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PubMed2005

The multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree-Fock method for quantum chemical calculations.

We apply the multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree-Fock method to electronic structure calculations and show that quantum chemical information can be obtained with this explicitly time-dependent approach. Different equations of motion are discussed, as well as the numerical cost. The two-electron integrals are calculated using a natural potential expansion, of which we describe the convergence behavior in detail.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Effectiveness of twenty, twenty-five diazacholesterol, avian gonadotropin-releasing hormone, and chicken riboflavin carrier protein for inhibiting reproduction in Coturnix quail.

Contraception may provide a useful nonlethal management tool when it is desirable to reduce populations of birds. We tested the efficacy of 20,25 diazacholesterol, and immunization with avian gonadotropin-releasing hormone (AGnRH-I) and chicken riboflavin carrier protein (cRCP) as contraceptives and investigated their modes of action in Coturnix quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Females that were paired with males treated with 20,25 diazacholesterol produced lower percentages of eggs that were fertile and hatched. Females treated with 20,25 diazacholesterol and paired with control males laid fewer eggs, and lower percentages of their eggs were fertile and hatched. Treatment with 20,25 diazacholesterol reduced testosterone levels in males and progesterone levels in females. Nonesterified cholesterol levels were reduced, whereas desmosterol levels increased in birds treated with 20,25 diazacholesterol. Treatment with AGnRH-I and cRCP immunocontraceptive vaccines did not decrease average egg production and hatchability or hormone levels, but this failure might have been due to the vaccination protocol. If registered, wildlife managers may be able to use 20,25 diazacholesterol when other methods, such as lethal control, are undesirable for reducing damage caused by specific breeding behaviors such as the building of nests.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Developing a sense of safety: the neurobiology of neonatal attachment.

Clinical data suggests a strong negative impact of traumatic attachments on adult mental illness, presumably through organizing brain development. To further explore this clinical issue, a mammalian model of imprinting was developed to characterize the neural basis of attachment in both healthy and traumatic attachments. The altricial neonatal rat must learn the mother's odor for nipple attachment, huddling, and orienting to the mother, all of which are required for pup survival. While it appears maladaptive to depend upon learning for attachment, the unique learning system of neonatal pups greatly enhances odor-preference learning and attachment while pups are confined to the nest. This heightened learning is expressed behaviorally as an enhanced ability to acquire learned odor preferences and a decreased ability to acquire learned odor aversions. Specifically, both odor-milk and odor-shock (0.5 mA) conditioning result in odor-preference acquisition. It appears as though there are at least three brain structures underlying the neonatal rat's sensitive period for heightened odor learning: (1) odor learning is encoded in the olfactory bulb; (2) the hyperfunctioning noradrenergic locus coeruleus (LC) appears to support preference conditioning through release of NE; and (3) the hypofunctioning amygdala appears to underlie pups' difficulty in learning odor aversions. Overall, this suggests that the CNS of altricial infants is specialized for optimizing attachments to their caregiver.

Amygdala↗
PubMed2005

Awareness during anesthesia in children: a prospective cohort study.

During routine adult anesthesia, the risk of awareness is 0.1%-0.2%. No recent studies have reported the incidence in children. Altered pharmacology and differing anesthesia techniques suggest that the incidence may differ in children. In this prospective cohort study, we determined the incidence of awareness during anesthesia in children. Eight-hundred-sixty-four children aged 5-12 yr who had undergone general anesthesia at The Royal Children's Hospital were interviewed on 3 occasions to determine the incidence of awareness. The awareness assessment was nested within a larger study of behavior change after anesthesia. Reports of suspected awareness were sent to four independent adjudicators. If they all agreed, a case was classified as true awareness. Twenty-eight reports were generated. There were 7 cases of true awareness, for an incidence of 0.8% (95% confidence interval, 0.3%-1.7%). Only one aware child received neuromuscular blockers, compared with 12% in the nonaware group. No aware child reported distress, and no substantial difference was detected in behavior disturbance between aware (20%) and nonaware (16%) children. The data provide some evidence that, like adults, children are also at risk of intraoperative awareness. Although the cause remains unclear, anesthesiologists should be alerted to the possibility of awareness in children.

Anesthesia↗
PubMed2003

Synaptic changes characterize early behavioural signs in the ME7 model of murine prion disease.

