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Meth
Selected AbstractsA novel pharmacological concept in an animal model of psychosis,ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 2001R. R. Dawirs Objective:,We have analysed pharmacologically induced perturbation of functional and structural neurogenesis in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus. Method:,Juvenile gerbils received a single dose of methamphetamine (METH, 50 mg/kg, i.p.). In adults the following parameters were quantitatively investigated: prefrontal dopaminergic and GABAergic innervation densities (immunocytochemistry), morphogenesis of pyramidal cells (Golgi), dentate granule cell proliferation (BrdU-labelling), working memory and behavioural inhibition (delayed response, open-field). Results:,A single challenge of METH continuously suppresses granule cell proliferation in adult gerbils and initiates rewiring of neuronal networks in the PFC which run concurrently with the development of severe deficits in PFC-related behaviours. Conclusion:,It appears that a continuous remodelling of neuronal circuits is an inherent property of the brain, the biological significance of which seems to be to ascertain adaptive interaction between brain and environment. Learning more about drug-induced neuronal reorganization might be basic for understanding the genesis of psychotic conditions in the brain. This presentation is based both on own research and on a review of the literature. [source] MDMA, methamphetamine and their combination: possible lessons for party drug users from recent preclinical researchDRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, Issue 1 2007KELLY J. CLEMENS Abstract The substituted amphetamines 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ,Ecstasy') and methamphetamine (METH, ,ice', ,speed') are increasingly popular drugs amongst party-drug users. Studies with humans have investigated the acute and possible long-term adverse effects of these drugs, yet outcomes of such studies are often ambiguous due to a variety of confounding factors. Studies employing animal models have value in determining the acute and long-term effects of MDMA and METH on brain and behaviour. Self-administration studies show that intravenous METH is a particularly potent reinforcer in rats and other species. In contrast, MDMA appears to have powerful effects in enhancing social behaviour in laboratory animals. Brief exposure to MDMA or METH may produce long-term reductions in dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline in the brain and alterations in the density of various receptor and transporter proteins. However it is still unclear, particularly in the case of MDMA, whether this reflects a ,neurotoxic' effect of the drug. Lasting alterations in social behaviour, anxiety, depressive symptoms and memory have been demonstrated in laboratory rats given MDMA or METH and this matches long-term changes reported in some human studies. Recent laboratory studies suggest that MDMA/METH combinations may produce greater adverse neurochemical and behavioural effects than either drug alone. This is of some concern given recent evidence that party drug users may be frequently exposed to this combination of drugs. [source] Comparative rates of violent crime among regular methamphetamine and opioid users: offending and victimizationADDICTION, Issue 5 2010Shane Darke ABSTRACT Aims To determine the comparative levels of violent offending and victimization among regular methamphetamine and heroin users. Design Cross-sectional Setting Sydney, Australia. Participants A total of 400 regular methamphetamine (METH) and heroin (HER) users (118 methamphetamine users: METH; 161 regular heroin users: HER; 121 regular users of both: BOTH). Findings Eighty-two per cent reported a life-time history of committing violent crime, 41% in the past 12 months. There were no group differences in life-time violence, but the METH group were significantly more likely than the HER group to have committed violence in the past 12 months (odds ratio 1.94). Nearly all (95%) reported that they had been a victim of violent crime, 46% in the preceding 12 months, with no group differences. Those who had committed a violent crime in the past 12 months were 13.23 times more likely to have been a victim in that period. The majority believed it unlikely that they would be a victim of (78%), or commit (87%), a violent crime in the next 12 months. Conclusions Regular methamphetamine use appears to be associated with an increased risk of violent offending, but not victimization, compared with heroin use. [source] Genetic toxicity of methamphetamine in vitro and in human abusersENVIRONMENTAL AND MOLECULAR MUTAGENESIS, Issue 4 2003Jih-Heng Li Abstract Methamphetamine (METH) is a widely abused psychomotor stimulant. Although numerous studies have examined METH-induced neurotoxicity, its ability to produce genotoxic effects has not been evaluated. In this article, we report on the genotoxicity of METH in vitro and in human METH abusers. METH induced his+ revertants in Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100, and increased the frequency of hprt mutants, micronuclei, and sister chromatid exchange (SCE) in cultured Chinese hamster ovary K1 (CHO-K1) cells. These METH-induced genotoxic effects were eliminated if METH exposure was conducted in the presence of rat liver S9, indicating that the genotoxicity was caused by METH, and not by metabolites of METH. In addition, reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers inhibited the METH-induced micronuclei in CHO-K1 cells. Further investigation with 76 human long-term METH abusers and 98 unexposed controls demonstrated that total METH exposure correlated with micronucleus and SCE frequencies in cultured lymphocytes. The results of this study indicate that METH is a genotoxic agent and that ROS may play a role in METH-induced genotoxicity. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 42:233,242, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] PRECLINICAL STUDY: Changes in leptin, ghrelin, growth hormone and neuropeptide-Y after an acute model of MDMA and methamphetamine exposure in ratsADDICTION BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2008Firas H. Kobeissy ABSTRACT Club drug abuse is a growing problem in the United States. Beyond addiction and toxicity are endocrine effects which are not well characterized. Specifically, the changes in appetite following exposure to drugs of abuse are an interesting but poorly understood phenomenon. Serum hormones such as leptin, ghrelin, growth hormone (GH), and neuropeptide-Y (NP-Y) are known to affect appetite, but have not been studied extensively with drugs of abuse. In this work, we examine the effects of club drugs 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) (ecstasy) and methamphetamine (METH) (doses of 5, 20 and 40 mg/kg) on serum concentrations of these hormones in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours after drug administration. In a dose-dependent manner, MDMA was shown to cause transient significant decreases in serum leptin and GH followed by a base line recovery after 24 hours. Conversely, serum ghrelin increased and normalized after 24 hours. Interestingly, serum NP-Y showed a steady decrease in both treatment of MDMA and METH at different time points and dosages. In humans, abuse of these drugs reduces eating. As evident from these data, acute administration of METH and MDMA had significant effects on different serum hormone levels involved in appetite regulation. Future studies should be performed to see how chronic, low dose drug administration would affect hormone levels and try to answer questions about the physiological mechanisms involved in the anorexic paradigm observed in drug use. [source] Role of peroxynitrite in methamphetamine-induced dopaminergic neurotoxicity and sensitization in miceADDICTION BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2000Syed F. Ali Methamphetamine (METH)-induced dopaminergic neurotoxicity is thought to be associated with the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS). Recently, we have reported that copper/zinc(CuZn)-superoxide dismutase transgenic mice are resistant to METH-induced neurotoxicity. In the present study, we examined the role of the neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), susceptibility of nNOS knockout (KO) mice and sensitization to psychostimulants after neurotoxic doses of METH. Male SwissWebster mice were treated with or without 7-nitroindazole (7-NI) along with METH (5 mg/kg,ip,q 3h × 3) and were sacrificed 72 h after the last METH injection. Dopamine (DA) and dopamine transporter (DAT) binding sites were determined in striatum from saline and METH-treated animals. 7-NI completely protected against the depletion of DA, and DAT in striatum. In follow-up experiments nNOS KO mice along with appropriate control (C57BL/6N, SV129 and B6JSV129) mice were treated with METH (5 mg/kg,ip, q 3h × 3) and were sacrificed 72 h after dosing. This schedule of METH administrations resulted in only 10,20% decrease in tissue content of DA and no apparent change in the number of DAT binding sites in nNOS KO mice. However, this regime of METH resulted in a significant decrease in the content of DA as well as DAT binding sites in the wild-type animals. Pre-exposure to single or multiple doses of METH resulted in a marked locomotion sensitization in response to METH. However, the nNOS KO mice show no sensitization in response to METH after single or multiple injections of METH. Therefore, these studies strongly suggest the role of peroxynitrite, nNOS and DA system in METH-induced neurotoxicity and behavioral sensitization. [source] Methamphetamine-induced neurotoxicity and microglial activation are not mediated by fractalkine receptor signalingJOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY, Issue 2 2008David M. Thomas Abstract Methamphetamine (METH) damages dopamine (DA) nerve endings by a process that has been linked to microglial activation but the signaling pathways that mediate this response have not yet been delineated. Cardona et al. [Nat. Neurosci. 