, self-interest of science, scientific validity and responsibility, progress in biomedical and behavioral science, and the future quality of medical care.…

  9. Individual differences in circadian locomotor parameters correlate with anxiety- and depression-like behavior.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeffrey Anyan

    Full Text Available Disrupted circadian rhythms are a core feature of mood and anxiety disorders. Circadian rhythms are coordinated by a light-entrainable master clock located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Animal models of mood and anxiety disorders often exhibit blunted rhythms in locomotor activity and clock gene expression. Interestingly, the changes in circadian rhythms correlate with mood-related behaviours. Although animal models of depression and anxiety exhibit aberrant circadian rhythms in physiology and behavior, it is possible that the methodology being used to induce the behavioral phenotype (e.g., brain lesions, chronic stress, global gene deletion affect behavior independently of circadian system. This study investigates the relationship between individual differences in circadian locomotor parameters and mood-related behaviors in healthy rats. The circadian phenotype of male Lewis rats was characterized by analyzing wheel running behavior under standard 12h:12h LD conditions, constant dark, constant light, and rate of re-entrainment to a phase advance. Rats were then tested on a battery of behavioral tests: activity box, restricted feeding, elevated plus maze, forced swim test, and fear conditioning. Under 12h:12h LD conditions, percent of daily activity in the light phase and variability in activity onset were associated with longer latency to immobility in the forced swim test. Variability in onset also correlated positively with anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze. Rate of re-entrainment correlated positively with measures of anxiety in the activity box and elevated plus maze. Lastly, we found that free running period under constant dark was associated with anxiety-like behaviors in the activity box and elevated plus maze. Our results provide a previously uncharacterized relationship between circadian locomotor parameters and mood-related behaviors in healthy rats and provide a basis for future examination into circadian clock

  10. A computational system to monitor and control animal behaviour during perceptual tasks

    OpenAIRE

    Azizi, Rachid

    2017-01-01

    En col·laboració amb la Universitat de Barcelona (UB) i la Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) In the neuroscience field the scientists aim to understand how the brain works. In order to study the brain mechanisms underlying behaviour and cognition, they perform standardized laboratory experiments with animal models. The main goal of this Master Thesis is the development of an experimental set-up to run behavioral experiments using rats in the DeLaRocha Lab at IDIBAPS (Instit...

  11. Animal cruelty and psychiatric disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gleyzer, Roman; Felthous, Alan R; Holzer, Charles E

    2002-01-01

    Animal cruelty in childhood, although generally viewed as abnormal or deviant, for years was not considered symptomatic of any particular psychiatric disorder. Although animal cruelty is currently used as a diagnostic criterion for conduct disorder, research establishing the diagnostic significance of this behavior is essentially nonexistent. In the current study, investigators tested the hypothesis that a history of substantial animal cruelty is associated with a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder (APD) and looked for associations with other disorders commonly diagnosed in a population of criminal defendants. Forty-eight subjects, criminal defendants who had histories of substantial animal cruelty, were matched with defendants without this history. Data were systematically obtained from the files by using four specifically designed data retrieval outlines. A history of animal cruelty during childhood was significantly associated with APD, antisocial personality traits, and polysubstance abuse. Mental retardation, psychotic disorders, and alcohol abuse showed no such association.

  12. Physical and Behavioral Measures that Predict Cats’ Socialization in an Animal Shelter Environment during a Three Day Period

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Margaret Slater

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Animal welfare organizations typically take in cats with unknown levels of socialization towards humans, ranging from unsocialized cats well-socialized but lost pets. Agencies typically determine the socialization status and disposition options of cats within three days, when even a well-socialized pet may be too frightened of the unfamiliar surroundings to display its typical behavior. This is the third part of a three-phase project to develop and evaluate a reliable and valid tool to predict cats’ socialization levels. We recruited cats from the full spectrum of socialization and, using information from the cats’ caregivers regarding typical behavior toward familiar and unfamiliar people, assigned each cat to a Socialization Category. This information was compared to the cats’ behavior during three days of structured assessments conducted in a shelter-like setting. The results of logistic regression modeling generated two models using assessments from the mornings of the second and third day, focusing on predicting shyer or more aloof but socialized cats. Using the coefficients from each of these models, two sets of points were calculated which were useful in differentiating More and Less Socialized cats. In combination with key socialized behaviors, these points were able to fairly accurately identify More and Less Socialized cats.

  13. Are most samples of animals systematically biased? Consistent individual trait differences bias samples despite random sampling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biro, Peter A

    2013-02-01

    Sampling animals from the wild for study is something nearly every biologist has done, but despite our best efforts to obtain random samples of animals, 'hidden' trait biases may still exist. For example, consistent behavioral traits can affect trappability/catchability, independent of obvious factors such as size and gender, and these traits are often correlated with other repeatable physiological and/or life history traits. If so, systematic sampling bias may exist for any of these traits. The extent to which this is a problem, of course, depends on the magnitude of bias, which is presently unknown because the underlying trait distributions in populations are usually unknown, or unknowable. Indeed, our present knowledge about sampling bias comes from samples (not complete population censuses), which can possess bias to begin with. I had the unique opportunity to create naturalized populations of fish by seeding each of four small fishless lakes with equal densities of slow-, intermediate-, and fast-growing fish. Using sampling methods that are not size-selective, I observed that fast-growing fish were up to two-times more likely to be sampled than slower-growing fish. This indicates substantial and systematic bias with respect to an important life history trait (growth rate). If correlations between behavioral, physiological and life-history traits are as widespread as the literature suggests, then many animal samples may be systematically biased with respect to these traits (e.g., when collecting animals for laboratory use), and affect our inferences about population structure and abundance. I conclude with a discussion on ways to minimize sampling bias for particular physiological/behavioral/life-history types within animal populations.

  14. Social factors affect motor and anxiety behaviors in the animal model of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders: A housing-style factor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, Meng-Li; Kozłowska, Anna; Li, Yu-Sheng; Shen, Wen-Ling; Huang, Andrew Chih Wei

    2017-08-01

    The present study examines whether housing style (e.g., single housing, same-strain-grouped housing, and different-strain-grouped housing) and rat strain (e.g., spontaneous hypertension rats [SHR] and Wistar-Kyoto rats [WKY]) mediate motor function and anxiety behavior in the open field task. From week 4 through week 10 following birth, the rats were measured 30min for locomotor activity and anxiety once per week in the open field task. The SHR rats exhibited hyperactivity in total distance traveled and movement time to form the animal model of ADHD. The SHR rats spent more time inside the square and crossed the inside-outside line more often than the WKY rats, indicating the SHR rats exhibited less anxiety behavior. The different-strain-grouped housing style (but neither the same-strain-grouped housing style nor the single housing style) decreased total distance traveled and facilitated anxiety behavior. The motor function was negatively correlated with anxiety behavior for SHR rats but not for WKY rats. Housing styles had a negative correlation between motor function and anxiety behavior. The present findings provide some insights regarding how social factors (such as housing style) affect motor function and anxiety behavior related to ADHD in a clinical setting. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Conceptualising Animal Abuse with an Antisocial Behaviour Framework

    OpenAIRE

    Eleonora Gullone

    2011-01-01

    Simple Summary There is increasing acceptance of the links between animal abuse and aggressive or antisocial behaviours toward humans. Nevertheless, researchers and other professionals continue to call for methodologically sound empirical research amongst claims that current animal abuse research is methodologically limited. Below, I argue that current conceptualizations of antisocial and aggressive human behavior logically incorporate animal abuse. Given that the body of empirical evidence a...

  16. Animal models of cerebral ischemia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khodanovich, M. Yu.; Kisel, A. A.

    2015-11-01

    Cerebral ischemia remains one of the most frequent causes of death and disability worldwide. Animal models are necessary to understand complex molecular mechanisms of brain damage as well as for the development of new therapies for stroke. This review considers a certain range of animal models of cerebral ischemia, including several types of focal and global ischemia. Since animal models vary in specificity for the human disease which they reproduce, the complexity of surgery, infarct size, reliability of reproduction for statistical analysis, and adequate models need to be chosen according to the aim of a study. The reproduction of a particular animal model needs to be evaluated using appropriate tools, including the behavioral assessment of injury and non-invasive and post-mortem control of brain damage. These problems also have been summarized in the review.

  17. Progress in the study on Pu chemical behavior under the geological environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Yingjie; Fan Xianhua

    2006-01-01

    The generation, characteristic, and disposal technology of the high level radioactive waste were discussed, and a progress in the study on the chemical behavior of Pu, a transuranic element possessing the long-term potential risk for the environment, under the geological repository was reviewed. Release behavior of Pu from the high level radioactive glass waste form, the basic chemical reactions of Pu possibly happening in groundwater, including solubility, complexation, redox reaction, and colloidal formation. Some proposals for the further work in China are also suggested. (authors)

  18. Biodiversity of animals that are living on the surface of soil under the forest stands surrounding Japan Cave of BKPH Nglerak, North Lawu, Karanganyar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    DHINI WIJAYA

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available The study of animal biodiversity that lived on the surface of soil under the stands forest surround Japan Cave BKPH Nglerak, North Lawu, Karanganyar has bee done. Observations were conducted in 6 stations of different stands of forest. Animals were caught by pit fall trap method. In each catching was found about 22 animals consisting of 6 families with Simpson’s diversity index of 0.5. The result of identification indicates that those animals belong to 4 classes: Insects (9 orders, Arachnids (2 orders, Diplopods (2 orders, and Crustacean (1 order. The most diverse animals was found in the habitat of pine stands while the lowest one found in the habitat of cultivated plants.

  19. Novel approach to automatically classify rat social behavior using a video tracking system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peters, Suzanne M; Pinter, Ilona J; Pothuizen, Helen H J; de Heer, Raymond C; van der Harst, Johanneke E; Spruijt, Berry M

    2016-08-01

    In the past, studies in behavioral neuroscience and drug development have relied on simple and quick readout parameters of animal behavior to assess treatment efficacy or to understand underlying brain mechanisms. The predominant use of classical behavioral tests has been repeatedly criticized during the last decades because of their poor reproducibility, poor translational value and the limited explanatory power in functional terms. We present a new method to monitor social behavior of rats using automated video tracking. The velocity of moving and the distance between two rats were plotted in frequency distributions. In addition, behavior was manually annotated and related to the automatically obtained parameters for a validated interpretation. Inter-individual distance in combination with velocity of movement provided specific behavioral classes, such as moving with high velocity when "in contact" or "in proximity". Human observations showed that these classes coincide with following (chasing) behavior. In addition, when animals are "in contact", but at low velocity, behaviors such as allogrooming and social investigation were observed. Also, low dose treatment with morphine and short isolation increased the time animals spent in contact or in proximity at high velocity. Current methods that involve the investigation of social rat behavior are mostly limited to short and relatively simple manual observations. A new and automated method for analyzing social behavior in a social interaction test is presented here and shows to be sensitive to drug treatment and housing conditions known to influence social behavior in rats. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Addiction, drinking behavior, and driving under the influence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sloan, Frank A; Eldred, Lindsey M; Davis, Dontrell V

    2014-05-01

    Using a survey of drinkers (N = 1,634), we evaluated alternative explanations of heavy and binge drinking, driving under the influence (DUI), DUI arrests, speeding citations, and chargeable accidents. Explanations included socializing, short-term decision-making, unrealistic optimism, risk preferring behavior, and addiction. Most consistent relationships were between substance use and alcohol addiction and dependent variables for (1) binge drinking and (2) DUI episodes. Respondent characteristics (age, marital and employment status, race, etc.) had important roles for DUI arrests. Drinker-drivers and those arrested for DUI are partially overlapping groups with implications for treatment and policies detecting and incapacitating persons from drinking and driving.

  1. Cyanide toxicokinetics: the behavior of cyanide, thiocyanate and 2-amino-2-thiazoline-4-carboxylic acid in multiple animal models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhandari, Raj K; Oda, Robert P; Petrikovics, Ilona; Thompson, David E; Brenner, Matthew; Mahon, Sari B; Bebarta, Vikhyat S; Rockwood, Gary A; Logue, Brian A

    2014-05-01

    Cyanide causes toxic effects by inhibiting cytochrome c oxidase, resulting in cellular hypoxia and cytotoxic anoxia, and can eventually lead to death. Cyanide exposure can be verified by direct analysis of cyanide concentrations or analyzing its metabolites, including thiocyanate (SCN(-)) and 2-amino-2-thiazoline-4-carboxylic acid (ATCA) in blood. To determine the behavior of these markers following cyanide exposure, a toxicokinetics study was performed in three animal models: (i) rats (250-300 g), (ii) rabbits (3.5-4.2 kg) and (iii) swine (47-54 kg). Cyanide reached a maximum in blood and declined rapidly in each animal model as it was absorbed, distributed, metabolized and eliminated. Thiocyanate concentrations rose more slowly as cyanide was enzymatically converted to SCN(-). Concentrations of ATCA did not rise significantly above the baseline in the rat model, but rose quickly in rabbits (up to a 40-fold increase) and swine (up to a 3-fold increase) and then fell rapidly, generally following the relative behavior of cyanide. Rats were administered cyanide subcutaneously and the apparent half-life (t1/2) was determined to be 1,510 min. Rabbits were administered cyanide intravenously and the t1/2 was determined to be 177 min. Swine were administered cyanide intravenously and the t1/2 was determined to be 26.9 min. The SCN(-) t1/2 in rats was 3,010 min, but was not calculated in rabbits and swine because SCN(-) concentrations did not reach a maximum. The t1/2 of ATCA was 40.7 and 13.9 min in rabbits and swine, respectively, while it could not be determined in rats with confidence. The current study suggests that cyanide exposure may be verified shortly after exposure by determining significantly elevated cyanide and SCN(-) in each animal model and ATCA may be used when the ATCA detoxification pathway is significant.

  2. Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis preference and behavioral response to animated images of conspecifics altered in their color, aspect ratio, and swimming depth.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giovanni Polverino

    Full Text Available Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis is an example of a freshwater fish species whose remarkable diffusion outside its native range has led to it being placed on the list of the world's hundred worst invasive alien species (International Union for Conservation of Nature. Here, we investigate mosquitofish shoaling tendency using a dichotomous choice test in which computer-animated images of their conspecifics are altered in color, aspect ratio, and swimming level in the water column. Pairs of virtual stimuli are systematically presented to focal subjects to evaluate their attractiveness and the effect on fish behavior. Mosquitofish respond differentially to some of these stimuli showing preference for conspecifics with enhanced yellow pigmentation while exhibiting highly varying locomotory patterns. Our results suggest that computer-animated images can be used to understand the factors that regulate the social dynamics of shoals of Gambusia affinis. Such knowledge may inform the design of control plans and open new avenues in conservation and protection of endangered animal species.

  3. Biochemical correlates in an animal model of depression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, J.O.

    1986-01-01

    A valid animal model of depression was used to explore specific adrenergic receptor differences between rats exhibiting aberrant behavior and control groups. Preliminary experiments revealed a distinct upregulation of hippocampal beta-receptors (as compared to other brain regions) in those animals acquiring a response deficit as a result of exposure to inescapable footshock. Concurrent studies using standard receptor binding techniques showed no large changes in the density of alpha-adrenergic, serotonergic, or dopaminergic receptor densities. This led to the hypothesis that the hippocampal beta-receptor in responses deficient animals could be correlated with the behavioral changes seen after exposure to the aversive stimulus. Normalization of the behavior through the administration of antidepressants could be expected to reverse the biochemical changes if these are related to the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs. This study makes three important points: (1) there is a relevant biochemical change in the hippocampus of response deficient rats which occurs in parallel to a well-defined behavior, (2) the biochemical and behavioral changes are normalized by antidepressant treatments exhibiting both serotonergic and adrenergic mechanisms of action, and (3) the mode of action of antidepressants in this model is probably a combination of serotonergic and adrenergic influences modulating the hippocampal beta-receptor. These results are discussed in relation to anatomical and biochemical aspects of antidepressant action

  4. Tax evasion under behavioral structures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriela S. Pantoja

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We study the strategic interactions between the fiscal authority and the taxpayer regarding tax evasion and auditing. We fit this interaction into a Bayesian game and introduce the concept of behavioral consistency, which helps reducing the number of available strategies and models the stylized fact according to which the choice to evade is subject to behavioral patterns.

  5. Time-dependent behavior of rough discontinuities under shearing conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhen; Shen, Mingrong; Ding, Wenqi; Jang, Boan; Zhang, Qingzhao

    2018-02-01

    The mechanical properties of rocks are generally controlled by their discontinuities. In this study, the time-dependent behavior of rough artificial joints under shearing conditions was investigated. Based on Barton’s standard profile lines, samples with artificial joint surfaces were prepared and used to conduct the shear and creep tests. The test results showed that the shear strength of discontinuity was linearly related to roughness, and subsequently an empirical equation was established. The long-term strength of discontinuity can be identified using the inflection point of the isocreep-rate curve, and it was linearly related to roughness. Furthermore, the ratio of long-term and instantaneous strength decreased with the increase of roughness. The shear-stiffness coefficient increased with the increase of shear rate, and the influence of shear rate on the shear stiffness coefficient decreased with the decrease of roughness. Further study of the mechanism revealed that these results could be attributed to the different time-dependent behavior of intact and joint rocks.