Prion diseases are fatal, chronic neurodegenerative diseases of mammals, characterized by amyloid deposition, astrogliosis, microglial activation, tissue vacuolation and neuronal loss. In the ME7 model of prion disease in the C57BL/6 J mouse, we have shown previously that these animals display behavioural changes that indicate the onset of neuronal dysfunction. The current study examines the neuropathological correlates of these early behavioural changes. After injection of ME7-infected homogenate into the dorsal hippocampus, we found statistically significant impairment of burrowing, nesting and glucose consumption, and increased open field activity at 13 weeks. At this time, microglia activation and PrPSc deposition was visible selectively throughout the limbic system, including the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, medial and lateral septum, mamillary bodies, dorsal thalamus and, to a lesser degree, in regions of the brainstem. No increase in apoptosis or neuronal cell loss was detectable at this time, while in animals at 19 weeks postinjection there was 40% neuronal loss from CA1. There was a statistically significant reduction in synaptophysin staining in the stratum radiatum of the CA1 at 13 weeks indicating loss of presynaptic terminals. Damage to the dorsal hippocampus is known to disrupt burrowing and nesting behaviour. We have demonstrated a neuropathological correlate of an early behavioural deficit in prion disease and suggest that this should allow insights into the first steps of the neuropathogenesis of prion diseases.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Assessment of the use of two commercially available environmental enrichments by laboratory mice by preference testing.

In the field of biomedical research, the demand for standardization of environmental enrichment for laboratory animals is growing. For laboratory mice, a wide variety of environmental enrichment items are commercially available. Most of these comply with the demands for standardization, hygiene and ergonomics. Whether these items also comply with their actual purpose, to enhance the well-being of the mice, is often not assessed scientifically. In this study, we tested the preference of mice for two commercially available nest boxes differing in shape and material: the Shepherd Shack/DesRes (SS/DR) and the Tecniplast Mouse House (TMH), in a simple preference test. To indicate strength of preference, both nest boxes were also tested against a highly preferred nesting material. Preference for the most preferred nest box was investigated further. Our results indicated a strong preference by mice for the SS/DR, but not for the TMH. Furthermore, nesting material was almost always combined with the SS/DR, but not with the TMH. More elaborate testing of the SS/DR in an automated preference test system confirmed that mice spent significantly more time in a cage in which an SS/DR is provided. Differences between both nest boxes are discussed with regard to their attractiveness to mice. It is also argued that enrichment should primarily be developed in concordance with the animals' needs prior to the marketing of enrichment tools.

Animal Welfare↗
PubMed1979

Olfactory stimulation induces filial preferences for huddling in rat pups.

Rat pups of all ages huddle with conspecifics, but the senosory control of contact behavior changes ontogenetically. Thermal cues control huddling until about Day 15, at which time species' odors become the dominant stimulus. The present experiments indicate that the filial response to conspecifics is dependent on olfactory experience. A synthetic chemical scent was added to the smells of the dam from Day 1 to Day 20 postpartum. Standardized videographic tests were used to assess the development of huddling preference. Preferences for nest-typical smells emerged by Day 15 in pups from both scented and nonscented litters. Pups from scented nests preferred to huddle with a scented stimulus rat, whereas control pups preferred a nonadulterated rat stimulus. Additional testing indicated that the affiliative preferences were specific to rearing odor and were not based on decreased aversion to test scents, or on disrupted olfactory discrimination. The ontogeny of species-typical contact behavior is discussed in terms of the induction of a perceptual preference that is based on early odor stimulation.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Hornet peak flight activity is correlated with solar UV radiation: a multi-annual survey.

This study deals with the effect which solar irradiation of short wavelength, particularly ultraviolet (UV), exerts on the activities of hornets. The findings are based on multi-annual observations carried out during the years 1985, 1989 and 1998 on hornet nests in the field. At the peak of UV radiation, which occurs at noon, hornet activity is greater by 1-2 orders of magnitude than that during the morning or evening hours. The main visible hornet activity appears to be the removal of soil particles from the nest so as to enlarge its volume, enable the building of additional combs and also increase the size of existing combs. Hornet flight during peak insolation hours is characterized by its briefness (5-20 seconds only) and brevity (to distances of 5-10 meters only) as compared to flights at other hours of the day. These prolonged, multi-annual observations lead to the conclusion that hornets are capable of converting the energy of UV radiation into a form amenable to metabolic usage. In this respect the hornet cuticle behaves as a thermophotovoltaic device, i.e., a semiconductor diode that converts photons radiating from the sunlight into electrical energy.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Behavior of free-ranging and captive American kestrels under electromagnetic fields.