9 (2006), 917] recently identified the microglial-specific fractalkine receptor (CX3CR1) as an important mediator of MPTP-induced neurodegeneration of DA neurons. Because the CNS damage caused by METH and MPTP is highly selective for the DA neuronal system in mouse models of neurotoxicity, we hypothesized that the CX3CR1 plays a role in METH-induced neurotoxicity and microglial activation. Mice in which the CX3CR1 gene has been deleted and replaced with a cDNA encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) were treated with METH and examined for striatal neurotoxicity. METH depleted DA, caused microglial activation, and increased body temperature in CX3CR1 knockout mice to the same extent and over the same time course seen in wild-type controls. The effects of METH in CX3CR1 knockout mice were not gender-dependent and did not extend beyond the striatum. Striatal microglia expressing eGFP constitutively show morphological changes after METH that are characteristic of activation. This response was restricted to the striatum and contrasted sharply with unresponsive eGFP-microglia in surrounding brain areas that are not damaged by METH. We conclude from these studies that CX3CR1 signaling does not modulate METH neurotoxicity or microglial activation. Furthermore, it appears that striatal-resident microglia respond to METH with an activation cascade and then return to a surveying state without undergoing apoptosis or migration. [source] Minocycline attenuates microglial activation but fails to mitigate striatal dopaminergic neurotoxicity: role of tumor necrosis factor-,JOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY, Issue 3 2006Krishnan Sriram Abstract Activated microglia are implicated in the pathogenesis of disease-, trauma- and toxicant-induced damage to the CNS, and strategies to modulate microglial activation are gaining impetus. A novel action of the tetracycline derivative minocycline is the ability to inhibit inflammation and free radical formation, factors that influence microglial activation. Minocycline is therefore being tested as a neuroprotective agent to alleviate CNS damage, although findings so far have yielded mixed results. Here, we showed that administration of a single low dose of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) or methamphetamine (METH), a paradigm that causes selective degeneration of striatal dopaminergic nerve terminals without affecting the cell body in substantia nigra, increased the expression of mRNAs encoding microglia-associated factors F4/80, interleukin (IL)-1,, IL-6, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1, CCL2) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-,. Minocycline treatment attenuated MPTP- or METH-mediated microglial activation, but failed to afford neuroprotection. Lack of neuroprotection was shown to be due to the inability of minocycline to abolish the induction of TNF-, and its receptors, thereby failing to modulate TNF signaling. Thus, TNF-, appeared to be an obligatory component of dopaminergic neurotoxicity. To address this possibility, we examined the effects of MPTP or METH in mice lacking genes encoding IL-6, CCL2 or TNF receptor (TNFR)1/2. Deficiency of either IL-6 or CCL2 did not alter MPTP neurotoxicity. However, deficiency of both TNFRs protected against the dopaminergic neurotoxicity of MPTP. Taken together, our findings suggest that attenuation of microglial activation is insufficient to modulate neurotoxicity as transient activation of microglia may suffice to initiate neurodegeneration. These findings support the hypothesis that TNF-, may play a role in the selective vulnerability of the nigrostriatal pathway associated with dopaminergic neurotoxicity and perhaps Parkinson's disease. [source] ,-Opioid receptor knockout mice are insensitive to methamphetamine-induced behavioral sensitizationJOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, Issue 10 2010Xine Shen Abstract Repeated administration of psychostimulants to rodents can lead to behavioral sensitization. Previous studies, using nonspecific opioid receptor (OR) antagonists, revealed that ORs were involved in modulation of behavioral sensitization to methamphetamine (METH). However, the contribution of OR subtypes remains unclear. In the present study, using ,-OR knockout mice, we examined the role of ,-OR in the development of METH sensitization. Mice received daily intraperitoneal injection of drug or saline for 7 consecutive days to initiate sensitization. To express sensitization, animals received one injection of drug (the same as for initiation) or saline on day 11. Animal locomotor activity and stereotypy were monitored during the periods of initiation and expression of sensitization. Also, the concentrations of METH and its active metabolite amphetamine in the blood were measured after single and repeated administrations of METH. METH promoted significant locomotor hyperactivity at low doses and stereotyped behaviors at relative high doses (2.5 mg/kg and above). Repeated administration of METH led to the initiation and expression of behavioral sensitization in wild-type mice. METH-induced behavioral responses were attenuated in the ,-OR knockout mice. Haloperidol (a dopamine receptor antagonist) showed a more potent effect in counteracting METH-induced stereotypy in the ,-OR knockout mice. Saline did not induce behavioral sensitization in either genotype. No significant difference was observed in disposition of METH and amphetamine between the two genotypes. Our study indicated that the ,-opioid system is involved in modulating the development of behavioral sensitization to METH. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] The protective effect of melatonin on methamphetamine-induced calpain-dependent death pathway in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cultured cellsJOURNAL OF PINEAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2010Wilasinee Suwanjang Abstract:, Methamphetamine (METH) is a potent psychostimulant drug that may cause neuronal cell degeneration. The underlying mechanisms of METH-induced neuronal toxicity remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigated an important role of calpain-dependent cascades in methamphetamine-induced toxicity in human dopaminergic neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cultured cell lines. In addition, the protective effect of melatonin against METH-induced calpain-dependent death pathway was also investigated. The results of this study show that METH significantly decreased cell viability and tyrosine hydroxylase phosphorylation in SH-SY5Y cultured cells. Melatonin reversed the toxic effect of METH by inducing cell viability. In addition, melatonin was able to restore the reduction in mitochondrial function and phosphorylation of tyrosine hydroxylase in SH-SY5Y treated cells. An induction of calpain expression and activity but a reduction of calpain inhibitor (calpastatin) protein levels were observed in SH-SY5Y cells treated with METH but these effects were diminished by melatonin. These results implicated calpain-dependent death pathways in the processes of METH-induced toxicity and also indicated that melatonin has the capacity to reverse this toxic effect in SH-SY5Y cultured cells. [source] Cobalamin-Dependent and Cobalamin-Independent Methionine Synthases: Are There Two Solutions to the Same Chemical Problem?HELVETICA CHIMICA ACTA, Issue 12 2003Rowena Two enzymes in Escherichia coli, cobalamin-independent methionine synthase (MetE) and cobalamin-dependent methionine synthase (MetH), catalyze the conversion of homocysteine (Hcy) to methionine using N(5)-methyltetrahydrofolate (CH3 -H4folate) as the Me donor. Despite the absence of sequence homology, these enzymes employ very similar catalytic strategies. In each case, the pKa for the SH group of Hcy is lowered by coordination to Zn2+, which increases the concentration of the reactive thiolate at neutral pH. In each case, activation of CH3 -H4folate appears to involve protonation at N(5). CH3 -H4folate remains unprotonated in binary E,CH3 -H4folate complexes, and protonation occurs only in the ternary E,CH3 -H4folate,Hcy complex in MetE, or in the ternary E,CH3 -H4folate,cob(I)alamin complex in MetH. Surprisingly, the similarities are proposed to extend to the structures of these two unrelated enzymes. The structure of a homologue of the Hcy-binding region of MetH, betainehomocysteine methyltransferase, has been determined. A search of the three-dimensional-structure data base by means of the structure-comparison program DALI indicates similarity of the BHMT structure with that of uroporphyrin decarboxylase (UroD), a homologue of the MT2-A and MT2-M proteins from Archaea, which catalyze Me transfers from methylcorrinoids to coenzyme M and share the Zn-binding scaffold of MetE. Here, we present a model for the Zn binding site of MetE, obtained by grafting the Zn ligands of MT2-A onto the structure of UroD. [source] Coupled HM analysis using zero-thickness interface elements with double nodes.INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS, Issue 18 2008Part I: Theoretical model Abstract In recent years, the authors have proposed a new double-node zero-thickness interface element for diffusion analysis via the finite element method (FEM) (Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech. 2004; 28(9): 947,962). In the present paper, that formulation is combined with an existing mechanical formulation in order to obtain a fully coupled hydro-mechanical (or HM) model applicable to fractured/fracturing geomaterials. Each element (continuum or interface) is formulated in terms of the displacements (u) and the fluid pressure (p) at the nodes. After assembly, a particular expression of the traditional ,u,p' system of coupled equations is obtained, which is highly non-linear due to the strong dependence between the permeability and the aperture of discontinuities. The formulation is valid for both pre-existing and developing discontinuities by using the appropriate constitutive model that relates effective stresses to relative displacements in the interface. The system of coupled equations is solved following two different numerical approaches: staggered and fully coupled. In the latter, the Newton,Raphson method is used, and it is shown that the Jacobian matrix becomes non-symmetric due to the dependence of the discontinuity permeability on the aperture. In the part II companion paper (Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech. 2008; DOI: 10.1002/nag.730), the formulation proposed is verified and illustrated with some application examples. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Coupled HM analysis using zero-thickness interface elements with double nodes,Part II: Verification and applicationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS, Issue 18 2008J. M. Segura Abstract In a companion Part I of this paper (Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech. 2008; DOI: 10.1002/nag.735), a coupled hydro-mechanical (HM) formulation for geomaterials with discontinuities based on the finite element method (FEM) with double-node, zero-thickness interface elements was developed and presented. This Part II paper includes the numerical solution of basic practical problems using both the staggered and the fully coupled approaches. A first group of simulations, based on the classical consolidation problem with an added vertical discontinuity, is used to compare both the approaches in terms of accuracy and convergence. The monolithic or fully coupled scheme is also used in an application example studying the influence of a horizontal joint in the performance of a reservoir subject to fluid extraction. Results include a comparison with other numerical solutions from the literature and a sensitivity analysis of the mechanical parameters of the discontinuity. Some simulations are also run using both a full non-symmetric and a simplified symmetric Jacobian matrix. On top of verifying the model developed and its capability to reflect the conductivity changes of the interface with aperture changes, the results presented also lead to interesting observations of the numerical performance of the methods implemented. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Implicit integration of a chemo-plastic constitutive model for partially saturated soilsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS, Issue 14 2008H. W. Zhang Abstract A chemo-plastic constitutive model for partially saturated soils is proposed in this paper based on the existing models developed in Hueckel (Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech. 1997; 21:43,72) and Gallipoli et al. (Geotechnique 2003; 53:123,135). The chemical softening effects due to the increase in contaminant mass concentration are considered based on Hueckel's chemo-plastic model. Gallipoli's model is used to simulate the effects of suction and degree of saturation on mechanical behavior of partially saturated porous materials. In order to implement the proposed model in a finite element code, a fully implicit backward-Euler integration algorithm is put forward. Numerical solutions for the tests at local level and the application of the algorithm to the real boundary value problem demonstrate the accuracy and convergence properties of the proposed integration scheme. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Lateral force and centroid location caused by horizontal and vertical surcharge strip loads on a cross-anisotropic backfillINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS, Issue 13 2007Cheng-Der Wang Abstract This work presents analytical solutions for determining lateral force (force per unit length) and centroid location caused by horizontal and vertical surcharge surface loads acting on a cross-anisotropic backfill. The surcharge loading types are point load, line load, uniform strip load, upward linear-varying strip load, upward nonlinear-varying strip load, downward linear-varying strip load, and downward nonlinear-varying strip load. The planes of cross-anisotropy are assumed parallel to the backfill ground surface. The proposed solutions, derived by integrating the lateral stress solutions (Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech. 2005; 29:1341,1361), do not exist in literature. Clearly, the type and degree of material anisotropy, loading distance from the retaining wall, and loading types markedly impact the proposed solutions. Two examples are utilized to illustrate the type and degree of soil anisotropy, and the loading types on the lateral force and centroid location in the isotropic/cross-anisotropic backfills generated by the horizontal and vertical uniform, upward linear-varying and upward nonlinear-varying strip loads. The parametric study results demonstrate that the lateral force and centroid location accounting for soil anisotropy, loading distance from the retaining wall, dimension of the loading strip, and loading directions and types differ significantly from those estimated using existing isotropic solutions. The derived solutions can be added to other lateral pressures, such as earth pressure or water pressure, required for stability and structural analysis of a retaining wall. Additionally, they can simulate realistically actual surcharge loading problems in geotechnical engineering when backfill materials are cross-anisotropic. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Transient solution for a plane-strain fracture driven by a shear-thinning, power-law fluidINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS, Issue 14 2006D. I. Garagash Abstract This paper analyses the problem of a fluid-driven fracture propagating in an impermeable, linear elastic rock with finite toughness. The fracture is driven by injection of an incompressible viscous fluid with power-law rheology. The relation between the fracture opening and the internal fluid pressure and the fracture propagation in mobile equilibrium are described by equations of linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM), and the flow of fluid inside the fracture is governed by the lubrication theory. It is shown that for shear-thinning fracturing fluids, the fracture propagation regime evolves in time from the toughness- to the viscosity-dominated regime. In the former, dissipation in the viscous fluid flow is negligible compared to the dissipation in extending the fracture in the rock, and in the later, the opposite holds. Corresponding self-similar asymptotic solutions are given by the zero-viscosity and zero-toughness (J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech. 2002; 26:579,604) solutions, respectively. A transient solution in terms of the crack length, the fracture opening, and the net fluid pressure, which describes the fracture evolution from the early-time (toughness-dominated) to the large-time (viscosity-dominated) asymptote is presented and some of the implications for the practical range of parameters are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Directional response of a reconstituted fine-grained soil,Part I: experimental investigationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS, Issue 13 2006Daniele Costanzo Abstract This paper discusses the