  6. The development of a screening questionnaire for childhood cruelty to animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guymer, E C; Mellor, D; Luk, E S; Pearse, V

    2001-11-01

    Childhood cruelty to animals may be a marker of poor prognosis amongst conduct disordered children. However, other than semistructured interviews with parents or children, there are no screening instruments for this behavior. The aim of this study was to develop such an instrument. In the first phase of the study, a parent-report questionnaire, Children's Attitudes and Behaviors Towards Animals (CABTA) was designed and piloted on 360 elementary school children, enabling community norms and a factor structure for the instrument to be derived. In the second phase, the questionnaire was completed by the parents of a small sample of children (N = 17) to establish its test-retest reliability. In the third phase of the study, the CABTA was completed by the parents of 19 children who had been diagnosed with either a Disruptive Behavioral Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and the results were compared with the outcome of a semistructured interview with parents regarding their child's behavior toward animals. The results of the various phases of the study indicated that the CABTA consists of two factors. Typical and Malicious Cruelty to animals, and is a reliable and valid tool for detecting childhood cruelty to animals. Possible use and adaptations of the CABTA as a screening instrument in clinical and community samples are discussed.

  7. Clerodendrum inerme Leaf Extract Alleviates Animal Behaviors, Hyperlocomotion, and Prepulse Inhibition Disruptions, Mimicking Tourette Syndrome and Schizophrenia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hon-Lie Chen

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Previously, we found a patient with intractable motor tic disorder, a spectrum of Tourette syndrome (TS, responsive to the ground leaf juice of Clerodendrum inerme (CI. Here, we examined the effect of the ethanol extract of CI leaves (CI extract on animal behaviors mimicking TS, hyperlocomotion, and sensorimotor gating deficit. The latter is also observed in schizophrenic patients and can be reflected by a disruption of prepulse inhibition of acoustic startle response (PPI in animal models induced by methamphetamine and NMDA channel blockers (ketamine or MK-801, based on hyperdopaminergic and hypoglutamatergic hypotheses, respectively. CI extract (10–300 mg/kg, i.p. dose-dependently inhibited hyperlocomotion induced by methamphetamine (2 mg/kg, i.p. and PPI disruptions induced by methamphetamine, ketamine (30 mg/kg, i.p., and MK-801 (0.3 mg/kg, i.p. but did not affect spontaneous locomotor activity, rotarod performance, and grip force. These results suggest that CI extract can relieve hyperlocomotion and improve sensorimotor gating deficit, supporting the therapeutic potential of CI for TS and schizophrenia.

  8. Factors Influencing the Prevalence of Animal Cruelty During Adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Connor, M; Currie, C; Lawrence, A B

    2018-04-01

    Adolescents' interactions with animals are of increasing interest and their beneficial developmental outcomes are well known. However, negative interactions such as perpetrating cruelty toward animals during childhood and adolescence have been related with child abuse, domestic violence, and later interpersonal violence. Cruelty toward animals by adolescents has been reported predominately in criminal and clinical samples, and links have been made between animal cruelty and interpersonal violence. However, studies often lack a clear definition of animal cruelty and the animal involved. The present study addresses methodological shortcomings by providing a clear definition of the cruelty acts and the animals involved and the time frame within which cruelty acts have been taken place. Therefore, we investigated the prevalence of animal cruelty of 979 British adolescents (419 male, 497 female, M age = 15.1 ± 1.57 years) by means of a survey questionnaire administered in school. Animal cruelty was investigated encompassing deliberate and nondeliberate cruelty acts, a clear definition of the target animals was included and a time frame was provided. Furthermore, acceptability of animal cruelty, engaging in antisocial behavior, and family affluence were investigated. Results show high reliabilities for the measures applied. Exploratory factor analysis reveals different types of animal cruelty. Gender differences were observed for deliberate and accidental cruelty acts, with boys reporting higher levels than girls. Younger adolescents reported higher accidental cruelty acts than older ones. Acceptance of animal cruelty played a significant role in predicting animal cruelty, together with antisocial behaviors and place of living. The present study shows for the first time the importance of distinguishing between different types of animal cruelty and defining the animals involved.

  9. Ethanol seeking by Long Evans rats is not always a goal-directed behavior.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Regina A Mangieri

    Full Text Available Two parallel and interacting processes are said to underlie animal behavior, whereby learning and performance of a behavior is at first via conscious and deliberate (goal-directed processes, but after initial acquisition, the behavior can become automatic and stimulus-elicited (habitual. With respect to instrumental behaviors, animal learning studies suggest that the duration of training and the action-outcome contingency are two factors involved in the emergence of habitual seeking of "natural" reinforcers (e.g., sweet solutions, food or sucrose pellets. To rigorously test whether behaviors reinforced by abused substances such as ethanol, in particular, similarly become habitual was the primary aim of this study.Male Long Evans rats underwent extended or limited operant lever press training with 10% sucrose/10% ethanol (10S10E reinforcement (variable interval (VI or (VR ratio schedule of reinforcement, or with 10% sucrose (10S reinforcement (VI schedule only. Once training and pretesting were complete, the impact of outcome devaluation on operant behavior was evaluated after lithium chloride injections were paired with the reinforcer, or unpaired 24 hours later. After limited, but not extended instrumental training, lever pressing by groups trained under VR with 10S10E and under VI with 10S was sensitive to outcome devaluation. In contrast, responding by both the extended and limited training 10S10E VI groups was not sensitive to ethanol devaluation during the test for habitual behavior.Operant behavior by rats trained to self-administer an ethanol-sucrose solution showed variable sensitivity to a change in the value of ethanol, with relative insensitivity developing sooner in animals that received time-variable ethanol reinforcement during training sessions. One important implication, with respect to substance abuse in humans, is that initial learning about the relationship between instrumental actions and the opportunity to consume ethanol

  10. Psychological Profile of Male and Female Animal Abusers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwartz, Rebecca L.; Fremouw, William; Schenk, Allison; Ragatz, Laurie L.

    2012-01-01

    This study had three purposes: to explore psychological characteristics of animal abusers (criminal thinking styles, empathy, and personality traits), to replicate previously reported results (past illegal actions, bullying behavior), and to examine potential gender differences. The self-reported animal abuser group was 29 college students who…

  11. Ingestive behavior and performance of female lambs grazing on Marandu palisadegrass under different stocking rates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luiz Carlos Vieira Júnior

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available The ingestive behavior and performance of female lambs grazing on Marandu pasture submitted to different stocking rates during the rainy and transition season were evaluated. The experimental area with 4,500 m² was divided into 45 paddocks of 100 m². Twenty-seven Santa Ines female lambs (purebred with 4 months age and 22 kg of initial body weight were distributed in a completely randomized design, with nine replicates. Lambs were divided into 9 groups with the same initial weight and submitted to three stocking rates: 2, 3 and 4 lambs/paddock, which corresponded to 40, 60 and 80 lambs/ha, respectively. Each group of animals had a module of five paddocks, managed on intermittent grazing system, with 7 days of occupation and 28 d of rest. Increase on time grazing and reduction on time ruminating and resting were observed as stocking rates increased. There was 14% raise in time grazing and 41% decline on time resting by lambs subjected to the highest stocking rate compared with those in the lower stocking rate. The number of animals/ha promoted linear effect on average daily gain, which was higher for animals in the lowest stocking rate of 90 g/d. For gain per area, the best result was obtained with 60 animals/ha featuring an average value of 426 kg/ha.

  12. Animal damage to birch

    Science.gov (United States)

    James S. Jordan; Francis M. Rushmore

    1969-01-01

    A relatively few animal species are responsible for most of the reported damage to the birches. White-tailed deer, yellow-bellied sapsuckers, porcupines, moose, and hares are the major animals involved. We will review reports of damage, discuss the underlying causes, and describe possible methods of control. For example, heavy deer browsing that eliminates birch...

  13. Characterization of the rat exploratory behavior in the elevated plus-maze with Markov chains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tejada, Julián; Bosco, Geraldine G; Morato, Silvio; Roque, Antonio C

    2010-11-30

    The elevated plus-maze is an animal model of anxiety used to study the effect of different drugs on the behavior of the animal. It consists of a plus-shaped maze with two open and two closed arms elevated 50cm from the floor. The standard measures used to characterize exploratory behavior in the elevated plus-maze are the time spent and the number of entries in the open arms. In this work, we use Markov chains to characterize the exploratory behavior of the rat in the elevated plus-maze under three different conditions: normal and under the effects of anxiogenic and anxiolytic drugs. The spatial structure of the elevated plus-maze is divided into squares, which are associated with states of a Markov chain. By counting the frequencies of transitions between states during 5-min sessions in the elevated plus-maze, we constructed stochastic matrices for the three conditions studied. The stochastic matrices show specific patterns, which correspond to the observed behaviors of the rat under the three different conditions. For the control group, the stochastic matrix shows a clear preference for places in the closed arms. This preference is enhanced for the anxiogenic group. For the anxiolytic group, the stochastic matrix shows a pattern similar to a random walk. Our results suggest that Markov chains can be used together with the standard measures to characterize the rat behavior in the elevated plus-maze. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Host-seeking behavior and dispersal of Triatoma infestans, a vector of Chagas disease, under semi-field conditions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ricardo Castillo-Neyra

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Chagas disease affects millions of people in Latin America. The control of this vector-borne disease focuses on halting transmission by reducing or eliminating insect vector populations. Most transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, involves insects living within or very close to households and feeding mostly on domestic animals. As animal hosts can be intermittently present it is important to understand how host availability can modify transmission risk to humans and to characterize the host-seeking dispersal of triatomine vectors on a very fine scale. We used a semi-field system with motion-detection cameras to characterize the dispersal of Triatoma infestans, and compare the behavior of vector populations in the constant presence of hosts (guinea pigs, and after the removal of the hosts. The emigration rate - net insect population decline in original refuge - following host removal was on average 19.7% of insects per 10 days compared to 10.2% in constant host populations (p = 0.029. However, dispersal of T. infestans occurred in both directions, towards and away from the initial location of the hosts. The majority of insects that moved towards the original location of guinea pigs remained there for 4 weeks. Oviposition and mortality were observed and analyzed in the context of insect dispersal, but only mortality was higher in the group where animal hosts were removed (p-value <0.01. We discuss different survival strategies associated with the observed behavior and its implications for vector control. Removing domestic animals in infested areas increases vector dispersal from the first day of host removal. The implications of these patterns of vector dispersal in a field setting are not yet known but could result in movement towards human rooms.

  15. A Reward-Based Behavioral Platform to Measure Neural Activity during Head-Fixed Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew H. Micallef

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Understanding the neural computations that contribute to behavior requires recording from neurons while an animal is behaving. This is not an easy task as most subcellular recording techniques require absolute head stability. The Go/No-Go sensory task is a powerful decision-driven task that enables an animal to report a binary decision during head-fixation. Here we discuss how to set up an Ardunio and Python based platform system to control a Go/No-Go sensory behavior paradigm. Using an Arduino micro-controller and Python-based custom written program, a reward can be delivered to the animal depending on the decision reported. We discuss the various components required to build the behavioral apparatus that can control and report such a sensory stimulus paradigm. This system enables the end user to control the behavioral testing in real-time and therefore it provides a strong custom-made platform for probing the neural basis of behavior.

  16. Mechanical behavior of silicon carbide nanoparticles under uniaxial compression

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    He, Qiuxiang; Fei, Jing; Tang, Chao; Zhong, Jianxin; Meng, Lijun, E-mail: ljmeng@xtu.edu.cn [Xiangtan University, Hunan Key Laboratory for Micro-Nano Energy Materials and Devices, Faculty of School of Physics and Optoelectronics (China)

    2016-03-15

    The mechanical behavior of SiC nanoparticles under uniaxial compression was investigated using an atomic-level compression simulation technique. The results revealed that the mechanical deformation of SiC nanocrystals is highly dependent on compression orientation, particle size, and temperature. A structural transformation from the original zinc-blende to a rock-salt phase is identified for SiC nanoparticles compressed along the [001] direction at low temperature. However, the rock-salt phase is not observed for SiC nanoparticles compressed along the [110] and [111] directions irrespective of size and temperature. The high-pressure-generated rock-salt phase strongly affects the mechanical behavior of the nanoparticles, including their hardness and deformation process. The hardness of [001]-compressed nanoparticles decreases monotonically as their size increases, different from that of [110] and [111]-compressed nanoparticles, which reaches a maximal value at a critical size and then decreases. Additionally, a temperature-dependent mechanical response was observed for all simulated SiC nanoparticles regardless of compression orientation and size. Interestingly, the hardness of SiC nanocrystals with a diameter of 8 nm compressed in [001]-orientation undergoes a steep decrease at 0.1–200 K and then a gradual decline from 250 to 1500 K. This trend can be attributed to different deformation mechanisms related to phase transformation and dislocations. Our results will be useful for practical applications of SiC nanoparticles under high pressure.

  17. Decreased Hippocampal Neuroplasticity and Behavioral Impairment in an Animal Model of Inhalant Abuse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hanaa Malloul

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Thinners are highly toxic chemicals widely employed as organic solvents in industrial and domestic use. They have psychoactive properties when inhaled, and their chronic abuse as inhalants is associated with severe long-term health effects, including brain damage and cognitive-behavioral alterations. Yet, the sites and mechanisms of action of these compounds on the brain are far from being fully understood. Here, we investigated the consequences of paint thinner inhalation in adult male mice. Depression-like behaviors and an anxiolytic effect were found following repeated exposure in chronic treatments lasting 12 weeks. Both subchronic (6 weeks and chronic treatments impaired learning and memory functions, while no changes were observed after acute treatment. To investigate possible molecular/structural alterations underlying such behavioral changes, we focused on the hippocampus. Notably, prolonged, but not acute thinner inhalation strongly affected adult neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus (DG, reducing progenitor cell proliferation after chronic treatments and impairing the survival of newborn neurons following both chronic and subchronic treatments. Furthermore, a down-regulation in the expression of BDNF and NMDA receptor subunits as well as a reduction in CREB expression/phosphorylation were found in the hippocampi of chronically treated mice. Our findings demonstrate for the first time significant structural and molecular changes in the adult hippocampus after prolonged paint thinner inhalation, indicating reduced hippocampal neuroplasticity and strongly supporting its implication in the behavioral dysfunctions associated to inhalant abuse.

  18. Strength and behavior in shear of reinforced concrete deep beams under dynamic loading conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adhikary, Satadru Das [School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 639798 (Singapore); Li, Bing, E-mail: cbli@ntu.edu.sg [School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 639798 (Singapore); Fujikake, Kazunori [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National Defense Academy, Yokosuka 239 8686 (Japan)

    2013-06-15

    Highlights: ► Effects of wider range of loading rates on dynamic shear behavior of RC deep beams. ► Experimental investigation of RC deep beam with and without shear reinforcements. ► Verification of experimental results with truss model and FE simulation results. ► Empirical equations are proposed to predict the dynamic increase factor of maximum resistance. -- Abstract: Research on reinforced concrete (RC) deep beams has seen considerable headway over the past three decades; however, information on the dynamic shear strength and behavior of RC deep beams under varying rates of loads remains limited. This paper describes the experimental results of 24 RC deep beams with and without shear reinforcements under varying rates of concentrated loading. Results obtained serve as useful data on shear resistance, failure patterns and strain rates corresponding to varying loading rates. An analytical truss model approach proves its efficacy in predicting the dynamic shear resistance under varying loading rates. Furthermore, three-dimensional nonlinear finite element (FE) model is described and the simulation results are verified with the experimental results. A parametric study is then conducted to investigate the influence of longitudinal reinforcement ratio, transverse reinforcement ratio and shear span to effective depth ratio on shear behavior. Subsequently, two empirical equations were proposed by integrating the various parameters to assess the dynamic increase factor (DIF) of maximum resistance under varying rates of concentrated loading.

  19. Experimental Research on Internal Behaviors of Caved Rocks under the Uniaxial Confined Compression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu-jiang Zhang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available As main composition of longwall gob, caved rocks’ behaviors and their impacts under compression crucially influence strata control, subsidence, associated resources extraction, and many other aspects. However, current researches are based on a whole sample, due to looseness of caved rocks and limitation of observation technology. In this paper, an experiment system was built to investigate internal behaviors of caved rocks’ sample, under the uniaxial confined compression, including movement and breakage behavior by the digital image processing technologies. The results show that the compression process of caved rocks could be divided into two stages by relative density. Boundary effect and changes of voids and contact pressure among caved rocks lead to different movement law in different position in sample’s interior. A stratification phenomenon of breakage was discovered, which presents breakage concentration in the middle of the sample. The nonlinear movement and shear dislocation induced by shifts among caved rocks are the reason of the breakage stratification phenomenon. This phenomenon would have an effect on the permeability and seepage research of similar medium.

  20. Modulation of neural circuits: how stimulus context shapes innate behavior in Drosophila

    OpenAIRE

    Su, Chih-Ying; Wang, Jing W.

    2014-01-01

    Remarkable advances have been made in recent years in our understanding of innate behavior and the underlying neural circuits. In particular, a wealth of neuromodulatory mechanisms have been uncovered that can alter the input-output relationship of a hereditary neural circuit. It is now clear that this inbuilt flexibility allows animals to modify their behavioral responses according to environmental cues, metabolic demands and physiological states. Here, we discuss recent insights into how mo...

  1. Advanced transgenic approaches to understand alcohol-related phenotypes in animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bilbao, Ainhoa

    2013-01-01

    During the past two decades, the use of genetically manipulated animal models in alcohol research has greatly improved the understanding of the mechanisms underlying alcohol addiction. In this chapter, we present an overview of the progress made in this field by summarizing findings obtained from studies of mice harboring global and conditional mutations in genes that influence alcohol-related phenotypes. The first part reviews behavioral paradigms for modeling the different phases of the alcohol addiction cycle and other alcohol-induced behavioral phenotypes in mice. The second part reviews the current data available using genetic models targeting the main neurotransmitter and neuropeptide systems involved in the reinforcement and stress pathways, focusing on the phenotypes modeling the alcohol addiction cycle. Finally, the third part will discuss the current findings and future directions, and proposes advanced transgenic mouse models for their potential use in alcohol research.