Wild birds, particularly raptors, commonly use electrical transmission structures for nesting, perching, hunting, and roosting. Consequently, birds are exposed to electromagnetic fields (EMFs). The amount of time that wild reproducing American kestrels (Falco sparverius) were exposed to EMFs was determined, and the effects of EMFs on the behavior of captive reproducing kestrels were examined. Wild kestrels were exposed to EMFs for 25% to 75% of the observed time. On a 24-h basis, estimated EMF exposure of wild kestrels ranged from 71% during courtship, to 90% during incubation, similar to that experienced by captive kestrels (88% of a 24-h period). Additionally, captive kestrels were exposed to EMF levels experienced by wild kestrels nesting under 735-kV power lines. Captive EMF females were more active, more alert, and perched on the pen roof more frequently than control females during courtship. EMF females preened and rested less often during brood rearing. EMF male kestrels were more active than control males during courtship, and more alert during incubation. Increased activity of kestrels during courtship may be linked to changes in corticosterone, but likely not melatonin. Observed behavioral changes were unlikely to directly result in the better growth of nestlings and fledging success, or poorer hatching success, of the EMF group, as previously reported. Behavioral changes of captive EMF kestrels may be observed in wild kestrels.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Aspen wood-wool is preferred as a resting place, but does not affect intracage fighting of male BALB/c and C57BL/6J mice.

Aspen wood-wool, provided as nesting material, was evaluated as a possible improvement of cage environment for 10-14-week-old inbred male mice maintained in groups of six (BALB/c n = 72 and C57BL/6J n = 36). The daily behaviour of mice was video recorded and their body weight, food consumption, weights of some organs and serum corticosterone concentrations were measured. Aggressive interactions between cage mates and against a strange intruder as well as the number of wounds on the back of the animals was monitored in order to evaluate the effect of nesting material on intermale aggression. Nesting material did not affect the daily active/passive behaviour patterns of mice, although animals clearly preferred it as a resting place. BALB/c mice given nesting material showed less weight gain and smaller brown adipose tissue weights than animals without nesting material. The other characteristics measured were not affected by the presence of nesting material in either strain. The presence of nesting material had no effect on fighting in cages. C57BL/6J mice were more aggressive than BALB/c mice according to the number of wounded animals in a cage. Wounded BALB/c mice had enlarged spleens and decreased epididymal adipose tissue weights. In conclusion, the nesting material used in this study did not adversely affect the animals. On the other hand, the material was clearly preferred to conventional bedding as a resting place. These findings suggest that nesting material may improve the cage environment of laboratory mice. Furthermore, there was an indication of strain differences in aggressive behaviour. It could be suggested that C57BL/6J mice are less tolerant towards intruders and housing six mice per cage is not suitable for this strain.

Adipose Tissue, Brown↗
PubMed2005

The relative importance of vasoactive intestinal peptide and peptide histidine isoleucine as physiological regulators of prolactin in the domestic turkey.

In mammals, prolactin (PRL) secretion is regulated by vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and peptide histidine isoleucine (PHI). In birds, however, VIP is considered a PRL-releasing factor (PRF), while the role of PHI is unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of turkey PHI (tPHI) and turkey VIP (tVIP) on PRL secretion in vitro, and to study their physiological significance in vivo through active immunization against tPHI and tVIP. In vitro studies were conducted using pituitary cell cultures from female turkeys. In the in vivo study, female turkeys were immunized with keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH; control), synthetic tPHI conjugate (KLH-tPHI), or synthetic tVIP conjugate (KLH-tVIP). Both tVIP and tPHI stimulated PRL secretion from anterior pituitary cells in a dose response manner. However, tPHI was 100-fold less potent than tVIP in stimulating maximum PRL secretion in vitro. In addition, the highest dose (10(-4) M) of tPHI inhibited its own PRL-releasing activity as well as that of VIP-stimulated PRL release. Whereas, circulating PRL levels and nesting activity remained low and unchanged during the photo-induced reproductive cycle (i.e., experimental period) in tVIP-immunized birds, control and tPHI-immunized turkeys showed a significant increase in plasma PRL levels and in the incidence of incubation behavior over time following photostimulation. These findings, taken together with earlier results, indicate that VIP is the sole physiological PRF in the turkey (avian species).

