Evaluation of the anisotropic Green's function in three dimensional elasticity

A perturbation expansion technique for approximating the three dimensional anisotropic elastic Green's function is presented. The method employs the usual series for the matrix (I–A)^-1 to obtain an expansion in which the zeroth order term is an isotropic fundamental solution. The higher order contributions are expressed as contour integrals of matrix products, and can be directly evaluated with a symbolic manipulation program. A convergence condition is established for cubic crystals, and it is shown that convergence is enhanced by employing Voigt averaged isotropic constants to define the expansion point. Example calculations demonstrate that, for moderately anisotropic materials, employing the first few terms in the series provides an accurate solution and a fast computational algorithm. However, for strongly anisotropic solids, this approach will most likely not be competitive with the Wilson-Cruse interpolation algorithm.This research was sponsored by the Exploratory Studies Program of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Division of Materials Science, U. S. Department of Energy, under contract DE-AC05-84OR21400 with Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Inc.     

Intrinsic Motivation Systems for Autonomous Mental Development

Exploratory activities seem to be intrinsically rewarding for children and crucial for their cognitive development. Can a machine be endowed with such an intrinsic motivation system? This is the question we study in this paper, presenting a number of computational systems that try to capture this drive towards novel or curious situations. After discussing related research coming from developmental psychology, neuroscience, developmental robotics, and active learning, this paper presents the mechanism of Intelligent Adaptive Curiosity, an intrinsic motivation system which pushes a robot towards situations in which it maximizes its learning progress. This drive makes the robot focus on situations which are neither too predictable nor too unpredictable, thus permitting autonomous mental development. The complexity of the robot's activities autonomously increases and complex developmental sequences self-organize without being constructed in a supervised manner. Two experiments are presented illustrating the stage-like organization emerging with this mechanism. In one of them, a physical robot is placed on a baby play mat with objects that it can learn to manipulate. Experimental results show that the robot first spends time in situations which are easy to learn, then shifts its attention progressively to situations of increasing difficulty, avoiding situations in which nothing can be learned. Finally, these various results are discussed in relation to more complex forms of behavioral organization and data coming from developmental psychology     

Microstructure of aragonite grown at an air–liquid interface

Aragonite particles dispersed in a bioresorbable polymer matrix are considered to be a good candidate for bone prosthesis materials. It is important to characterize the microstructure of synthetic aragonite used for biomedical applications, since the microstructure may influence its integration, resorption and replacement by bone. We studied late stages of aragonite growth, at an air–liquid interface, from a solution not doped with additives. Comparison was made between the types of synthetic aragonite microstructure and that of aragonite which is found in nature (mollusc shells, gallstones, Earth's crust). The microstructure of natural aragonite is unique to certain classes of living organisms and the understanding of its structure/function relationships may help to select the types of synthetic aragonite for specific biomedical applications. Three types of synthetic aragonite were observed based on grain size and grain morphology. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Projection status of calbindin- and parvalbumin-immunoreactive neurons in the superficial layers of the rat's superior colliculus

Immunocytochemistry and retrograde labeling were used to define the thalamic projections of calbindin- and parvalbumin-containing cells in superficial layers of the rat's superior colliculus (SC). Quantitative analysis revealed that 90.8 +/- 2.2% (mean +/- standard deviation) of the calbindin-immunoreactive neurons in the stratum griseum superficiale (SGS) projected to the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGNd) and that 91.3 +/- 4.3% of calbindin-immunoreactive neurons in the stratum opticum (SO) projected to the lateral posterior nucleus (LP). In contrast, only 17.3 +/- 2.5% of parvalbumin-immunoreactive neurons in the SGS were found to project to the LGNd and 16.5 +/- 3.1% of the parvalbumin-immunoreactive SO cells were retrogradely labeled after LP injections. Few of the parvalbumin-immunoreactive neurons in either the SGS (7.2 +/- 2.5%) or the SO (9.2 +/- 2.5%) were GABA positive. The retrograde-labeling results suggest that parvalbumin-immunoreactive neurons in the rat's SO and SGS may either be primarily interneurons or have descending projections, while calbindin-containing cells are primarily thalamic projection neurons. These results are consistent with data from other rodents, but almost exactly the opposite of data that have been reported for the cat for these same populations of SC projection neurons. Such interspecies differences raise questions regarding the functional importance of expressing one calcium-binding protein versus another in a specific neuronal population.     