  2. Using Animal-assisted Therapy to Enrich Psychotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amerine, Jeanne Louise; Hubbard, Grace B

    2016-01-01

    Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) has been shown to be effective in the treatment of many psychological disorders, including autism spectrum disorders, depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). AAT can be used as an adjunct to other forms of psychotherapy. With AAT, the animal becomes a part of the treatment plan. Outcomes for clients that are associated with the use of AAT include (1) increased sense of comfort and safety, (2) increased motivation, (3) enhanced self-esteem, (4) increased prosocial behaviors, and (5) decreased behavioral problems. AAT provides a bridge for the therapist to develop a therapeutic relationship with a client, and the animal can provide supportive reassurance for the therapist. The amount of data that supports the benefits of AAT for the treatment of those with mental illnesses is growing, but evidence-based research that supports its use is lacking. Further research is needed.

  3. Spatially explicit animal response to composition of habitat

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benjamin P. Pauli; Nicholas P. McCann; Patrick A. Zollner; Robert Cummings; Jonathan H. Gilbert; Eric J. Gustafson

    2013-01-01

    Complex decisions dramatically affect animal dispersal and space use. Dispersing individuals respond to a combination of fine-scale environmental stimuli and internal attributes. Individual-based modeling offers a valuable approach for the investigation of such interactions because it combines the heterogeneity of animal behaviors with spatial detail. Most individual-...

  4. Zootecnia de precisão: análise de imagens no estudo do comportamento de frangos de corte em estresse térmico Precision animal production: image analysis to study broiler's behavior under stress conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kelly B. Sevegnani

    2005-03-01

    different combinations of temperature and relative humidity under climatizied conditions was monitored by video cameras, permitting individual (animal electronic monitoring (camera and video of birds with regard to broiler's ingestive behavior. The results showed that the water ingestion was higher with increased in temperature and age, while the food ingestion was lesser when the temperature and age increased.

  5. Effects of Caffeine and Warrior Stress on Behavioral : An Animal Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-03-14

    typically in the form of food (e.g., chocolate ) and drinks (e.g., coffee, tea, energy drinks, and soft drinks), improves attention and performance...administration in an animal model of neuroleptic therapy . Journal of neuroscience methods 146:159-64 81. Schmidt MV, Muller MB. 2006. Animal models of anxiety

  6. Mice selected for high versus low stress reactivity: a new animal model for affective disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Touma, Chadi; Bunck, Mirjam; Glasl, Lisa; Nussbaumer, Markus; Palme, Rupert; Stein, Hendrik; Wolferstätter, Michael; Zeh, Ramona; Zimbelmann, Marina; Holsboer, Florian; Landgraf, Rainer

    2008-07-01

    Affective disorders such as major depression are among the most prevalent and costly diseases of the central nervous system, but the underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. In recent years, it has become evident that alterations of the stress hormone system, in particular dysfunctions (hyper- or hypo-activity) of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, play a prominent role in the development of major depressive disorders. Therefore, we aimed to generate a new animal model comprising these neuroendocrine core symptoms in order to unravel parameters underlying increased or decreased stress reactivity. Starting from a population of outbred mice (parental generation: 100 males and 100 females of the CD-1 strain), two breeding lines were established according to the outcome of a 'stress reactivity test' (SRT), consisting of a 15-min restraint period and tail blood samplings immediately before and after exposure to the stressor. Mice showing a very high or a very low secretion of corticosterone in the SRT, i.e. animals expressing a hyper- or a hypo-reactivity of the HPA axis, were selected for the 'high reactivity' (HR) and the 'low reactivity' (LR) breeding line, respectively. Additionally, a third breeding line was established consisting of animals with an 'intermediate reactivity' (IR) in the SRT. Already in the first generation, i.e. animals derived from breeding pairs selected from the parental generation, significant differences in the reactivity of the HPA axis between HR, IR, and LR mice were observed. Moreover, these differences were found across all subsequent generations and could be increased by selective breeding, which indicates a genetic basis of the respective phenotype. Repeated testing of individuals in the SRT furthermore proved that the observed differences in stress responsiveness are present already early in life and can be regarded as a robust genetic predisposition. Tests investigating the animal's emotionality including anxiety

  7. An animal model for tinnitus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jastreboff, P J; Brennan, J F; Sasaki, C T

    1988-03-01

    Subjective tinnitus remains obscure, widespread, and without apparent cure. In the absence of a suitable animal model, past investigations took place in humans, resulting in studies that were understandably restricted by the nature of human investigation. Within this context, the development of a valid animal model would be considered a major breakthrough in this field of investigation. Our results showed changes in the spontaneous activity of single neurons in the inferior colliculus, consistent with abnormally increased neuronal activity within the auditory pathways after manipulations known to produce tinnitus in man. A procedure based on a Pavlovian conditioned suppression paradigm was recently developed that allows us to measure tinnitus behaviorally in conscious animals. Accordingly, an animal model of tinnitus is proposed that permits tests of hypotheses relating to tinnitus generation, allowing the accommodation of interventional strategies for the treatment of this widespread auditory disorder.

  8. Mechanical behavior of confined self-compacting reinforced concrete circular columns under concentric axial loading

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fouad Khairallah

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available While there is abundant research information on ordinary confined concrete, there are little data on the behavior of Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC under such condition. Due to higher shrinkage and lower coarse aggregate content of SCC compared to that of Normal Concrete (NC, its composite performance under confined conditions needs more investigation. This paper has been devoted to investigate and compare the mechanical behavior of confined concrete circular columns cast with SCC and NC under concentric axial loading. The parameters affecting are including concrete compressive strength and confinement configuration. Twenty column specimens were casted and confined using four confinement techniques, CFRP wrap, FRP tube, GFRP wrap, and spiral steel hoops. The performance of the tested column specimens is evaluated based on mode of failure, load–displacement curve, stress–strain characteristics, ultimate strength, ductility, and degree of confinement.

  9. Environmental behavior of technetium-99

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Turcotte, M.D.S.

    1982-12-01

    This report presents a review of the literature on technetium-99. The chemical and physical properties of some technetium compounds are considered, and a discussion of possible source terms is included. Literature on the environmental behavior of technetium is presented, including its behavior in the bodies of animals and humans. The primary sources of Tc-99 in the environment are fallout from atomic detonations and releases from nuclear fuel reprocessing plants. The environmental behavior of technetium-99 has been studied predominantly with respect to movement in soil and accumulation in plants. There is a surprising scarcity of data on behavior of Tc-99 in the atmosphere and in aquatic systems. Additional work needs to be conducted in these two areas to determine behavior and to acquire baseline concentration data. Much of the soil work has produced contradictory results. In-depth studies of holdup mechanisms for Tc-99 in both geological repositories and soil need to be conducted. Since plants represent a potential bioaccumulation of Tc-99, plant uptake studies of Tc-99 under field conditions also need to be done

  10. [Animal hygiene, water quality and animal health using round drinkers as an animal-friendly water supply for Pekin ducks under practical conditions].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rauch, Elke; Hirsch, Nicola; Firnkäs, Nina; Erhard, Michael H; Bergmann, Shana

    2016-01-01

    Mandatory requirements for the keeping of Pekin ducks exist neither in Europe nor in Germany. The medium water is of high importance for ducks and is connected with many species-specific behaviours. In commercial fattening establishments the animals are provided drinking water solely by nipple drinkers because up to today, the economic and hygienic aspects of this drinking suppIy are beyong dispute. The aim of the study was to examine the influence of the round drinker AquaDuc T® on animal hygiene and different health parameters in three commercial farms. The examinations took place in three fattening farms (7140-13,515 fattening places). Per farm 16 fattening periods were surveyed (alternately control and test trial) with one visit each between 28th-32nd and 35th-39th day of life. On one farm only ten periods could be examined. The ducks were provided with water by nipple drinkers. Additionally, the AquaDuc T® was installed in the test trials, which was temporarily accessible. Apart from health evaluations of each 100 animals, barn climate (dust and gaseous ammonia content) and quality of drinking water were examined. In summary it can be stated that concerning health evaluation (eye infection/ plugged nostrils) the ducks with access to round drinkers mostly performed better than the animals with access solely to nipple drinkers. In this study the total bacteria count as well as the number of Enterobacteriaceae in CFU/mI was generally higher in the round drinkers compared to the nipple drinkers (average total germ count in CFU/ml: nipple drinker 10,950; round drinker 3,955,846), no negative effect on the health of Pekin ducks could be detected in this study. Sufficient hygiene of the offered drinking systems is essential for the wellbeing of the ducks.

  11. Darwinian sex roles confirmed across the animal kingdom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janicke, Tim; Häderer, Ines K; Lajeunesse, Marc J; Anthes, Nils

    2016-02-01

    Since Darwin's conception of sexual selection theory, scientists have struggled to identify the evolutionary forces underlying the pervasive differences between male and female behavior, morphology, and physiology. The Darwin-Bateman paradigm predicts that anisogamy imposes stronger sexual selection on males, which, in turn, drives the evolution of conventional sex roles in terms of female-biased parental care and male-biased sexual dimorphism. Although this paradigm forms the cornerstone of modern sexual selection theory, it still remains untested across the animal tree of life. This lack of evidence has promoted the rise of alternative hypotheses arguing that sex differences are entirely driven by environmental factors or chance. We demonstrate that, across the animal kingdom, sexual selection, as captured by standard Bateman metrics, is indeed stronger in males than in females and that it is evolutionarily tied to sex biases in parental care and sexual dimorphism. Our findings provide the first comprehensive evidence that Darwin's concept of conventional sex roles is accurate and refute recent criticism of sexual selection theory.

  12. Canine Food Preference Assessment of Animal and Vegetable Ingredient-Based Diets Using Single-Pan Tests and Behavioral Observation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meghan C. Callon

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Knowledge of canine food selection is critical for both the pet food industry and dog owners, since owners want quality foods that are palatable, while fulfilling their pet’s nutritional requirements. There are two common methods for assessing canine food preference: the two-pan test and the one-pan test. Neither test fully accounts for the complexity of the canine feeding experience nor do they provide applicable representations of canine feeding behavior in the home. The objectives of this study were to (1 determine whether dogs display a preference for animal ingredient-based diets when compared with vegetable ingredient-based diets and (2 examine whether dogs experience neophobia when presented with a novel diet. Eight adult Beagles (average age = 24 months, weighing 8–12 kg were individually fed each of four novel diets in a 4 × 4 replicated Latin square design, with 10-d treatment periods and four dietary treatments. Data were analyzed using a mixed model with repeated measures and significance was declared when p < 0.05. The diets were: animal and vegetable ingredient-based diets, and animal- and vegetable-based ingredients diluted with anhydrous α-d-glucose. The diluted diets were used for a larger study to determine true mineral digestibility. Dogs were fed twice per day (0800 and 1300 h. Behavioral observations were made by video on the first, and last 2 days of each 10-day treatment period of both a.m. and p.m. feedings. Time to consume feed, distraction, hesitation, level of anticipation pre-consumption, and interest post-consumption were recorded. Dogs experienced initial disruptive (neophobic effects of a novel diet. Neophobia was demonstrated by a decreased (slower rate of consumption, increased distraction during consumption of the diet, and increased hesitation on the first day of each new diet (p < 0.05. The level of interest post-consumption was highest when dogs consumed the animal

  13. Neonatal taurine and alanine modulate anxiety-like behavior and decelerate cortical spreading depression in rats previously suckled under different litter sizes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Francisco, Elian da Silva; Guedes, Rubem Carlos Araújo

    2015-11-01

    The amino acids taurine and alanine play a role in several physiological processes, including behavior and the electrical activity of the brain. In this study, we investigated the effect of treatment with taurine or alanine on anxiety-like behavior and the excitability-dependent phenomenon known as cortical spreading depression (CSD), using rats suckled in litters with 9 and 15 pups (groups L9 and L15). From postnatal days 7 to 27, the animals received per gavage 300 mg/kg/day of taurine or alanine or both. At 28 days, we tested the animals in the elevated plus maze, and at 33-35 days, we recorded CSD and analyzed its velocity of propagation, amplitude, and duration. Compared with water-treated controls, the L9 groups treated with taurine or alanine displayed anxiolytic behavior (higher number of entries in the open arms; p taurine, alanine, or both) treated at adulthood (90-110 days). The L15 condition resulted in smaller durations and higher CSD velocities compared with the L9 condition. Besides reinforcing previous evidence of behavioral modulation by taurine and alanine, our data are the first confirmation that treatment with these amino acids decelerates CSD regardless of lactation conditions (normal versus unfavorable lactation) or age at amino acid administration (young versus adult). The results suggest a modulating role for both amino acids on anxiety behavior and neuronal electrical activity.

  14. An Overview of Animal Welfare Issues in Kenya | Mogoa | Kenya ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    An animal\\'s welfare is compromised if it does not enjoy the five fundamental freedoms, namely: freedom from hunger or thirst; freedom from thermal or physical discomfort; freedom from pain, injury and disease; freedom from fear and distress and; freedom to indulge in normal behavior patterns. In recent times, animal ...

  15. Behavioral thermoregulation in a group of zoo-housed colobus monkeys (Colobus guereza).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wark, Jason D; Kuhar, Christopher W; Lukas, Kristen E

    2014-01-01

    Although wild primates are known to modify behavior in response to thermal stress, less is known about behavioral thermoregulation in zoo-housed primates. Zoo exhibits expose individuals to unique thermal environments and may constrain the thermoregulatory strategies available to individual animals. In this study, we observed a group of seven colobus monkeys (Colobus guereza) living on a concrete "Monkey Island" style exhibit that featured limited shade and limited arboreal space. Behaviors were recorded using continuous focal animal sampling (n = 63 days, 97.7 hr). Logistic regression revealed 23°C was the temperature at which monkeys began resting more in shade than in sun. When temperatures exceeded 23°C, animals spent more time in open sitting postures with limbs extended from the body; sat less frequently in closed, hunched postures; spent more time in social contact; and performed more self-directed behaviors. Exhibit use also shifted under higher temperatures, with more time spent in areas with shade and lower surface temperatures. Lastly, when provided with access to an indoor holding area, the colobus monkeys spent more than half the time indoors when temperatures exceeded 23°C, yet only 10% of their time indoors when the temperature was below this value. Although postural changes have been reported in wild colobus, the postural and other behavioral changes observed in the current study occurred at temperatures lower than expected based on the published thermoneutral zone of colobus monkeys and highlight the importance of considering the specific thermoregulatory responses of zoo animals. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Behavioral Ecology of Captive Species: Using Behavioral Adaptations to Assess and Enhance Welfare of Nonhuman Zoo Animals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koene, P.

    2013-01-01

    This project aimed to estimate a species' adaptations in nature and in captivity, assess welfare, suggest environmental changes, and find species characteristics that underlie welfare problems in nonhuman animals in the zoo. First, the current status of zoo animal welfare assessment was reviewed,

  17. Social carry-over effects on non-social behavioral variation: mechanisms and consequences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petri Toivo Niemelä

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The field of animal personality is interested in decomposing behaviors into different levels of variation, with its present focus on the ecological and evolutionary causes and consequences of expressed variation. Recently the role of the social environment, i.e. social partners, has been suggested to affect behavioral variation and induce selection on animal personality. Social partner effects exist because characters of social partners (e.g. size, behavior, affect the behavioral expression of a focal individual. Here, we 1 first review the proximate mechanisms underlying the social partner effects on behavioral expression and the timescales at which such effects might take place. We then 2 discuss how within- and among-individual variation in single behaviors and covariation between multiple behaviors, caused by social partners, can carry-over to non-social behaviors expressed outside the social context. Finally, we 3 highlight evolutionary consequences of social carry-over effects to non-social behaviors and 4 suggest study designs and statistical approaches which can be applied to study the nature and evolutionary consequences of social carry-over effects on non-social behaviors. Understanding the proximate mechanisms underpinning the social partner effects is important since it opens a door for deeper understanding of how social environments can affect behavioral variation and covariation at multiple levels, and the evolution of non-social behaviors (i.e. exploration, activity, boldness that are affected by social interactions.

  18. Opportunities for learning about animal welfare from online courses to graduate degrees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegford, Janice M; Cottee, Stephanie Yue; Widowski, Tina M

    2010-01-01

    Knowledge of animal welfare has become essential for veterinarians. However, there is no clear consensus about how to provide veterinarians and students with this critical information. The challenges associated with finding qualified instructors and fitting additional courses into an already full curriculum mean that options for learning about animal welfare beyond the veterinary school classroom must be explored. Online courses can be excellent ways for veterinary students and graduate veterinarians to become familiar with current animal-welfare science, assessment schemes, and regulations while removing geographical barriers and scheduling difficulties. Faculty at Michigan State University have created an online animal-welfare course with lecture material from experts in welfare-related social and scientific fields that provides an overview of the underlying concepts as well as opportunities to practice assessing welfare. However, to develop expertise in animal welfare, veterinarians need more than a single course. Graduate degrees can be a way of obtaining additional knowledge and scientific expertise. Traditional thesis-based graduate programs in animal-welfare science are available in animal-science departments and veterinary colleges throughout North America and offer students in-depth research experience in specific areas or species of interest. Alternatively, the University of Guelph offers a year-long Master of Science degree in which students complete a series of courses with a specialization in animal behavior and welfare along with a focused research project and paper. In summary, a range of options exist that can be tailored to provide graduate veterinarians and veterinary students with credible education regarding animal welfare beyond the veterinary curriculum.