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Hoarding behavior of AKR, C57BL/6 mice and their F1 in their home living space: an automatic recording technique.

Earlier genetic analysis of food hoarding behavior in mice used test situations in which animals were allowed to hoard food only during short time periods. This paper describes a technique to measure food hoarding over long time periods. Small discs of standard food are equipped with a steel clip and each passage of a mouse bringing such a food disc from the food search enclosure to the nest is detected by an electromagnetic sounding lead connected to a pen recorder. Preliminary results show that female mice begin to hoard earlier than males; one of the two reciprocal F1 has a shorter latency to hoard than the other one. Results also show differences between two parental inbred strains and their reciprocal F1 for the light-dark distribution of hoarding.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Nuclear DNA content, tumor cell aggregation, and metastatic events in patients with poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of the stomach.

Data on 100 patients who had undergone resection for poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of the stomach with serosal invasion were examined to assess the prognostic significance of the DNA distribution pattern in relation to the histologic tumor cell aggregation pattern. DNA distribution patterns were classified into low and high ploidies and tumor cell aggregation patterns were classified into free-cell, small nest, and large nest types. The rates of high ploidy in the free-cell, small nest, and large nest types were 23.1%, 48.0%, and 66.7%, respectively, with a significant increase according to the degree of aggregation. The high ploidy group and large nest type had a higher incidence of lymphogenous and hematogenous metastasis than the low ploidy group and free-cell type, respectively. DNA ploidy had no prognostic value for the free-cell type of tumor, but differences in prognosis and the incidence of metastasis between the DNA ploidies were evident in the nest-forming type. Aneuploid tumors consisting of a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma were those with nest formation, from the standpoint of histologic structure and metastatic behavior. The DNA analysis of poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas was of prognostic value, especially in the nest-forming type.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2005

Current models and future directions for understanding the neural circuitries of maternal behaviors in rodents.

Maternal behaviors in rodents include a number of subcomponents, such as nursing, nest building, licking and grooming of pups, pup retrieval, and maternal aggression. Because each behavior involves a unique motor pattern, a unique ensemble neural circuitry must underlie each behavior. To what extent there is overlap in terms of brain regions and specific neurons for each circuit is being actively investigated. This review will first examine overlapping and separate components of pup retrieval and maternal aggression circuitries while examining a central role for medial preoptic area (MPA) in both behaviors. With an emphasis on experimental approaches, the review will then highlight recent findings and propose future directions for understanding maternal behavior regulation. Finally, examples for why studying the neural basis of maternal behaviors can bring insights to other areas of neuroscience, such as feeding, addiction, and anxiety and aggression regulation will be provided.

Aggression↗
PubMed1985

Differences in patterns of pup care in mice. V--Pup ultrasonic emissions and pup care behavior.

Newborn mice, like all newborn rodents, are able to emit high frequency signals, in particular when they are put out of the nest. Moreover, it is known that in this situation retrieving behaviors are induced in the foster mother, which are likely to reveal stable differences across inbred strains of mice. The question that arises is whether these differences are causally linked to differences in the pup rate of signalling and/or to the capacity of the females of these strains to perceive them. To provide insights into this question, the behavior of 8 inbred strains of mice was observed: A/J, BALB/c, CBA/H, C57BL/6, C57Br, DBA, NZB and XLII. Pup ultrasonic calls of each of these strains, emitted in the same conditions as a retrieving test, were recorded and tabulated. Auditory sensitivities of females belonging to these strains were determined by auditory evoked potentials recorded in the inferior colliculus. These two variables were analysed in relation to scores of females of these strains on three variables of a retrieving test. Results show that the presence of other factors than auditory cues must be taken into account to describe differences across strains in retrieving performances. This conclusion has been confirmed by results obtained using cross-fostering procedure. Female mice unable to utilize ultrasonic information may use other sensory channels. Furthermore, female mice capable of perceiving ultrasounds may also be able to use different sensory modalities in different situations.

Animals↗