Quantitation of age-related mitochondrial DNA deletions in rat tissues shows that their pattern of accumulation differs from that of humans

We studied the postnatal development of the release of acetylcholine (ACh) and of presynaptic, release-inhibiting muscarinic autoreceptors in the rat hippocampus. To this end, hippocampal slices (350 microns thick) from rats of various postnatal ages (postnatal day 3 [P3] to P16) were preincubated with [3H]choline and stimulated twice (S1, S2: 360 pulses, 2 ms, 3 Hz, 60 mA) during superfusion with physiological buffer containing hemicholinium-3 (10 microM). In parallel, the activities of hemicholinium-sensitive high-affinity choline uptake (HACU, in synaptosomes) and of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT, in crude homogenates) were determined as markers for the cholinergic ingrowth. In hippocampal slices preincubated with [3H]choline, the electrically evoked overflow of 3H at S1 increased from 0.11 (P3) to 0.81% of tissue 3H (P16), the latter value being still much lower than that of hippocampal slices from adult rats (2.89% of tissue 3H). Already at P3 the evoked overflow of 3H was Ca(2+)-dependent and sensitive to tetrodotoxin, indicating an action potential-evoked exocytotic mechanism of ACh release. The muscarinic agonist oxotremorine (1 microM) significantly inhibited the evoked ACh release in hippocampal slices with increasing effectivity from P4 to P16; no significant effect was detectable at P3. The ACh esterase inhibitor physostigmine and the muscarinic antagonist atropine (1 microM, each) exhibited significant inhibitory and facilitatory effects, respectively, only at P15-16. The specific activities of both hippocampal HACU (pmoles/mg protein/min) and ChAT (nmoles/mg protein/min) continuously increased from P3 to P16. It is concluded (1) that cholinergic nerve terminals arriving at the hippocampal formation during postnatal ingrowth are already endowed with the apparatus for action potential-induced, Ca(2+)-sensitive (exocytotic) ACh release; (2) that, in contrast, the expression of presynaptic muscarinic autoreceptors on these cholinergic axon terminals is delayed; and (3) that autoinhibition due to endogenous ACh develops even later, probably when the density of presynaptic terminals in the hippocampus and hence, the concentration of released ACh has reached a suprathreshold value.     

Group B rotavirus associated with an outbreak of neonatal lamb diarrhea

A 66-year-old woman was admitted because of postmenopausal vaginal bleeding. Diagnostic workup revealed a poorly differentiated endometrial adenocarcinoma. A total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy was carried out (FIGO stage Ia, G3). One and a half years later she developed a solitary humeral metastasis which was treated by local radiotherapy and progesterone acetate. Because osseous metastases in endometrial adenocarcinoma are rare, the literature is reviewed. In analogy to the treatment of pulmonary metastases the option of disarticulation of the patient's arm is discussed.     

Genitourinary trauma in the pediatric patient

Trauma is the major source of mortality in the pediatric population. A retrospective review was performed on patients admitted to the Children's Hospital and Health Center Trauma Program, San Diego, California, from August 1984 to May 1990. The purpose of this review was to evaluate pediatric trauma and to determine the best treatment and evaluation for genitourinary injuries. Blunt trauma was responsible for 98 percent of the injuries, with renal injuries being the most common. Bladder (7) and male urethral (2) injuries, and vaginal lacerations (8) also occurred. The most severe renal injuries (70%) and all significant bladder and urethral injuries were associated with gross hematuria. Hypotension was present in 31 percent of patients but rarely required surgical exploration for correction. Eighty-six patients underwent radiographic imaging. Computerized tomography (CT) scans demonstrated the most information about intra-abdominal solid organ injuries but was inaccurate in detecting bladder or urethral injuries. Genitourinary injury is common in children but rarely requires surgical management. CT scan is the best study to determine extent of solid-organ injury but is inferior to cystourethrography to diagnose bladder or urethral injuries.     

The xenoestrogen bisphenol A induces growth, differentiation, and c-fos gene expression in the female reproductive tract

The xenoestrogen bisphenol A (BPA) has been shown to mimic estrogen both in vivo and in vitro. BPA stimulates PRL secretion and the expression of a PRL regulating factor from the posterior pituitary in the estrogen-sensitive Fischer 344 rat (F344), but not in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. The goal of the present studies was to examine the in vivo actions of BPA on the reproductive tract. The specific objectives were 1) to characterize the short term effects of BPA on cell proliferation and c-fos expression in the uterus and vagina, and 2) to compare the effects of prolonged exposure to low doses of BPA on the reproductive tract of F344 and SD rats. Treatment with single high doses of BPA induced cell proliferation in the uterus and vagina of ovariectomized F344 rats, as determined by bromodeoxyuridine immunostaining. This proliferation was dose dependent (from 37.5-150 mg/kg) and followed a time course similar to that of estradiol (E2). Quantitative RT-PCR revealed that both BPA and E2 increased c-fos messenger RNA levels in the uterus 14- to 16-fold within 2 h, which returned to basal levels after 6 h. In the vagina, BPA-induced c-fos expression remained elevated for up to 6 h, compared with the transient increase caused by E2. Treatment of F344 rats for 3 days with continuous release capsules that supplied a much lower dose of BPA (approximately 0.3 mg/kg x day) resulted in hypertrophy, hyperplasia, and mucus secretion in the uterus and hyperplasia and cornification of the vaginal epithelium. The reproductive tract of SD rats did not respond to this treatment paradigm with BPA. These studies demonstrate that 1) the molecular and morphological alterations induced by BPA in the uterus and vagina are nearly identical to those induced by estradiol; 2) the vagina appears to be especially sensitive to the estrogenic actions of BPA; 3) the reproductive tract of the inbred F344 rat appears more sensitive to BPA than that of the outbred SD rat; and 4) continuous exposure to microgram levels of BPA is sufficient for exerting estrogenic actions.