  19. A comparison of in-vessel behaviors between SFR and PWR under severe accident

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Sanggil; Cho, Cheon Hwey [ACT Co., Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Sang Ji [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-10-15

    This paper aims to provide an easy guide for experts who know well the severe accident phenomenology of Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) by comparing both reactor design concepts and in vessel behaviors under a postulated severe accident condition. This study only provides a preliminary qualitative comparison based on available literature. The PWR and SFR in-vessel design concepts and their effects under a postulate severe accident are investigated in this paper. Although this work is a preliminary study to compare the in-vessel behaviors for both PWR and SFR, it seems that there is no possibility to lead a significant core damage in the metal fuel SFR concept. In the oxide fuel SFR, there might be a chance to progress to the severe accident initiators such as the energetic reaction, flow blockage and so on.

  20. Criticizing animal experimentation, at my peril.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eisenman, Stephen F

    2016-01-01

    Initiatives leading to even modest reduction in animal use at major U.S. universities are likely to continue to face strong opposition. At least, that's the conclusion the author draws from his efforts at Northwestern University. In fact, despite a growing body of evidence that animal-based research is flawed at best and misleading or un-scientific at worst its use is growing at Northwestern and elsewhere. Moreover, recent discoveries concerning animal consciousness and emotion have not led to notable improvements in the conditions in which AWA protected animals live at the Chicago vivarium. There, animals languish in featureless rooms or sterile cages without access to daylight and with little opportunity to express their natural behaviors and aptitudes. The writer's public exposure of these conditions led to a fierce backlash. Unless there is a significant change in laboratory and university culture, change will only come when the marketplace and funding agencies demand better and more reliable, non-animal models for the testing of drug toxicity and effectiveness.

  1. Bridging the Gap: Towards a Cell-Type Specific Understanding of Neural Circuits Underlying Fear Behaviors

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCullough, KM; Morrison, FG; Ressler, KJ

    2016-01-01

    Fear and anxiety-related disorders are remarkably common and debilitating, and are often characterized by dysregulated fear responses. Rodent models of fear learning and memory have taken great strides towards elucidating the specific neuronal circuitries underlying the learning of fear responses. The present review addresses recent research utilizing optogenetic approaches to parse circuitries underlying fear behaviors. It also highlights the powerful advances made when optogenetic techniques are utilized in a genetically defined, cell-type specific, manner. The application of next-generation genetic and sequencing approaches in a cell-type specific context will be essential for a mechanistic understanding of the neural circuitry underlying fear behavior and for the rational design of targeted, circuit specific, pharmacologic interventions for the treatment and prevention of fear-related disorders. PMID:27470092

  2. Exploring the age of onset and recurrence of childhood animal cruelty: can animal cruelty be learned from witnessing others commit it?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hensley, Christopher; Tallichet, Suzanne E; Dutkiewicz, Erik L

    2012-06-01

    Despite recent research, few studies have examined the specific social contexts in which animal cruelty may be learned. Using data collected from 180 inmates at a medium- and maximum-security prison in a southern state, the authors seek to replicate findings from the Hensley and Tallichet study that examined the potential for the onset and recurrence of childhood animal cruelty to become a learned behavior, specifically in terms of demographic characteristics and childhood experiences with witnessing animal abuse. In the current study, those who were younger when they first witnessed animal cruelty initially hurt or killed animals themselves at a younger age. Respondents who had witnessed a family member hurt or kill animals reported engaging in recurrent animal cruelty and were older when they committed their first act of animal cruelty.

  3. Reduced noise susceptibility in littermate offspring from heterozygous animals of the German waltzing guinea pig.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skjönsberg, Åsa; Mannström, Paula

    2015-07-08

    The German waltzing guinea pig is a spontaneously mutated strain with severe auditory and vestibular impairment caused by a so far unknown genetic mutation. The animals are born deaf and show a circling behavior. The heterozygote animals of this guinea pig strain have functionally normal hearing and balance. However, these animals have, in earlier studies, shown an increased resistance to noise compared with normal wild-type guinea pigs. In the present study, we explored the functional hearing with auditory brainstem response thresholds before and at different time points after noise exposure. Symptom-free littermates from heterozygote couples of the German waltzing guinea pigs were exclusively used for the study, which, after the hearing test, were sent back for breeding to confirm their genotype (i.e. heterozygote or normal). The aim of this paper was to ascertain that the previously shown reduced susceptibility to noise trauma in the heterozygote animals of the German waltzing guinea pig was also evident when littermates were used as control animals. The findings are important for further analysis of the heterozygote animals of this strain and for future investigations of the underlying mechanisms behind the diverse susceptibility to exposures of loud sound.

  4. Towards an animal model of callousness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernandez-Lallement, Julen; van Wingerden, Marijn; Kalenscher, Tobias

    2016-12-28

    Callous-unemotional traits - the insensitivity to other's welfare and well-being - are characterized by a lack of empathy. They are characteristic of psychopathy and can be found in other anti-social disorders, such as conduct disorder. Because of the increasing prevalence of anti-social disorders and the rising societal costs of violence and aggression, it is of great importance to elucidate the psychological and physiological mechanisms underlying callousness in the search for pharmacological treatments. One promising avenue is to create a relevant animal model to explore the neural bases of callousness. Here, we review recent advances in rodent models of pro-social choice that could be applied to probe the absence of pro-sociality as a proxy of callous behavior, and provide future directions for the exploration of the neural substrates of callousness. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Role of oxytocin in improving the welfare of farm animals - A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Siyu; Sato, Shusuke

    2017-04-01

    Recently, increasing attention has been paid to the welfare of farm animals, which have been evaluated using behavioral and physiological measures. However, so far, the measures have almost always been used to estimate poor welfare. In this review, firstly we focus on how oxytocin (OT) relates to positive social behavior, pleasure, and stress tolerance, and second on which management factors stimulate OT release. OT induces maternal and affiliative behaviors and has an anti-stress effect. Further, OT is produced during enjoyable events, and has positive feedback on its own release as well. Therefore, to some extent, the relationship of OT to positive normal behavior was mutually beneficial-heightened OT concentration owing to comfortable rearing conditions induces positive social behavior, which in turn may increase OT concentration. Hence, studies on animal welfare should pay more attention to increasing comfort and the stress tolerance, rather than only focusing on when stress occurs in farm animals.

  6. Exploratory rearing: a context- and stress-sensitive behavior recorded in the open-field test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sturman, Oliver; Germain, Pierre-Luc; Bohacek, Johannes

    2018-02-16

    Stressful experiences are linked to anxiety disorders in humans. Similar effects are observed in rodent models, where anxiety is often measured in classic conflict tests such as the open-field test. Spontaneous rearing behavior, in which rodents stand on their hind legs to explore, can also be observed in this test yet is often ignored. We define two forms of rearing, supported rearing (in which the animal rears against the walls of the arena) and unsupported rearing (in which the animal rears without contacting the walls of the arena). Using an automated open-field test, we show that both rearing behaviors appear to be strongly context dependent and show clear sex differences, with females rearing less than males. We show that unsupported rearing is sensitive to acute stress, and is reduced under more averse testing conditions. Repeated testing and handling procedures lead to changes in several parameters over varying test sessions, yet unsupported rearing appears to be rather stable within a given animal. Rearing behaviors could therefore provide an additional measure of anxiety in rodents relevant for behavioral studies, as they appear to be highly sensitive to context and may be used in repeated testing designs.

  7. Place learning overrides innate behaviors in Drosophila.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baggett, Vincent; Mishra, Aditi; Kehrer, Abigail L; Robinson, Abbey O; Shaw, Paul; Zars, Troy

    2018-03-01

    Animals in a natural environment confront many sensory cues. Some of these cues bias behavioral decisions independent of experience, and action selection can reveal a stimulus-response (S-R) connection. However, in a changing environment it would be a benefit for an animal to update behavioral action selection based on experience, and learning might modify even strong S-R relationships. How animals use learning to modify S-R relationships is a largely open question. Three sensory stimuli, air, light, and gravity sources were presented to individual Drosophila melanogaster in both naïve and place conditioning situations. Flies were tested for a potential modification of the S-R relationships of anemotaxis, phototaxis, and negative gravitaxis by a contingency that associated place with high temperature. With two stimuli, significant S-R relationships were abandoned when the cue was in conflict with the place learning contingency. The role of the dunce ( dnc ) cAMP-phosphodiesterase and the rutabaga ( rut ) adenylyl cyclase were examined in all conditions. Both dnc 1 and rut 2080 mutant flies failed to display significant S-R relationships with two attractive cues, and have characteristically lower conditioning scores under most conditions. Thus, learning can have profound effects on separate native S-R relationships in multiple contexts, and mutation of the dnc and rut genes reveal complex effects on behavior. © 2018 Baggett et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

  8. Creep behavior under internal pressure of zirconium alloy cladding oxidized in steam at high temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chosson, Raphael

    2014-01-01

    During hypothetical Loss-Of-Coolant-Accident (LOCA) scenarios, zirconium alloy fuel cladding tubes creep under internal pressure and are oxidized on their outer surface at high temperature (HT). Claddings become stratified materials: zirconia and oxygen-stabilized α phase, called α(O), are formed on the outer surface of the cladding whereas the inner part remains in the β domain. The strengthening effect of oxidation on the cladding creep behavior under internal pressure has been highlighted at HT. In order to model this effect, the creep behavior of each layer had to be determined. This study focused on the characterization of the creep behavior of the α(O) phase at HT, through axial creep tests performed under vacuum on model materials, containing from 2 to 7 wt.% of oxygen and representative of the α(O) phase. For the first time, two creep flow regimes have been observed in this phase. Underlying physical mechanisms and relevant microstructural parameters have been discussed for each regime. The strengthening effect due to oxygen on the α(O) phase creep behavior at HT has been quantified and creep flow equations have been identified. A ductile to brittle transition criterion has been also suggested as a function of temperature and oxygen content. Relevance of the creep flow equations for each layer, identified in this study or from the literature, has been discussed. Then, a finite element model, describing the oxidized cladding as a stratified material, has been built. Based on this model, a fraction of the experimental strengthening during creep is predicted. (author) [fr

  9. Aspects of animal models for major neuropsychiatric disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lefter Radu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We will review the main animal models for the major neuropsychiatric disorders, focusing on schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, depression, anxiety and autism. Although these mental disorders are specifically human pathologies and therefore impossible to perfectly replicate in animals, the use of experimental animals is based on the physiological and anatomical similarities between humans and animals such as the rat, and mouse, and on the fact that 99% of human and murine genomes are shared. Pathological conditions in animals can be assessed by manipulating the metabolism of neurotransmitters, through various behavioral tests, and by determining biochemical parameters that can serve as important markers of disorders.

  10. Automated measurement of mouse social behaviors using depth sensing, video tracking, and machine learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Weizhe; Kennedy, Ann; Burgos-Artizzu, Xavier P; Zelikowsky, Moriel; Navonne, Santiago G; Perona, Pietro; Anderson, David J

    2015-09-22

    A lack of automated, quantitative, and accurate assessment of social behaviors in mammalian animal models has limited progress toward understanding mechanisms underlying social interactions and their disorders such as autism. Here we present a new integrated hardware and software system that combines video tracking, depth sensing, and machine learning for automatic detection and quantification of social behaviors involving close and dynamic interactions between two mice of different coat colors in their home cage. We designed a hardware setup that integrates traditional video cameras with a depth camera, developed computer vision tools to extract the body "pose" of individual animals in a social context, and used a supervised learning algorithm to classify several well-described social behaviors. We validated the robustness of the automated classifiers in various experimental settings and used them to examine how genetic background, such as that of Black and Tan Brachyury (BTBR) mice (a previously reported autism model), influences social behavior. Our integrated approach allows for rapid, automated measurement of social behaviors across diverse experimental designs and also affords the ability to develop new, objective behavioral metrics.

  11. Social defeat models in animal science: What we have learned from rodent models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toyoda, Atsushi

    2017-07-01

    Studies on stress and its impacts on animals are very important in many fields of science, including animal science, because various stresses influence animal production and animal welfare. In particular, the social stresses within animal groups have profound impact on animals, with the potential to induce abnormal behaviors and health problems. In humans, social stress induces several health problems, including psychiatric disorders. In animal stress models, social defeat models are well characterized and used in various research fields, particularly in studies concerning mental disorders. Recently, we have focused on behavior, nutrition and metabolism in rodent models of social defeat to elucidate how social stresses affect animals. In this review, recent significant progress in studies related to animal social defeat models are described. In the field of animal science, these stress models may contribute to advances in the development of functional foods and in the management of animal welfare. © 2017 The Authors. Animal Science Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japanese Society of Animal Science.

  12. Thermal behavior of neutron shielding material, NS-4-FR, under long term storage conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamada, N.; O-iwa, A.; Asano, R.; Horita, R.; Kusunoki, K.

    2004-01-01

    NS-4-FR, Epoxy-Resin, has been widely used as a neutron shielding material for casks. It is recognized that the resin will degrade during storage and loose weight under high temperature conditions. Most of the examinations for the resin degrading behavior were conducted with rather small bare resin specimens. However, the actual quantity of neutron shielding is quite large and is covered by the cask body. To confirm the degrading behavior of the resin under the long-term storage conditions, we performed the test on the specimen with the same cross-section as the actual design, Hitz B69. The resin test vessels were made out of stainless steel and equipped with flange

  13. Maize and soybeans production in integrated system under no-tillage with different pasture combinations and animal categories

    OpenAIRE

    Silva,Hernani Alves da; Moraes,Anibal de; Carvalho,Paulo César de Faccio; Fonseca,Adriel Ferreira da; Dias,Carlos Tadeu dos Santos

    2012-01-01

    The adoption of no-till system (NTS) combined with crop-livestock integration (CLI) has been a strategy promoted in Brazil, aiming to maximize areas yield and increase agribusiness profitability. This study aimed to evaluate grains yield and phytotechnical attributes from maize and soybean culture by CLI system under NTS after winter annual pure and diversified pastures with the absence or presence of grazing animals. The experiment was installed in Castro (Paraná State, Brazil) on in a dystr...

  14. Mass and energy budgets of animals: Behavioral and ecological implications. Annual technical progress report, April 1, 1992--March 31, 1993

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Porter, W.P.

    1993-07-01

    The common goal of these diverse projects is to understand the mechanisms of how animal populations respond to the continual changes in their environment in both time and space. Our models are mechanistic allowing us to explore how a wide array of environmental variables may determine individual performance. Large scale climate change and its effect on animal populations can be seen as quantitative extensions of biological responses to smaller scales of environmental variability. Changes in developmental rates or reproductive levels of individuals, extension or contraction of geographic ranges, and modification of community organization have all been documented in response to previous changes in habitats. We know from our biophysical work that some changes in function are driven by microclimate conditions directly, and some are mediated indirectly through ecological parameters such as the food supply. Our research is guided by a comprehensive conceptual scheme of the interaction of an animal with its environment. The physical and physiological properties of the organism, and the range of available microclimates, set bounds on the performance of organismal function, such as growth, reproduction, storage, and behavior. To leave the most offspring over a lifetime, animals must perform those functions in a way that maximizes the amount of resources devoted to reproduction. Maximizing the total size of the budget and minimizing those budget items not devoted to reproduction are crucial. Animals trade off among expenditures for current and future reproduction. Both water and energy are important, potentially limiting resources. Projects described here include empirical studies and theoretical models.

  15. Dynamic behavior of tripolar hip endoprostheses under physiological conditions and their effect on stability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fabry, Christian; Kaehler, Michael; Herrmann, Sven; Woernle, Christoph; Bader, Rainer

    2014-01-01

    Tripolar systems have been implanted to reduce the risk of recurrent dislocation. However, there is little known about the dynamic behavior of tripolar hip endoprostheses under daily life conditions and achieved joint stability. Hence, the objective of this biomechanical study was to examine the in vivo dynamics and dislocation behavior of two types of tripolar systems compared to a standard total hip replacement (THR) with the same outer head diameter. Several load cases of daily life activities were applied to an eccentric and a concentric tripolar system by an industrial robot. During testing, the motion of the intermediate component was measured using a stereo camera system. Additionally, their behavior under different dislocation scenarios was investigated in comparison to a standard THR. For the eccentric tripolar system, the intermediate component demonstrated the shifting into moderate valgus-positions, regardless of the type of movement. This implant showed the highest resisting torque against dislocation in combination with a large range of motion. In contrast, the concentric tripolar system tended to remain in varus-positions and was primarily moved after stem contact. According to the results, eccentric tripolar systems can work well under in vivo conditions and increase hip joint stability in comparison to standard THRs. Copyright © 2013 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. 48 CFR 252.235-7002 - Animal welfare.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Animal welfare. 252.235... Clauses 252.235-7002 Animal welfare. As prescribed in 235.072(a), use the following clause: Animal Welfare... animals only from dealers licensed by the Secretary of Agriculture under 7 U.S.C. 2133 and 9 CFR subpart A...

  17. The peculiarity of animal complexes of chernozem

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. V. Zhukov

    2005-02-01

    Full Text Available The genetic connection of animal complexes and soil cover is in the basis of diagnostic ability of animals to indicate and quantity assessment of soil processes. The ecoiGgical view and peculiarity of soil animal complexes has the most impotent value. The soil animal complexes of steppe and their trans-formation under artificial forest are discussed

  18. Alternatives to Animal Use in Research, Testing, and Education. Summary.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Office of Technology Assessment.

    With an estimated 17-22 million animals used in laboratories annually in the United States, public interest in animal welfare has sparked an often emotional debate over such uses of animals. Concerns focus on balancing societal needs for continued progress in biomedical and behavioral research, for toxicity testing to safeguard the public, and for…

  19. Sex, stress, and epigenetics: regulation of behavior in animal models of mood disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hodes Georgia E

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Women have a higher incidence of stress related disorders including depression and generalized anxiety disorder, and epigenetic mechanisms likely contribute to this sex difference. Evidence from preclinical research suggests that epigenetic mechanisms are responsible for both sexual dimorphism of brain regions and sensitivity of the stress response. Epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation and histone modifications can occur transgenerationally, developmentally, or in response to environmental stimuli such as stress exposure. This review will provide an overview of the various forms of epigenetic modifications observed in the central nervous system and will explain how these mechanisms contribute to a sexually dimorphic brain. It will also discuss the ways in which epigenetic alterations coincide with, and functionally contribute to, the behavioral response to stress across the lifespan. Ultimately, this review will focus on novel research utilizing animal models to investigate sex differences in epigenetic mechanisms that influence susceptibility to stress. Exploration of this relationship reveals epigenetic mechanisms with the potential to explain sexual dimorphism in the occurrence of stress related disorders.

  20. Behavior of clay materials under ionizing radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laine, Maxime

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this PhD thesis is to study and understand, by proposing reaction mechanisms, the behavior under irradiation of various clay materials. The systems of interest were first synthetic talc, which is the prototype of a non-swelling material. Under irradiation by accelerated electrons, the production of dihydrogen in this system, due solely to surface hydroxyl groups, is of the same order of magnitude as the one obtained in liquid water. This yield is divided by 30 in the case of natural talc from Luzenac, thus highlighting the importance of the impurities as scavengers of the precursors of dihydrogen. Synthetic smectites, which are swelling materials, were then studied. The results evidence the radiolysis of water confined in the interlayer space, leading to H 2 yields which may be two to three times higher than those measured in water. Moreover, they are similar for montmorillonite and saponite, evidencing that the charge location plays only a minor role. Finally, the study of double layered hydroxides or anionic clays shows that, in this case, the nature of the anion in the inter lamellar space controls the reactivity. Parallel to these measurements, electron paramagnetic spectroscopy experiments have enabled proposing reaction mechanisms. Finally, all these results are of interest in the context of the disposal of radioactive waste. (author) [fr

  1. The “animalized humans” – the reformulated body

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Buhl, Mie

    This contribution will discuss the phenomenon of the so-called Japanese Cat Girls who practice the behavior of cats as a contradiction to Disney's cartoon where animals have a human character. From Disney cartoons we experience how animals are being humanized and are representing human character...... to a degree where it becomes difficult to see them as animals. This is just one example of how animals are attributed with a human character. A trend among keepers of humanizing their pets has emerged, which sometimes goes beyond the interests of the animals’ welfare – as animals. The pets are equipped...... with props that appear to satisfy the owner's need instead of the needs of animal itself and make the animal look like a cartoon character. Pictures of animals represent a large variation of representation forms and genres where Disney represents an example of a cartoon culture of humanized animals...

  2. Modulation of neural circuits: how stimulus context shapes innate behavior in Drosophila.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Chih-Ying; Wang, Jing W

    2014-12-01

    Remarkable advances have been made in recent years in our understanding of innate behavior and the underlying neural circuits. In particular, a wealth of neuromodulatory mechanisms have been uncovered that can alter the input-output relationship of a hereditary neural circuit. It is now clear that this inbuilt flexibility allows animals to modify their behavioral responses according to environmental cues, metabolic demands and physiological states. Here, we discuss recent insights into how modulation of neural circuits impacts innate behavior, with a special focus on how environmental cues and internal physiological states shape different aspects of feeding behavior in Drosophila. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Twinning behaviors of a rolled AZ31 magnesium alloy under multidirectional loading

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hou, Dewen [College of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China); National Engineering Research Center for Magnesium Alloys, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China); Liu, Tianmo, E-mail: tmliu@cqu.edu.cn [College of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China); National Engineering Research Center for Magnesium Alloys, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China); Luo, Longjing [College of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China); National Engineering Research Center for Magnesium Alloys, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China); Lu, Liwei [College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, Hunan (China); Chen, Huicong; Shi, Dongfeng [College of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China); National Engineering Research Center for Magnesium Alloys, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China)

    2017-02-15

    The microstructure and texture evolution of an AZ31 magnesium rolled sheet during quasi-static compression at strain rates of 10{sup −3} s{sup −1} has been investigated by in situ electron backscattered diffraction. The influence of the initial and pre-deformed texture on the predominant deformation mechanisms during compression has been examined. It has been found that extensive grain reorientation due to (10 − 12) tensile twinning appeared when compressed along transverse direction. Tensile twin variants were observed under this loading condition, and different variants will cause an effect to the following deformation. Several twinning modes occurred with continuative loading along rolling direction. - Highlights: •Twinning behaviors were investigated through in situ multidirectional compressive tests. •Deformation behavior was affected by the twin variants. •Four types of twinning behaviors were observed during deformation process.

  4. Animal-caused fatalities in New Mexico, 1993-2004.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lathrop, Sarah L

    2007-01-01

    To evaluate animal-caused fatalities in New Mexico using data collected during medicolegal death investigations, including toxicology, survival interval, and circumstances. A retrospective review of the computerized database and hard copies of files from a centralized, statewide medical examiner's office, excluding deaths due to zoonotic diseases and motor vehicle collisions involving animals. Between 1993 and 2004, 63 deaths caused by animals were reported in New Mexico. The majority of decedents were male (46/63, 73%) and non-Hispanic white (33/63, 52%). Horses were the most commonly implicated animals, with 43 (68%) deaths due to a person being thrown from, crushed, dragged, or kicked by a horse. Cattle caused 9 deaths (14%), dogs caused 3 (5%), and venomous animals caused 3, whereas a bear was responsible for 1 death. Ten decedents (16%) had alcohol present at the time of death, and 8 would have been over the legal blood alcohol concentration for driving (0.08%). Ten deaths (16%) were work-related and included deaths of jockeys and ranch workers. The majority of deaths (42/63, 67%) occurred in remote locations, potentially delaying access to treatment. Survival intervals ranged from 1 day to 33 years. Whereas both human and animal behavior can be difficult to predict, a review of animal-caused fatalities investigated by a medical examiner revealed that in many cases, deaths could have been prevented by either the use of protective gear or alterations in human behavior.

  5. Evaluation of animal models of neurobehavioral disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nordquist Rebecca E

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Animal models play a central role in all areas of biomedical research. The process of animal model building, development and evaluation has rarely been addressed systematically, despite the long history of using animal models in the investigation of neuropsychiatric disorders and behavioral dysfunctions. An iterative, multi-stage trajectory for developing animal models and assessing their quality is proposed. The process starts with defining the purpose(s of the model, preferentially based on hypotheses about brain-behavior relationships. Then, the model is developed and tested. The evaluation of the model takes scientific and ethical criteria into consideration. Model development requires a multidisciplinary approach. Preclinical and clinical experts should establish a set of scientific criteria, which a model must meet. The scientific evaluation consists of assessing the replicability/reliability, predictive, construct and external validity/generalizability, and relevance of the model. We emphasize the role of (systematic and extended replications in the course of the validation process. One may apply a multiple-tiered 'replication battery' to estimate the reliability/replicability, validity, and generalizability of result. Compromised welfare is inherent in many deficiency models in animals. Unfortunately, 'animal welfare' is a vaguely defined concept, making it difficult to establish exact evaluation criteria. Weighing the animal's welfare and considerations as to whether action is indicated to reduce the discomfort must accompany the scientific evaluation at any stage of the model building and evaluation process. Animal model building should be discontinued if the model does not meet the preset scientific criteria, or when animal welfare is severely compromised. The application of the evaluation procedure is exemplified using the rat with neonatal hippocampal lesion as a proposed model of schizophrenia. In a manner congruent to

  6. Adult-Perpetrated Animal Abuse: A Systematic Literature Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alleyne, Emma; Parfitt, Charlotte

    2017-01-01

    Adults perpetrate the majority of animal abuse incidents yet clinicians are left with very little evidence base to advance/enhance their practice. The purpose of this systematic review is to synthesize and evaluate the current literature on adult-perpetrated animal abuse and to identify the etiological factors related to this type of offending. Twenty-three studies met the specific inclusion criteria but most importantly, they examined the characteristics of adult perpetrators of animal abuse. The findings from this review were demarcated by sample type: (1) Participants were the perpetrators of the animal abuse or held offense-supportive attitudes and (2) participants were victims of intimate partner violence reporting incidents of animal abuse perpetrated by their partner. From the perpetrator perspective, there were key developmental (i.e., maladaptive parenting strategies), behavioral (such as varied offending behaviors), and psychological (e.g., callousness, empathy deficits) factors highlighted in the literature. Finally, in the context of intimate partner violence, findings indicated that perpetrators abuse animals to control, coerce, intimidate, and/or manipulate their victims (this effect is moderated by the victims' emotional attachment to their pet). This review inherently underlines treatment targets that could achieve greater clinical gains, but we also conclude that more empirical and theoretical work is needed in order to set an agenda that prioritizes future research and effective practice.

  7. Rodent Stereotaxic Surgery and Animal Welfare Outcome Improvements for Behavioral Neuroscience

    OpenAIRE

    Fornari, Raquel V.; Wichmann, Romy; Atsak, Piray; Atucha, Erika; Barsegyan, Areg; Beldjoud, Hassiba; Messanvi, Fany; Thuring, Catriene M.A.; Roozendaal, Benno

    2012-01-01

    Stereotaxic surgery for the implantation of cannulae into specific brain regions has for many decades been a very successful experimental technique to investigate the effects of locally manipulated neurotransmitter and signaling pathways in awake, behaving animals. Moreover, the stereotaxic implantation of electrodes for electrophysiological stimulation and recording studies has been instrumental to our current understanding of neuroplasticity and brain networks in behaving animals. Ever-incr...

  8. Family context and externalizing correlates of childhood animal cruelty in adjudicated delinquents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walters, Glenn D; Noon, Alexandria

    2015-05-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine whether childhood animal cruelty is primarily a feature of family context or of externalizing behavior. Twenty measures of family context and proactive (fearlessness) and reactive (disinhibition) externalizing behavior were correlated with the retrospective accounts of childhood animal cruelty provided by 1,354 adjudicated delinquents. A cross-sectional analysis revealed that all 20 family context, proactive externalizing, and reactive externalizing variables correlated significantly with animal cruelty. Prospective analyses showed that when the animal cruelty variable was included in a regression equation with the 10 family context variables (parental arguing and fighting, parental drug use, parental hostility, and parental knowledge and monitoring of offspring behavior) or in a regression equation with the five reactive externalizing variables (interpersonal hostility, secondary psychopathy, weak impulse control, weak suppression of aggression, and short time horizon), it continued to predict future violent and income (property + drug) offending. The animal cruelty variable no longer predicted offending, however, when included in a regression equation with the five proactive externalizing variables (early onset behavioral problems, primary psychopathy, moral disengagement, positive outcome expectancies for crime, and lack of consideration for others). These findings suggest that while animal cruelty correlates with a wide range of family context and externalizing variables, it may serve as a marker of violent and nonviolent offending by virtue of its position on the proactive subdimension of the externalizing spectrum. © The Author(s) 2014.

  9. Animal model of autism induced by prenatal exposure to valproate: behavioral changes and liver parameters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bambini-Junior, Victorio; Rodrigues, Leticia; Behr, Guilherme Antônio; Moreira, José Cláudio Fonseca; Riesgo, Rudimar; Gottfried, Carmem

    2011-08-23

    Autism is characterized by behavioral impairments in three main domains: social interaction; language, communication and imaginative play; and range of interests and activities. This syndrome has attracted social attention by its high prevalence. The animal model induced by prenatal exposure to valproic acid (VPA) has been proposed to study autism. Several characteristics of behavioral abnormalities found in the VPA rats, such as repetitive/stereotypic-like activity and deficit in social interaction have been correlated with autism. Features like flexibility to change strategy, social memory and metabolic status of the induced rats have not been examined. Thus, the main aim of this work was to investigate additional behavioral rodent similarities with autism, as well as, liver redox parameters after prenatal exposure to VPA. Young rats from the VPA group presented aberrant approach to a stranger rat, decreased conditioned place preference to conspecifics, normal spatial learning and a lack of flexibility to change their strategy. As adults, they presented inappropriate social approach to a stranger rat, decreased preference for social novelty, apparently normal social recognition and no spatial learning deficits. Examination of the liver from the VPA group presented significantly increased (12%) levels of catalase (CAT) activity, no alteration in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and a decrease in the SOD/CAT ratio. TBARS, sulfhydril and carbonyl contents, and serum levels of aminotransferases remained unchanged. In summary, rats prenatally exposed to VPA presented decreased flexibility to change strategy and social impairments similar to the autism symptoms, contributing to the understanding of neurodevelopmental symptoms and oxidative imbalance associated to the autism spectrum disorder. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  10. Understanding Risky Behavior: The Influence of Cognitive, Emotional and Hormonal Factors on Decision-Making under Risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kusev, Petko; Purser, Harry; Heilman, Renata; Cooke, Alex J; Van Schaik, Paul; Baranova, Victoria; Martin, Rose; Ayton, Peter

    2017-01-01

    Financial risky decisions and evaluations pervade many human everyday activities. Scientific research in such decision-making typically explores the influence of socio-economic and cognitive factors on financial behavior. However, very little research has explored the holistic influence of contextual, emotional, and hormonal factors on preferences for risk in insurance and investment behaviors. Accordingly, the goal of this review article is to address the complexity of individual risky behavior and its underlying psychological factors, as well as to critically examine current regulations on financial behavior.

  11. Understanding Risky Behavior: The Influence of Cognitive, Emotional and Hormonal Factors on Decision-Making under Risk

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kusev, Petko; Purser, Harry; Heilman, Renata; Cooke, Alex J.; Van Schaik, Paul; Baranova, Victoria; Martin, Rose; Ayton, Peter

    2017-01-01

    Financial risky decisions and evaluations pervade many human everyday activities. Scientific research in such decision-making typically explores the influence of socio-economic and cognitive factors on financial behavior. However, very little research has explored the holistic influence of contextual, emotional, and hormonal factors on preferences for risk in insurance and investment behaviors. Accordingly, the goal of this review article is to address the complexity of individual risky behavior and its underlying psychological factors, as well as to critically examine current regulations on financial behavior. PMID:28203215

  12. Technology advancing the study of animal cognition: using virtual reality to present virtually simulated environments to investigate nonhuman primate spatial cognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schweller, Kenneth; Milne, Scott

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Virtual simulated environments provide multiple ways of testing cognitive function and evaluating problem solving with humans (e.g., Woollett et al. 2009). The use of such interactive technology has increasingly become an essential part of modern life (e.g., autonomously driving vehicles, global positioning systems (GPS), and touchscreen computers; Chinn and Fairlie 2007; Brown 2011). While many nonhuman animals have their own forms of "technology", such as chimpanzees who create and use tools, in captive animal environments the opportunity to actively participate with interactive technology is not often made available. Exceptions can be found in some state-of-the-art zoos and laboratory facilities (e.g., Mallavarapu and Kuhar 2005). When interactive technology is available, captive animals often selectively choose to engage with it. This enhances the animal’s sense of control over their immediate surroundings (e.g., Clay et al. 2011; Ackerman 2012). Such self-efficacy may help to fulfill basic requirements in a species’ daily activities using problem solving that can involve foraging and other goal-oriented behaviors. It also assists in fulfilling the strong underlying motivation for contrafreeloading and exploration expressed behaviorally by many species in captivity (Young 1999). Moreover, being able to present nonhuman primates virtual reality environments under experimental conditions provides the opportunity to gain insight into their navigational abilities and spatial cognition. It allows for insight into the generation and application of internal mental representations of landmarks and environments under multiple conditions (e.g., small- and large-scale space) and subsequent spatial behavior. This paper reviews methods using virtual reality developed to investigate the spatial cognitive abilities of nonhuman primates, and great apes in particular, in comparison with that of humans of multiple age groups. We make recommendations about training

  13. Animal-Borne Imaging Reveals Novel Insights into the Foraging Behaviors and Diel Activity of a Large-Bodied Apex Predator, the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nifong, James C.; Nifong, Rachel L.; Silliman, Brian R.; Lowers, Russell H.; Guillette, Louis J.; Ferguson, Jake M.; Welsh, Matthew; Abernathy, Kyler; Marshall, Greg

    2014-01-01

    Large-bodied, top- and apex predators (e.g., crocodilians, sharks, wolves, killer whales) can exert strong top-down effects within ecological communities through their interactions with prey. Due to inherent difficulties while studying the behavior of these often dangerous predatory species, relatively little is known regarding their feeding behaviors and activity patterns, information that is essential to understanding their role in regulating food web dynamics and ecological processes. Here we use animal-borne imaging systems (Crittercam) to study the foraging behavior and activity patterns of a cryptic, large-bodied predator, the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) in two estuaries of coastal Florida, USA. Using retrieved video data we examine the variation in foraging behaviors and activity patterns due to abiotic factors. We found the frequency of prey-attacks (mean = 0.49 prey attacks/hour) as well as the probability of prey-capture success (mean = 0.52 per attack) were significantly affected by time of day. Alligators attempted to capture prey most frequently during the night. Probability of prey-capture success per attack was highest during morning hours and sequentially lower during day, night, and sunset, respectively. Position in the water column also significantly affected prey-capture success, as individuals’ experienced two-fold greater success when attacking prey while submerged. These estimates are the first for wild adult American alligators and one of the few examples for any crocodilian species worldwide. More broadly, these results reveal that our understandings of crocodilian foraging behaviors are biased due to previous studies containing limited observations of cryptic and nocturnal foraging interactions. Our results can be used to inform greater understanding regarding the top-down effects of American alligators in estuarine food webs. Additionally, our results highlight the importance and power of using animal

  14. ANIMAL BEHAVIOR AND WELL-BEING SYMPOSIUM: The Common Swine Industry Audit: Future steps to assure positive on-farm animal welfare utilizing validated, repeatable and feasible animal-based measures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pairis-Garcia, M; Moeller, S J

    2017-03-01

    The Common Swine Industry Audit (CSIA) was developed and scientifically evaluated through the combined efforts of a task force consisting of university scientists, veterinarians, pork producers, packers, processers, and retail and food service personnel to provide stakeholders throughout the pork chain with a consistent, reliable, and verifiable system to ensure on-farm swine welfare and food safety. The CSIA tool was built from the framework of the Pork Quality Assurance Plus (PQA Plus) site assessment program with the purpose of developing a single, common audit platform for the U.S. swine industry. Twenty-seven key aspects of swine care are captured and evaluated in CSIA and cover the specific focal areas of animal records, animal observations, facilities, and caretakers. Animal-based measures represent approximately 50% of CSIA evaluation criteria and encompass critical failure criteria, including observation of willful acts of abuse and determination of timely euthanasia. Objective, science-based measures of animal well-being parameters (e.g., BCS, lameness, lesions, hernias) are assessed within CSIA using statistically validated sample sizes providing a detection ability of 1% with 95% confidence. The common CSIA platform is used to identify care issues and facilitate continuous improvement in animal care through a validated, repeatable, and feasible animal-based audit process. Task force members provide continual updates to the CSIA tool with a specific focus toward 1) identification and interpretation of appropriate animal-based measures that provide inherent value to pig welfare, 2) establishment of acceptability thresholds for animal-based measures, and 3) interpretation of CSIA data for use and improvement of welfare within the U.S. swine industry.

  15. Characteristics of the Emotional and Behavioral Reactions of Rats under Chronic Stress Immobilization During Treatment with 5-R-thio-tetrazol [1,5-c] quinazoline Derivatives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    О. Y. Tozyuk

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Hypokinesia can reduce physical performance and impair human health, which is evident by significant morphofunctional changes in the body. To correct these abnormalities and prevent their occurrence actoprotectors are used in hospitals. In previous studies [Stepanyuk G.I, 2012] we found that 5-R-thio-tetrazol [1,5-c] quinasoline derivatives quite clearly improved physical performance of rats according to swimming test. In terms of actoprotective activity compound-leader КВ-28 (sodium 2-( tetrazol [1,5-с] quinazolin -5- ylthioacetate for certain predominated over reference compound bemityl. WORK OBJECTIVE. To describe the influence of course administration of sodium 2-( tetrazol [1,5-с] quinazolin -5- ylthio acetate in comparison with bemityl on the behavioral reactions of rats under 18-day hypokinesia. RESEARCH MATERIALS AND METHODS. Chronic stress immobilization was modeled by keeping rats in small wooden cases for 16 hours / day for 18 days. Animals were divided into 4 groups of 6 animals in each: I - intact animals, II - rats stressed with hypokinesia without correction (control, III and IV - hypokinetic rats who one-time within 18 days take daily intraperitoneally КВ -28 (1,7 mg/kg and bemityl (32 mg/kg at doses equal to their ED50 according to swimming test. Orientative-searching and emotional activity were assessed by neuroethological "open field" test [Buresh, 1991] on the 4th, 12th and 18th day of experiment, that accordingly characterize the stage of anxiety, resistance and exhaustion of general adaptation syndrome [Stefanov, 2001]. To analyze the behavior the following neurophysiological indices were used: horizontal motor activity (number of the crossed squares, vertical activity (number of racks, number of examined holes and autonomic balance: number of washings (grooming and defecation acts (number of boluses and urinations. Duration of observation was 3 min. RESULTS AND THEIR DISCUSSION. In the course of the experiment a

  16. Darwin as a student of behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thierry, Bernard

    2010-02-01

    In The Expression of the Emotions, Charles Darwin documents evolutionary continuity between animals and humans, emphasizing the universality of expressions in man. Most of the book addresses human behavior, and its influence on the study of animal behavior has been weak. The issue of natural selection is remarkably absent from this book, which relies on the inheritance of acquired characters rather than on a genuine Darwinian logic. Yet Konrad Lorenz considered Darwin to be a forerunner of behavioral biology. The reason was to be found in The Descent of Man and chapter VIII of The Origin of Species, where Darwin provides an explanation of behavior through selection, stating that the same mechanisms explaining morphological changes also account for gradual improvements in instincts. He assessed the accuracy of his evolutionary theory by directly studying animal behavior, hence laying the foundations of behavioral research for the next century. 2009 Académie des sciences. Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

  17. The “animalized humans” – the reformulated body

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Buhl, Mie

    2018-01-01

    From Disney cartoons we experience animals being humanized and representing a human character to a degree in which it becomes difficult to see them as animals. This is just one example of how animals are attributed with a human character. The impetus for this contribution, however, is a discussion...... of another cartoon culture of humanized animals: Japanese Manga. Here the animals are not only represented in a humanized way, but Manga culture goes one step further, engaging in the remediation of the cartoon animal to people depicting animals. Female Japanese dress like cats and act like cats....... They are called Catgirls. The paper will discuss the phenomenon of Japanese Catgirls who practice cat behavior as a counterpart to Disney's cartoon in which animals have a human character. Furthermore, the role of this Japanese phenomenon in a Danish pedagogical context is addressed. The discussion's theoretical...

  18. Sexual Dimorphism of Parental Care: From Genes to Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zilkha, Noga; Scott, Niv; Kimchi, Tali

    2017-07-25

    Parental care is found in species across the animal kingdom, from small insects to large mammals, with a conserved purpose of increasing offspring survival. Yet enormous variability exists between different species and between the sexes in the pattern and level of parental investment. Here, we review the literature on the neurobiological mechanisms underlying maternal and paternal care, especially in rodents, and discuss the relationship between sex differences in behavior and sexual dimorphism in the brain. We argue that although several brain regions and circuits regulating parental care are shared by both sexes, some of the fundamental components comprising the maternal brain are innate and sex specific. Moreover, we suggest that a more comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanisms can be achieved by expanding the methodological toolbox, applying ethologically relevant approaches such as nontraditional wild-derived animal models and complex seminatural experimental set-ups.

  19. An evolutionary framework for studying mechanisms of social behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofmann, Hans A; Beery, Annaliese K; Blumstein, Daniel T; Couzin, Iain D; Earley, Ryan L; Hayes, Loren D; Hurd, Peter L; Lacey, Eileen A; Phelps, Steven M; Solomon, Nancy G; Taborsky, Michael; Young, Larry J; Rubenstein, Dustin R

    2014-10-01

    Social interactions are central to most animals and have a fundamental impact upon the phenotype of an individual. Social behavior (social interactions among conspecifics) represents a central challenge to the integration of the functional and mechanistic bases of complex behavior. Traditionally, studies of proximate and ultimate elements of social behavior have been conducted by distinct groups of researchers, with little communication across perceived disciplinary boundaries. However, recent technological advances, coupled with increased recognition of the substantial variation in mechanisms underlying social interactions, should compel investigators from divergent disciplines to pursue more integrative analyses of social behavior. We propose an integrative conceptual framework intended to guide researchers towards a comprehensive understanding of the evolution and maintenance of mechanisms governing variation in sociality. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Complex scaling behavior in animal foraging patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Premachandra, Prabhavi Kaushalya

    This dissertation attempts to answer questions from two different areas of biology, ecology and neuroscience, using physics-based techniques. In Section 2, suitability of three competing random walk models is tested to describe the emergent movement patterns of two species of primates. The truncated power law (power law with exponential cut off) is the most suitable random walk model that characterizes the emergent movement patterns of these primates. In Section 3, an agent-based model is used to simulate search behavior in different environments (landscapes) to investigate the impact of the resource landscape on the optimal foraging movement patterns of deterministic foragers. It should be noted that this model goes beyond previous work in that it includes parameters such as spatial memory and satiation, which have received little consideration to date in the field of movement ecology. When the food availability is scarce in a tropical forest-like environment with feeding trees distributed in a clumped fashion and the size of those trees are distributed according to a lognormal distribution, the optimal foraging pattern of a generalist who can consume various and abundant food types indeed reaches the Levy range, and hence, show evidence for Levy-flight-like (power law distribution with exponent between 1 and 3) behavior. Section 4 of the dissertation presents an investigation of phase transition behavior in a network of locally coupled self-sustained oscillators as the system passes through various bursting states. The results suggest that a phase transition does not occur for this locally coupled neuronal network. The data analysis in the dissertation adopts a model selection approach and relies on methods based on information theory and maximum likelihood.

  1. Research in Propagation Characteristics of Chinese Anime Art under the Background of New Media

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    罗淞译

    2015-01-01

    Animation industry is the core part of Chinese culture industry,which meets the development demand of modern cultural undertakings.What is more,it occupies a big share in the market.In the information ages,we must lead a fundamental change of the original transmission in the area of Chinese anime art and widely publicize the anime art and culture,so as to make it to get more recognition from the social public.The present thesis gives an analysis into the main forms of the new media and summarizes the hysteresis performance of the anime art,and then points out several scientific countermeasures about the transmission and development of the anime art with the help of the new media.

  2. Emotional valence and context of social influences on drug abuse-related behavior in animal models of social stress and prosocial interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neisewander, J L; Peartree, N A; Pentkowski, N S

    2012-11-01

    Social factors are important determinants of drug dependence and relapse. We reviewed pre-clinical literature examining the role of social experiences from early life through the development of drug dependence and relapse, emphasizing two aspects of these experiences: (1) whether the social interaction is appetitive or aversive and (2) whether the social interaction occurs within or outside of the drug-taking context. The models reviewed include neonatal care, isolation, social defeat, chronic subordination, and prosocial interactions. We review results from these models in regard to effects on self-administration and conditioned place preference established with alcohol, psychostimulants, and opiates. We suggest that in general, when the interactions occur outside of the drug-taking context, prosocial interactions are protective against drug abuse-related behaviors, whereas social stressors facilitate these behaviors. By contrast, positive or negative social interactions occurring within the drug-taking context may interact with other risk factors to enhance or inhibit these behaviors. Despite differences in the nature and complexity of human social behavior compared to other species, the evolving animal literature provides useful models for understanding social influences on drug abuse-related behavior that will allow for research on the behavioral and biological mechanisms involved. The models have contributed to understanding social influences on initiation and maintenance of drug use, but more research is needed to understand social influences on drug relapse.

  3. The dynamic behavior of the SUPER-PHENIX reactor under unprotected transient

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gouriou, A.; Francillon, E.; Kayser, G.; Malenfer, G.; Languille, A.

    1982-01-01

    Due to design changes and progress on the knowledge of feed-back effects, a reactualization of the dynamic behavior of SUPER-PHENIX under unprotected transients was undertaken. We present the main data on feed-back characteristics and the results of dynamic calculations. With the present state of knowledge, the former conclusion is confirmed: the dynamic evolution is very slow and no irreversible phenomena happen in the short term

  4. Behavioral hypothermia of a domesticated lizard under treatment of the hypometabolic agent 3-iodothyronamine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ha, Kyoungbong; Shin, Haksup; Ju, Hyunwoo; Chung, Chan-Moon; Choi, Inho

    2017-05-03

    Ectothermic animals rely on behavioral thermoregulation due to low capacity of heat production and storage. Previously, lizards were shown to achieve 'fever' during microbial infection by increasing their preferred body temperature (PBT) behaviorally, thereby attaining a relatively high survival rate. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether domesticated lizards pursued 'behavioral hypothermia' induced by a hypometabolic agent 3-iodothyronamine (T1AM). We found that treatment with 8.0 mg/kg T1AM caused a lizard species, the leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius), to decrease its ventilation and oxygen consumption rates 0.64- and 0.76-fold, respectively, compared to those of the control (P<0.05). The lizards, habituated at an ambient temperature of 30 ± 0.5°C, also showed a significant decrease in the PBT range over a freely accessible thermal gradient between 5°C and 45°C. The upper limit of the PBT in the treated lizards lowered from 31.9°C to 30.6°C, and the lower limit from 29.5°C to 26.3°C (P<0.001). These findings demonstrate that the treated lizards pursued behavioral hypothermia in conjunction with hypoventilation and hypometabolism. Because prior studies reported a similar hypometabolic response in T1AM-injected laboratory mice, the domesticated lizards, as a part of the vertebrate phylogeny, may be a useful laboratory model for biological and pharmacological researches such as drug potency test.

  5. Behaviors of Polymer Additives Under EHL and Influences of Interactions Between Additives on Friction Modification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakurai, T.

    1984-01-01

    Polymer additives have become requisite for the formulation of multigrade engine oils. The behavior of polymethacrylate (PMA)-thickened oils as lubricants in concentrated contacts under nominal rolling and pure sliding conditions was investigated by conventional optical interferometry. The PMA thickened oils behaved differently from the base oil in the formation of elastohydrodynamic (EHL) films. The higher the elastohydrodynamic molecular weight of the PMA contained in the lubricant, the thinner was the oil film under EHL conditions. The film thickness of shear-degraded PMA-thickened oils was also investigated. The behavior of graphite particles dispersed in both the base oil and the PMA-thickened oil was studied under pure sliding by taking photomicrographs. Many kinds of additives are contained in lubricating oil and the interactions between additives are considered. The interactions of zinc-organodithiophosphates (ZDP) with other additives is discussed.

  6. Electrochemical migration, whisker formation, and corrosion behavior of printed circuit board under wet H2S environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zou, Shiwen; Li, Xiaogang; Dong, Chaofang; Ding, Kangkang; Xiao, Kui

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: •The electrochemical migration, whisker formation, and corrosion behavior of PCB under wet H 2 S environment were observed and studied systematically. •The process of electrochemical migration of solder joints is explained. •The corrosion mechanism of PCB interconnectors induced by micro pores under wet H 2 S environment is discussed, and the corrosion reaction model is proposed. -- Abstract: Electrochemical migration, whisker formation, and corrosion behavior of printed circuit board (PCB) under wet H 2 S environment were analyzed by environment scanning electron microscope (ESEM), Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) with mapping and element phase cluster (EPC) techniques, Raman Spectrum analysis and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technology. The results showed that nonuniform corrosion behavior occurred on PCB surfaces under 1 ppm wet H 2 S at 40 °C; whiskers formed on the inner sidewall of via-holes with a growth rate of 1.2 Å/s; numerous corrosion products migrated through the pore of plated gold layer, which broke off the protective layer. The corrosion rate was accelerated according to the big-cathode-small-anode model

  7. Can fear extinction be enhanced? A review of pharmacological and behavioral findings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitzgerald, Paul J.; Seemann, Jocelyn R.; Maren, Stephen

    2014-01-01

    There is considerable interest, from both a basic and clinical standpoint, in gaining a greater understanding of how pharmaceutical or behavioral manipulations alter fear extinction in animals. Not only does fear extinction in rodents model exposure therapy in humans, where the latter is a cornerstone of behavioral intervention for anxiety disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder and specific phobias, but also understanding more about extinction provides basic information into learning and memory processes and their underlying circuitry. In this paper, we briefly review three principal approaches that have been used to modulate extinction processes in animals and humans: a purely pharmacological approach, the more widespread approach of combining pharmacology with behavior, and a purely behavioral approach. The pharmacological studies comprise modulation by: brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), d-cycloserine, serotonergic and noradrenergic drugs, neuropeptides, endocannabinoids, glucocorticoids, histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors, and others. These studies strongly suggest that extinction can be modulated by drugs, behavioral interventions, or their combination, although not always in a lasting manner. We suggest that pharmacotherapeutic manipulations provide considerable promise for promoting effective and lasting fear reduction in individuals with anxiety disorders. PMID:24374101

  8. Dynamical behavior of a single polymer chain under nanometric confinement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lagrené, K.; Zanotti, J.-M.; Daoud, M.; Farago, B.; Judeinstein, P.

    2010-10-01

    We address the dynamical behavior of a single polymer chain under nanometric confinement. We consider a polymer melt made of a mixture of hydrogenated and deuterated high molecular mass Poly(Ethylene Oxide) (PEO). The confining material is a membrane of Anodic Aluminum Oxide (AAO), a macroscopically highly ordered confining system made of parallel cylindrical channels. We use Neutron Spin-Echo (NSE) under the Zero Average Contrast (ZAC) condition to, all at once, i) match the intense porous AAO detrimental elastic SANS (Small Angle Neutron Scattering) contribution to the total intermediate scattering function I(Q,t) and ii) measure the Q dependence of the dynamical modes of a single chain under confinement. The polymer dynamics is probed on an extremely broad spacial ([2.2 10-2 Å-1, 0.2 Å-1]) and temporal ([0.1 ns, 600 ns]) ranges. We do not detect any influence of confinement on the polymer dynamics. This result is discussed in the framework of the debate on the existence of a "corset effect" recently suggested by NMR relaxometry data.

  9. 78 FR 70515 - Petition To Promulgate Standards for Bears Under the Animal Welfare Act Regulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-26

    ... the Animal Welfare Act Regulations AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION... Service has received a petition requesting that we amend the Animal Welfare Act regulations to add..., Riverdale, MD 20737-1234; (301) 851-3751. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background The Animal Welfare Act (AWA...

  10. Driving behaviors and accident risk under lifetime license revocation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Hsin-Li; Woo, T Hugh; Tseng, Chien-Ming; Tseng, I-Yen

    2011-07-01

    This study explored the driving behaviors and crash risk of 768 drivers who were under administrative lifetime driver's license revocation (ALLR). It was found that most of the ALLR offenders (83.2%) were still driving and only a few (16.8%) of them gave up driving completely. Of the offenders still driving, 67.6% experienced encountering a police roadside check, but were not detained or ticketed by the police. Within this group, 50.6% continued driving while encountering a police check, 18.0% of them made an immediate U-turn and 9.5% of them parked and exited their car. As to crash risk, 15.2% of the ALLR offenders had at least one crash experience after the ALLR had been imposed. The results of the logistic regression models showed that the offenders' crash risk while under the ALLR was significantly correlated with their personal characteristics (personal income), penalty status (incarceration, civil compensation and the time elapsed since license revocation), annual distance driven, and needs for driving (working, commuting and driving kids). Low-income offenders were more inclined to have a crash while driving under the ALLR. Offenders penalized by being incarcerated or by paying a high civil compensation drove more carefully and were less of a crash risk under the ALLR. The results also showed there were no differences in crash risk under the ALLR between hit-and-run offences and drunk driving offences or for offenders with a professional license or an ordinary license. Generally, ALLR offenders drove somewhat more carefully and were less of a crash risk (4.3 crashes per million km driven) than legal licensed drivers (23.1 crashes per million km driven). Moreover, they seemed to drive more carefully than drivers who were under short-term license suspension/revocation which previous studies have found. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Fracture behavior of nuclear graphites under tensile impact loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ugachi, Hirokazu; Ishiyama, Shintaro; Eto, Motokuni

    1994-01-01

    Impact tensile strength test was performed with two kinds of HTTR graphites, fine grained isotropic graphite, IG-11 and coarse grained near isotropic graphite, PGX and deformation and fracture behavior under the strain rate of over 100s -1 was measured and the following results were derived: (1) Tensile strength for IG-11 graphite does not depend on the strain rate less than 1 s -1 , but over 1 s -1 , tensile strength for IG-11 graphite increase larger than that measured under 1 s -1 . At the strain rate more than 100 s -1 , remarkable decrease of tensile strength for IG-11 graphite was found. Tensile strength of PGX graphite does not depend on the strain rate less than 1 s -1 , but beyond this value, the sharp tensile strength decrease occurs. (2) Under 100 s -1 , fracture strain for both graphites increase with increase of strain rate and over 100 s -1 , drastic increase of fracture strain for IG-11 graphite was found. (3) At the part of gage length, volume of specimen increase with increase of tensile loading level and strain rate. (4) Poisson's ratio for both graphites decrease with increase of tensile loading level and strain rate. (5) Remarkable change of stress-strain curve for both graphites under 100 s -1 was not found, but over 100 s -1 , the slope of these curve for IG-11 graphite decrease drastically. (author)

  12. Effects of animal-assisted therapy on behavioral and/or psychological symptoms in dementia: a case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nordgren, Lena; Engström, Gabriella

    2012-12-01

    Recently, interest in nonpharmaceutical interventions in dementia care has increased. Animal-assisted therapy has been shown to be one promising intervention but more knowledge is needed. The present article reports on a pilot study involving an 84-year-old woman with vascular dementia who was systematically trained with a therapy dog team for 8 weeks. A quasi-experimental longitudinal interventional design with pre-post measures was used. Data were collected on 3 occasions. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. Some effects on the woman's ability to walk and move were identified. In addition, some effects in the woman's cognitive state were observed. Physical, psychological, and/or social training with certified therapy dog teams can have effects on behavioral and psychological symptoms in people living with dementia. Further research is needed.

  13. Behavioral effects of nerve agents: laboratory animal models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Myers, T. M.

    2009-01-01

    Diverse and often subtle behavioral consequences have been reported for humans exposed to nerve agents. Laboratory studies of nerve agent exposure offer rigorous control over important variables, but species other than man must be used. Nonhuman primate models offer the best means of identifying the toxic nervous system effects of nerve agent insult and the countermeasures best capable of preventing or attenuating these effects. Comprehensive behavioral models must evaluate preservation and recovery of function as well as new learning ability. The throughput and sensitivity of the tests chosen are important considerations. A few nonhuman primate studies will be discussed to elaborate recent successes, current limitations, and future directions.(author)

  14. Pyrolysis and gasification behavior of black liquor under pressurized conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Whitty, K

    1997-11-01

    The purpose of this study has been to enhance the understanding of the processes involved in pressurized black liquor gasification. Gasification is known to occur in three stages: drying, pyrolysis and char gasification. The work presented here focuses on the pyrolysis and gasification stages. Experiments were carried out primarily in two laboratory-scale reactors. A pressurized grid heater was used to study black liquor pyrolysis under pressurized conditions. Char yields and the fate of elements in the liquor, as well as the degree of liquor swelling, were measured in this device. A pressurized thermogravimetric reactor was used to measure the rate of the char gasification process under different temperatures and pressures and in various gas atmospheres. Pyrolysis experiments were also carried out in this device, and data on swelling behavior, char yields and component release were obtained 317 refs.

  15. Color constancy in Japanese animation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ichihara, Yasuyo G.

    2006-01-01

    In this study, we measure the colors used in a Japanese Animations. The result can be seen on CIE-xy color spaces. It clearly shows that the color system is not a natural appearance system but an imagined and artistic appearance system. Color constancy of human vision can tell the difference in skin and hair colors between under moonlight and day light. Human brain generates a match to the memorized color of an object from daylight viewing conditions to the color of the object in different viewing conditions. For example, Japanese people always perceive the color of the Rising Sun in the Japanese flag as red even in a different viewing condition such as under moonlight. Color images captured by a camera cannot present those human perceptions. However, Japanese colorists in Animation succeeded in painting the effects of color constancy not only under moonlight but also added the memory matching colors. They aim to create a greater impact on viewer's perceptions by using the effect of the memory matching colors. In this paper, we propose the Imagined Japanese Animation Color System. This system in art is currently a subject of research in Japan. Its importance is that it could also provide an explanation on how human brain perceives the same color under different viewing conditions.

  16. Animal Models in Sexual Medicine: The Need and Importance of Studying Sexual Motivation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ventura-Aquino, Elisa; Paredes, Raúl G

    2017-01-01

    Many different animal models of sexual medicine have been developed, demonstrating the complexity of studying the many interactions that influence sexual responses. A great deal of effort has been invested in measuring sexual motivation using different behavioral models mainly because human behavior is more complex than any model can reproduce. To compare different animal models of male and female behaviors that measure sexual motivation as a key element in sexual medicine and focus on models that use a combination of molecular techniques and behavioral measurements. We review the literature to describe models that evaluate different aspects of sexual motivation. No single test is sufficient to evaluate sexual motivation. The best approach is to evaluate animals in different behavioral tests to measure the motivational state of the subject. Different motivated behaviors such as aggression, singing in the case of birds, and sexual behavior, which are crucial for reproduction, are associated with changes in mRNA levels of different receptors in brain areas that are important in the control of reproduction. Research in animal models is crucial to understand the complexity of sexual behavior and all the mechanisms that influence such an important aspect of human well-being to decrease the physiologic and psychological impact of sexual dysfunctions. In other cases, research in different models is necessary to understand and recognize, not cure, the variability of sexuality, such as asexuality, which is another form of sexual orientation. Copyright © 2016 International Society for Sexual Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Effects of reinforcement ratio and arrangement on the structural behavior of a nuclear building under aircraft impact

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thai, Duc-Kien; Kim, Seung-Eock; Lee, Hyuk-Kee

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Numerical analysis of RC nuclear building model under aircraft impact was conducted. • The analysis result shows similar behavior as compared to the Riera function. • The effects of reinforcement ratio and arrangement were enumerated. • The appropriate number of layer of longitudinal rebar was recommended. - Abstract: This study presents the effectiveness of the rebar ratio and the arrangement of reinforced concrete (RC) structures on the structural behavior of nuclear buildings under aircraft impact using a finite element (FE) approach. A simplified model of a fictitious nuclear building using RC structures was fully modeled. The aircraft model of a Boeing 767-400 was used for impact simulation and was developed and verified with a conventional impact force–time history curve. The IRIS Punching test was used to validate the damage prediction capabilities of the RC wall under impact loading. With regard to the different rebar ratios and rebar arrangements of a nuclear RC building, the structural behavior of a building under aircraft impact was investigated. The structural behavior investigated included plastic deformation, displacement, energy dissipation, perforation/penetration depth and scabbing area. The results showed that the rebar ratio has a significant effect on withstanding aircraft impact and reducing local damage. With four layers of rebar, the RC wall absorbed and dissipated the impact energy more than once with only two layers of rebar for the same rebar ratio

  18. Interaction Effect of Social Isolation and High Dose Corticosteroid on Neurogenesis and Emotional Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Jackie N-M; Lee, Jada C-D; Lee, Sylvia S P; Hui, Katy K Y; Chan, Alan H L; Fung, Timothy K-H; Sánchez-Vidaña, Dalinda I; Lau, Benson W-M; Ngai, Shirley P-C

    2017-01-01

    Hypercortisolemia is one of the clinical features found in depressed patients. This clinical feature has been mimicked in animal studies via application of exogenous corticosterone (CORT). Previous studies suggested that CORT can induce behavioral disturbance in anxious-depressive like behavior, which is associated with suppressed neurogenesis. Hippocampal neurogenesis plays an important role in adult cognitive and behavioral regulation. Its suppression may thus lead to neuropsychiatric disorders. Similar to the effects of CORT on the animals' depression-like behaviors and neurogenesis, social deprivation has been regarded as one factor that predicts poor prognosis in depression. Furthermore, social isolation is regarded as a stressor to social animals including experimental rodents. Hence, this study aims to examine if social isolation would induce further emotional or anxiety-like behavior disturbance and suppress neurogenesis in an experimental model that was repeatedly treated with CORT. Sprague-Dawley rats were used in this study to determine the effects of different housing conditions, either social isolated or group housing, in vehicle-treated control and CORT-treated animals. Forced swimming test (FST), open field test (OFT) and social interaction test (SIT) were used to assess depression-like, anxiety-like and social behaviors respectively. Immunohistochemistry was performed to quantify the number of proliferative cells and immature neurons in the hippocampus, while dendritic maturation of immature neurons was analyzed by Sholl analysis. Social isolation reduced latency to immobility in FST. Furthermore, social isolation could significantly reduce the ratio of doublecortin and bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) positive cells of the neurogenesis assay under CORT-treated condition. The current findings suggested that the behavioral and neurological effect of social isolation is dependent on the condition of hypercortisolemia. Furthermore, social isolation may

  19. The Specific Features of Congenital and Acquired Forms of Behavior in the Postresuscitative Period (Experimental Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu. V. Zarzhetsky

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences V. A. Negovsky stated that there was an association of the pathogenesis of postresuscitative central nervous system (CNS lesions with the individual typological characteristics. Therefore the objective of the investigation was to study the early brain structural and functional changes in resuscitated rats, which were related to the baseline type of behavior. The investigation was carried out on outbred albino male rats. Circulation was stopped under ether anesthesia for 10 minutes via intrathoracic ligation of the cardiac vascular fascicle. Before clinical death simulation, the animals were divided by the types of behavior according to their behavioral activity in the elevated cross labyrinth or open field test. Postresuscitatively, the rats were found to preserve their individual typological features of behavior. At the same time the animals with baseline various behavioral patterns showed great differences in becoming familiar with a new environment. The study of conditioned reflex activities suggested the predominant impact of postresuscitative cerebral changes on different mechanisms responsible for active avoidance conditioning in rats with baseline different behavioral types. Examination of the CA1 and CA4 pyramidal cell neuronal populations of the hippocampus indicated that in the elevated cross labyrinth test, the resuscitated animals with a high baseline behavioral activity had more pronounced neurodystrophic and degenerative changes in the study brain regions than the rats with a low activity. The findings not only have supported V. A. Negovsky’s ideas on the association of the pathogenesis of postresuscitative cerebral disorders with the individual typological characteristics of the CNS, but also revealed differences in the neuropathophysiological mechanisms of these disorders, and ascertained the structural features of postresuscitative cerebral lesions in the animals with

  20. Environmental novelty and illumination modify ethanol-induced open-field behavioral effects in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukushiro, Daniela F; Benetti, Liliane F; Josino, Fabiana S; Oliveira, Gabriela P; Fernandes, Maiara deM; Saito, Luis P; Uehara, Regina A; Wuo-Silva, Raphael; Oliveira, Camila S; Frussa-Filho, Roberto

    2010-03-01

    Both spontaneous and drug-induced animal behaviors can be modified by exposure to novel stimuli or different levels of environmental illumination. However, research into how these factors specifically impact ethanol (ETH)-induced behavioral effects is currently lacking. We aimed to investigate the effects of these two factors, considered separately or in conjunction, on ETH-induced acute hyperlocomotor effect and its sensitization in adult male Swiss mice. Mice were placed in a novel or familiar open-field under normal light (200 lx) or low light (9 lx) immediately after receiving an ip injection of either 1.8 g/kg ETH or saline (SAL). After 7 days, all animals received an ip challenge injection of 1.8 g/kg ETH, and were placed in the open-field under the same light conditions described above. Novelty increased central locomotion and decreased grooming, while low light increased grooming. Acute ETH administration increased both total and peripheral locomotion and these effects were potentiated by low light. Both low light and novelty were able to facilitate ETH-induced locomotor sensitization, which was detected by the central locomotion parameter. However, there was no synergism between the effects of these two modulating factors on ETH-induced behavioral sensitization. We conclude that both the acute behavioral effects of ETH and behavioral sensitization induced by previous administration of this drug can be critically modified by environmental factors. In addition, our study stresses the importance of using different behavioral parameters to evaluate the interaction between environmental factors and ETH effects. (c) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Animal suffering should not trump environmental stewardship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vantassel, Stephen M

    2010-01-01

    Andrew Linzey contends that our treatment of children should act as a model for our treatment of animals: just as we use our power to prevent the suffering of children, so should we restrict our behavior to protect animals from human-originated suffering. While not ignoring the role theology and emotion play in his ethical view, Linzey endeavors to provide a rational argument for the moral consideration of animals. In addition, Linzey explains how humans have created institutions to help them justify the continuance of animal suffering, followed by a plan to replace those institutions with animal-friendly ones. Linzey then applies his thinking to three contemporary institutions he believes cause animal suffering in an unjustifiable manner, namely hunting with dogs, fur farming, and commercial sealing. This review offers a detailed account of several significant weaknesses of Linzey's argument, ranging from the theological to the scientific, that should be considered before adopting his views.

  2. Can experiments on animals constitute a criminal offence of cruelty to animals?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ristivojevic Branislav

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The criminal offence “killing and torturing animals” under Article 269 of the Criminal Code says that it can be committed only “contrary to regulations”. The regulations governing the treatment of experimental animals are the Animal Welfare Law from 2009 and the Law on the Ratification of the European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes amended by the Protocol of amendment to the European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes from 2010. The first one imposes numerous obligations and introduces numerous prohibitions in the treatment of experimental animals, which at first sight make the possibilities of committing this criminal offence greater. The other law does not contain most of the prohibitions and restrictions that are included in the Animal Welfare Law. Thanks to a legal rule which says that a later law regulating the same subject replaces the former one (lex posterior derogate legi priori and the aforementioned unconstitutionality of many provisions of the Animal Welfare Law, researchers and teachers in Serbia are not in particular danger of criminal prosecution. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 179079: Biomedicine, Environmental Protection and the Law

  3. A dynamic parking charge optimal control model under perspective of commuters' evolutionary game behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, XuXun; Yuan, PengCheng

    2018-01-01

    In this research we consider commuters' dynamic learning effect by modeling the trip mode choice behavior from a new perspective of dynamic evolutionary game theory. We explore the behavior pattern of different types of commuters and study the evolution path and equilibrium properties under different traffic conditions. We further establish a dynamic parking charge optimal control (referred to as DPCOC) model to alter commuters' trip mode choice while minimizing the total social cost. Numerical tests show. (1) Under fixed parking fee policy, the evolutionary results are completely decided by the travel time and the only method for public transit induction is to increase the parking charge price. (2) Compared with fixed parking fee policy, DPCOC policy proposed in this research has several advantages. Firstly, it can effectively turn the evolutionary path and evolutionary stable strategy to a better situation while minimizing the total social cost. Secondly, it can reduce the sensitivity of trip mode choice behavior to traffic congestion and improve the ability to resist interferences and emergencies. Thirdly, it is able to control the private car proportion to a stable state and make the trip behavior more predictable for the transportation management department. The research results can provide theoretical basis and decision-making references for commuters' mode choice prediction, dynamic setting of urban parking charge prices and public transit induction.

  4. Genetic Architecture of Natural Variation Underlying Adult Foraging Behavior That Is Essential for Survival of Drosophila melanogaster.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Yuh Chwen G; Yang, Qian; Chi, Wanhao; Turkson, Susie A; Du, Wei A; Kemkemer, Claus; Zeng, Zhao-Bang; Long, Manyuan; Zhuang, Xiaoxi

    2017-05-01

    Foraging behavior is critical for the fitness of individuals. However, the genetic basis of variation in foraging behavior and the evolutionary forces underlying such natural variation have rarely been investigated. We developed a systematic approach to assay the variation in survival rate in a foraging environment for adult flies derived from a wild Drosophila melanogaster population. Despite being such an essential trait, there is substantial variation of foraging behavior among D. melanogaster strains. Importantly, we provided the first evaluation of the potential caveats of using inbred Drosophila strains to perform genome-wide association studies on life-history traits, and concluded that inbreeding depression is unlikely a major contributor for the observed large variation in adult foraging behavior. We found that adult foraging behavior has a strong genetic component and, unlike larval foraging behavior, depends on multiple loci. Identified candidate genes are enriched in those with high expression in adult heads and, demonstrated by expression knock down assay, are involved in maintaining normal functions of the nervous system. Our study not only identified candidate genes for foraging behavior that is relevant to individual fitness, but also shed light on the initial stage underlying the evolution of the behavior. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

  5. Distinctive hippocampal and amygdalar cytoarchitectural changes underlie specific patterns of behavioral disruption following stress exposure in an animal model of PTSD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Hagit; Kozlovsky, Nitsan; Matar, Michael A; Zohar, Joseph; Kaplan, Zeev

    2014-12-01

    Alterations in cytoarchitecture and molecular signaling have been observed in adaptive and maladaptive responses to stress and presumably underlie the physiological and behavioral changes observed. The relationship between behavioral responses to stress exposure and changes in cytoarchitecture of subregions of the hippocampus and amygdala was investigated in an animal model of PTSD. Behaviors in elevated plus-maze and acoustic startle response tests were assessed in rats 7 days after exposure to predator scent stress. Brains were harvested 24h later. Neurons from CA1, CA3, and dentate gyrus subregions and basolateral amygdala were reconstructed and subjected to Sholl analysis and spine density estimation. Glucocorticoid receptor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, phospho-NR1-Ser-889, phospho-GluR1-Ser-845, phospho-calcium/calmodulin dependent protein kinase II-Thy-286, post-synaptic density protein 95 and phospho-CREB-Ser-133 were evaluated in the hippocampus. Data were analyzed by retrospective classification of individual rats into three behavioral response groups. The extent and distribution of changes in the morphology of hippocampal and amygdalar dendrites was significantly associated with stress-induced behavioral response classification. Extreme (PTSD-like) behavioral disruption was associated with extensive neuronal retraction in the hippocampus and proliferation in the amygdala. Neither structure displayed such changes in minimal behavioral responders. Partial behavioral response was associated with identical changes in the hippocampus only. Patterns of change in requisite molecular signaling genes and endophenotypic markers corresponded to the structural and behavioral responses. The extent and distribution of changes in the cytoarchitecture of hippocampal and amygdalar subregions is directly related to the pattern of behavioral response of the individual to stress exposure. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved.

  6. General Principles for the welfare of animals in production systems: the underlying science and its application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fraser, David; Duncan, Ian J H; Edwards, Sandra A; Grandin, Temple; Gregory, Neville G; Guyonnet, Vincent; Hemsworth, Paul H; Huertas, Stella M; Huzzey, Juliana M; Mellor, David J; Mench, Joy A; Spinka, Marek; Whay, H Rebecca

    2013-10-01

    In 2012, the World Organisation for Animal Health adopted 10 'General Principles for the Welfare of Animals in Livestock Production Systems' to guide the development of animal welfare standards. The General Principles draw on half a century of scientific research relevant to animal welfare: (1) how genetic selection affects animal health, behaviour and temperament; (2) how the environment influences injuries and the transmission of diseases and parasites; (3) how the environment affects resting, movement and the performance of natural behaviour; (4) the management of groups to minimize conflict and allow positive social contact; (5) the effects of air quality, temperature and humidity on animal health and comfort; (6) ensuring access to feed and water suited to the animals' needs and adaptations; (7) prevention and control of diseases and parasites, with humane euthanasia if treatment is not feasible or recovery is unlikely; (8) prevention and management of pain; (9) creation of positive human-animal relationships; and (10) ensuring adequate skill and knowledge among animal handlers. Research directed at animal welfare, drawing on animal behaviour, stress physiology, veterinary epidemiology and other fields, complements more established fields of animal and veterinary science and helps to create a more comprehensive scientific basis for animal care and management. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Behavior of Layers under Different Light Sources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    BO Tavares

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Light is an important factor in the management of laying poultry. The ideal lamp spectrum that provides the best welfare conditions still needs to be determined. Wavelength and light intensity influence poultry behavior and their welfare. This study evaluated the influence of four lamps types with different light spectra on the behavior of seventy 52-week laying hens. Incandescent, fluorescent, and sodium and mercury vapor lamps were set in a different poultry house each and supplied similar light intensities. Layer behavior was video-recorded three times weekly using video cameras installed on the ceiling. The effects of different wavelengths emitted by the light sources on layer behavior were evaluated by the Kruskal-Wallis median test. Results indicated that incandescent and sodium vapor lamps increased the occurrence of nesting, and of active behaviors, such as floor-scratching and pecking.

  8. Preventive effects of ginsenoside Rg1 on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-like behavior in male C57/B6 mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhongli; Zhu, Kexuan; Chen, Lin; Ou Yang, Liufeng; Huang, Yufang; Zhao, Yunan

    2015-09-25

    We investigated the preventive effects of Rg1 on a model of mouse post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) induced by electric shock combined with situation reminder and explored the underlying mechanism. In the experiment, before the PTSD animal model was developed, Rg1 (10, 5, and 2.5mg/kg) was orally administered for one week. After the animal model was established, PTSD-like behavior was observed using elevated plus maze, black and light box, and open field tests. One hour after the behavior test, all mice were sacrificed, and then serum corticosterone (CORT) and hypothalamus corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) assays were performed. Results showed that Rg1 (5mg/kg) treatments relieved PTSD-like behavior by altering elevated serum corticosterone and hypothalamus CRH levels. By contrast, fluoxetine (3mg/kg) treatment reversed the behavior changes and had no effect on increased CORT and CRH levels. These findings confirmed the preventive effect of Rg1 in PTSD model. Decreasing CORT and CRH levels may be one of the underlying mechanisms. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Conduct behaviors and oppositional defiant behaviors in children and adolescents with ADHD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghanizadeh, Ahmad

    2015-04-01

    There is controversy about the association among attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder behaviors, and oppositional defiant behaviors. This study examines whether different subcategories of conduct behaviors co-occur in children with ADHD, and investigates the association of conduct behaviors with ADHD symptoms and oppositional defiant behavior, considering the covariant factors of parental age and educational level. A total of 441 children and adolescents with ADHD participated in this study - 342 (77.6%) boys and 99 girls (22.4%). Their mean age was 9.1 (standard deviation = 2.2) years. They came from families with 1 to 8 children. There were statistically significant correlations among different subcategories of conduct disorder (p Oppositional behavior scores were associated with all 4 subcategories of conduct behaviors. The severity of hyperactivity/impulsivity was associated with the subcategory of "destruction of property." The inattentiveness score was associated with "aggression to people and animals." The current results do not suggest that conduct behaviors exclude oppositional defiant behaviors. The subcategories of conduct behaviors occur in a cluster rather than as a solitary behavior. Larger family size and lower educational level of the father increase the risk of aggression to people and animals in children with ADHD.

  10. Control of radiation in animal facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hightower, D.; Hood, D.M.; Neff, R.D.

    1977-01-01

    Use of radioactive materials in animals for research and clinical studies is on the increase. These studies may be undertaken with little or no disruption of normal facility operations if a few facts are considered. The primary factor of consideration is the radiopharmaceutical - its pharmacologic behavior and physical characteristics. The preferred radionuclide is one with the shortest half-life compatible with the variables to be measured. The fact that an animal is a source of radiation as well as a potential source of contamination must be kept in mind. Improper use of radiopharmaceuticals is inexcusable

  11. Of Fighting Flies, Mice, and Men: Are Some of the Molecular and Neuronal Mechanisms of Aggression Universal in the Animal Kingdom?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Amanda L; Davis, Shaun M; Dierick, Herman A

    2015-08-01

    Aggressive behavior is widespread in the animal kingdom, but the degree of molecular conservation between distantly related species is still unclear. Recent reports suggest that at least some of the molecular mechanisms underlying this complex behavior in flies show remarkable similarities with such mechanisms in mice and even humans. Surprisingly, some aspects of neuronal control of aggression also show remarkable similarity between these distantly related species. We will review these recent findings, address the evolutionary implications, and discuss the potential impact for our understanding of human diseases characterized by excessive aggression.

  12. Wear behavior of Cu-Ag-Cr alloy wire under electrical sliding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jia, S.G.; Liu, P.; Ren, F.Z.; Tian, B.H.; Zheng, M.S.; Zhou, G.S.

    2005-01-01

    The wear behavior of a Cu-Ag-Cr alloy contact wire against a copper-base sintered alloy strip was investigated. Wear tests were conducted under laboratory conditions with a special sliding wear apparatus that simulated train motion under electrical current conditions. The initial microstructure of the Cu-Ag-Cr alloy contact wire was analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. Worn surfaces of the Cu-Ag-Cr alloy wire were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS). The results indicate that the wear rate of the Cu-Ag-Cr wire increased with increasing electrical current and sliding. Within the studied range of electrical current, the wear rate increases with increasing electrical current and sliding speed. Compared with the Cu-Ag contact wire under the same testing conditions, the Cu-Ag-Cr alloy wire has much better wear resistance. Adhesive, abrasive, and electrical erosion wear are the dominant mechanisms during the electrical sliding processes

  13. Inelastic behavior of materials and structures under monotonic and cyclic loading

    CERN Document Server

    Brünig, Michael

    2015-01-01

    This book presents studies on the inelastic behavior of materials and structures under monotonic and cyclic loads. It focuses on the description of new effects like purely thermal cycles or cases of non-trivial damages. The various models are based on different approaches and methods and scaling aspects are taken into account. In addition to purely phenomenological models, the book also presents mechanisms-based approaches. It includes contributions written by leading authors from a host of different countries.

  14. Consistent Individual Behavioral Variation: The Difference between Temperament, Personality and Behavioral Syndromes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jill R. D. MacKay

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Ethologists use a variety of terminology such as “personality”, “temperament” and “behavioral syndromes” almost interchangeably to discuss the phenomenon of individuals within a population of animals consistently varying from one another in their behavioral responses to stimuli. This interchangeable usage of terminology has contributed to confusion within the field of animal behavior and limits the study of the phenomenon. Here we use a rapid, non-exhaustive and repeatable search strategy literature review to investigate where there were unique distinctions between these three terms and where there was an overlap in their usage. We identified three main areas of confusion in terminology: historical usage which is not updated; a lack of precision between different fields of study; and a lack of precision between different levels of variation. We propose a framework with which to understand and define the terms based on the levels of variation ethologists are interested in. Consistent individual animal behavioral variation relates to the different structures of variation of between-individual/between-population and between and across contexts. By formalizing this framework we provide clarity between the three terms which can be easily defined and understood.

  15. Animal to human translational paradigms relevant for approach avoidance conflict decision making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirlic, Namik; Young, Jared; Aupperle, Robin L

    2017-09-01

    Avoidance behavior in clinical anxiety disorders is often a decision made in response to approach-avoidance conflict, resulting in a sacrifice of potential rewards to avoid potential negative affective consequences. Animal research has a long history of relying on paradigms related to approach-avoidance conflict to model anxiety-relevant behavior. This approach includes punishment-based conflict, exploratory, and social interaction tasks. There has been a recent surge of interest in the translation of paradigms from animal to human, in efforts to increase generalization of findings and support the development of more effective mental health treatments. This article briefly reviews animal tests related to approach-avoidance conflict and results from lesion and pharmacologic studies utilizing these tests. We then provide a description of translational human paradigms that have been developed to tap into related constructs, summarizing behavioral and neuroimaging findings. Similarities and differences in findings from analogous animal and human paradigms are discussed. Lastly, we highlight opportunities for future research and paradigm development that will support the clinical utility of this translational work. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Effects of urbanization on animal behaviour : patterns, underlying mechanisms and ultimate causes

    OpenAIRE

    Miranda, Ana Catarina Sequeira Nunes Coutinho de

    2014-01-01

    Human-altered environmental conditions affect many species at the global scale. An extreme form of anthropogenic alteration is the existence and rapid increase of urban areas. A key question is how animals cope with urbanization. In order to live in cities, animals have to adjust their behaviour and life histories to the urban novel environment.The main objectives of this thesis were to investigate (i) the existence of behavioural changes related to the urbanization process, (ii) the ultimate...

  17. Sensory processing in autism spectrum disorders and Fragile X syndrome—From the clinic to animal models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinclair, D.; Oranje, B.; Razak, K.A.; Siegel, S.J.; Schmid, S.

    2017-01-01

    Brains are constantly flooded with sensory information that needs to be filtered at the pre-attentional level and integrated into endogenous activity in order to allow for detection of salient information and an appropriate behavioral response. People with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) are often over- or under-reactive to stimulation, leading to a wide range of behavioral symptoms. This altered sensitivity may be caused by disrupted sensory processing, signal integration and/or gating, and is often being neglected. Here, we review translational experimental approaches that are used to investigate sensory processing in humans with ASD and FXS, and in relevant rodent models. This includes electroencephalographic measurement of event related potentials, neural oscillations and mismatch negativity, as well as habituation and pre-pulse inhibition of startle. We outline robust evidence of disrupted sensory processing in individuals with ASD and FXS, and in respective animal models, focusing on the auditory sensory domain. Animal models provide an excellent opportunity to examine common mechanisms of sensory pathophysiology in order to develop therapeutics. PMID:27235081

  18. Oxygen and animal evolution: Did a rise of atmospheric oxygen trigger the origin of animals?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mills, Daniel Brady; Canfield, Donald Eugene

    2014-01-01

    Recent studies challenge the classical view that the origin of animal life was primarily controlled by atmospheric oxygen levels. For example, some modern sponges, representing early-branching animals, can live under 200 times less oxygen than currently present in the atmosphere - levels commonly...... thought to have been maintained prior to their origination. Furthermore, it is increasingly argued that the earliest animals, which likely lived in low oxygen environments, played an active role in constructing the well-oxygenated conditions typical of the modern oceans. Therefore, while oxygen is still...

  19. Immediate ketamine treatment does not prevent posttraumatic stress responses in an animal model for PTSD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juven-Wetzler, Alzbeta; Cohen, Hagit; Kaplan, Zeev; Kohen, Avi; Porat, Oren; Zohar, Joseph

    2014-03-01

    Clinical studies suggest that administration of ketamine hydrochloride-an antagonist at the N-methyl-d-aspartate ionophore-provides short-term amelioration for depressive symptoms. The effects of a brief course of ketamine given immediately following exposure to psychogenic stress on the behavioral stress responses were assessed in an animal model of posttraumatic stress disorder. Animals exposed to stress were treated 1h later with ketamine (0.5, 5, and 15 mg/kg) or vehicle for three days (N = 107). Outcome measures included behavior in the elevated plus maze (EPM) and acoustic startle response (ASR) tests 30 days after initial exposure and freezing behavior upon exposure to a trauma-cue on day 31. Pre-set cut-off behavioral criteria classified exposed animals according to their EPM and ASR response-patterns into "extreme," "minimal," or "partial" behavioral response for analysis of prevalence rates of "PTSD-like behavior." Circulating corticosterone levels were assessed 20 min after injection of ketamine in exposed and unexposed animals (N = 62). The dexamethasone suppression test was used to assess negative feedback inhibition of the HPA axis. Prevalence rates of extremely-, partially-, or minimally-disrupted behavior demonstrated that ketamine administered immediately following stress exposure was ineffective in alleviating "PTSD-like behavior" at day 30 after exposure. Administration of ketamine was associated with increase in freezing behavior after exposure to a trauma-cue on day 31. Corticosterone levels were significantly suppressed by ketamine only in the exposed animals. Administration of ketamine immediately following trauma-exposure may not only be ineffective but actually detrimental in the long term. A disruption of the post-stress HPA-response has been raised as a contributing factor. © 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V. and ECNP.

  20. SSYST. A code system to analyze LWR fuel rod behavior under accident conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gulden, W.; Meyder, R.; Borgwaldt, H.

    1982-01-01

    SSYST (Safety SYSTem) is a modular system to analyze the behavior of light water reactor fuel rods and fuel rod simulators under accident conditions. It has been developed in close cooperation between Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe (KfK) and the Institut fuer Kerntechnik und Energiewandlung (IKE), University Stuttgart, under contract of Projekt Nukleare Sicherheit (PNS) at KfK. Although originally aimed at single rod analysis, features are available to calculate effects such as blockage ratios of bundles and wholes cores. A number of inpile and out-of-pile experiments were used to assess the system. Main differences versus codes like FRAP-T with similar applications are (1) an open-ended modular code organisation, (2) availability of modules of different sophistication levels for the same physical processes, and (3) a preference for simple models, wherever possible. The first feature makes SSYST a very flexible tool, easily adapted to changing requirements; the second enables the user to select computational models adequate to the significance of the physical process. This leads together with the third feature to short execution times. The analysis of transient rod behavior under LOCA boundary conditions e.g. takes 2 mins cpu-time (IBM-3033), so that extensive parametric studies become possible