results of a large experimental program designed to investigate in a systematic manner the main features of the incremental response of fine-grained soils. The results are obtained from triaxial stress probing experiments carried out on a French silty clay (Beaucaire Marl). All the tests have been performed on reconstituted specimens, normally consolidated to an initial state which is either isotropic or anisotropic. In the interpretation of the experimental results, extensive use is made of the concept of strain response envelope. The response envelopes obtained for different stress increment magnitudes are remarkably consistent with each other and indicate an inelastic and irreversible material response, i.e. a strong dependence on the stress increment direction, also at relatively small strain levels. A companion paper (Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech., this issue, 2006) assesses the performance of some advanced constitutive models in reproducing the behaviour of reconstituted Beaucaire Marl as observed in this experimental program. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Incrementalization of a single hardening constitutive model for frictional materialsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS, Issue 7 2002P. V. Lade Abstract The governing equations for an elasto-plastic constitutive model for frictional materials such as soil, rock, and concrete are presented, and the incremental form is indicated in preparation for implementation of the model in a user-defined module for finite element calculations. This isotropic, work-hardening and -softening model employs a single yield surface, it incorporates non-associated plastic flow, and its capability of capturing the behaviour of different types of frictional materials under various three-dimensional conditions has been demonstrated by comparison with measured behaviour, as presented in the literature. The incrementalization procedure is indicated and the resulting equations for the single hardening model are presented together with parameters for a dense sand. Following the implementation of the model, these parameters are used for evaluation of different integration schemes as presented in a companion paper by Jakobsen and Lade (Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech. 2002; 26:661). Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Implementation algorithm for a single hardening constitutive model for frictional materialsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS, Issue 7 2002K. P. Jakobsen Abstract An advanced elasto-plastic constitutive model for frictional materials, whose incremental version is presented in a companion paper (Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech., 2002; 26:647), is implemented in a user-defined material module. The general calculation strategy inside this module is presented and discussed, including the initial intersection of the yield surface and the techniques for updating of stresses and hardening modulus. Several integration schemes are implemented in the module and their capabilities in relation to the advanced, three-dimensional constitutive model are evaluated. The forward Euler, modified Euler, and Runge,Kutta,Dormand,Prince integration schemes are explained in detail, compared, and evaluated in view of error tolerances and computational efficiency. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Additivity properties of graphs with Form II symmetryINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 3 2006A. Kaveh Abstract In this paper, the properties of previously developed Form II symmetry (Commun. Numer. Meth. Engng 2003; 19:125,136; 2004; 20:133,146) is further investigated. Additivity properties of graphs with this form are formulated, and the effect of adding or deleting members on the eigenvalues of the Laplacian matrices of the corresponding graphs, is studied. Depending on the category of the added or deleted members, the condensed submatrices on which changes occur are identified, and the necessary modifications are suggested. A mass-spring dynamic system is presented to illustrate a typical application of the latter approach. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A simple robust numerical integration algorithm for a power-law visco-plastic model under both high and low rate-sensitivityINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 1 2004E. A. de Souza Neto Abstract This note describes a simple and extremely robust algorithm for numerical integration of the power-law-type elasto-viscoplastic constitutive model discussed by Peri, (Int. J. Num. Meth. Eng. 1993; 36: 1365,1393). As the rate-independent limit is approached with increasing exponents, the evolution equations of power-law-type models are known to become stiff. Under such conditions, the solution of the implicitly discretized viscoplastic evolution equation cannot be easily obtained by standard root-finding algorithms. Here, a procedure which proves to be remarkably robust under stiff conditions is obtained by means of a simple logarithmic mapping of the basic backward Euler time-discrete equation for the incremental plastic multiplier. The logarithm-transformed equation is solved by the standard Newton,Raphson scheme combined with a simple bisection procedure which ensures that the iterative guesses for the equation unknown (the incremental equivalent plastic strain) remain within the domain where the transformed equation makes sense. The resulting implementation can handle small and large (up to order 106) power-law exponents equally. This allows its effective use under any situation of practical interest, ranging from high rate-sensitivity to virtually rate-independent conditions. The robustness of the proposed scheme is demonstrated by numerical examples. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Interior point optimization and limit analysis: an applicationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 10 2003Joseph Pastor Abstract The well-known problem of the height limit of a Tresca or von Mises vertical slope of height h, subjected to the action of gravity stems naturally from Limit Analysis theory under the plane strain condition. Although the exact solution to this problem remains unknown, this paper aims to give new precise bounds using both the static and kinematic approaches and an Interior Point optimizer code. The constituent material is a homogeneous isotropic soil of weight per unit volume ,. It obeys the Tresca or von Mises criterion characterized by C cohesion. We show that the loading parameter to be optimized, ,h/C, is found to be between 3.767 and 3.782, and finally, using a recent result of Lyamin and Sloan (Int. J. Numer. Meth. Engng. 2002; 55: 573), between 3.772 and 3.782. The proposed methods, combined with an Interior Point optimization code, prove that linearizing the problem remains efficient, and both rigorous and global: this point is the main objective of the present paper. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Solving singularly perturbed Riccati equation with MathematicaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 6 2003M. D. Mikhailov Abstract An exponentially fitted finite-difference scheme of order one for singularly perturbed Riccati equation has been presented and tested on three problems in this journal (Selvakumar K. Commun. Numer. Meth. Engng 1997; 13: 1,12). This note demonstrates the superiority of Mathematica in solving the same problems. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd [source] A note on the equivalence of two recent time-integration schemes for N -body problemsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 9 2002E. Graham Abstract This paper investigates the relationship between the energy- and momentum-conserving time-integration scheme of Simo and Gonzalez (Papers,American Society of Mechanical Engineers,All Series, 1993; 93(4)) and a momentum-conserving time-integration scheme due to Betsch and Steinmann (Int. J. Numer. Meth. Engng 2000; 49: 599) for N-body problems. The schemes are shown to be identical if the potential energy of interaction between masses is a polynomial function of the distances between the masses, of degree two or lower. In addition, they are shown to recover the same relative equilibria. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Quasi optimal finite difference method for Helmholtz problem on unstructured gridsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 10 2010Daniel T. Fernandes Abstract A quasi optimal finite difference method (QOFD) is proposed for the Helmholtz problem. The stencils' coefficients are obtained numerically by minimizing a least-squares functional of the local truncation error for plane wave solutions in any direction. In one dimension this approach leads to a nodally exact scheme, with no truncation error, for uniform or non-uniform meshes. In two dimensions, when applied to a uniform cartesian grid, a 9-point sixth-order scheme is derived with the same truncation error of the quasi-stabilized finite element method (QSFEM) introduced by Babu,ka et al. (Comp. Meth. Appl. Mech. Eng. 1995; 128:325,359). Similarly, a 27-point sixth-order stencil is derived in three dimensions. The QOFD formulation, proposed here, is naturally applied on uniform, non-uniform and unstructured meshes in any dimension. Numerical results are presented showing optimal rates of convergence and reduced pollution effects for large values of the wave number. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A variationally consistent mesh adaptation method for triangular elements in explicit Lagrangian dynamicsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 9 2010Sudeep K. Lahiri Abstract In this paper a variational formulation for mesh adaptation procedures, involving local mesh changes for triangular meshes, is presented. Such local adaptive changes are very well suited for explicit methods as they do not involve significant computational expense. They also greatly simplify the projection of field variables from the old to the new meshes. Crucially, the variational nature of the formulation used to derive the equilibrium equations at steps where adaptation takes place ensures that conservation of linear and angular momentum is obtained (Int. J. Numer. Meth. Engng 2000; 49:1295,1325). Several examples in 2-D showing the application of the proposed adaptive algorithms are used to demonstrate the validity of the methodology proposed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A Cartesian-grid collocation technique with integrated radial basis functions for mixed boundary value problemsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 4 2010Phong B. H. Le Abstract In this paper, high-order systems are reformulated as first-order systems, which are then numerically solved by a collocation method. The collocation method is based on Cartesian discretization with 1D-integrated radial basis function networks (1D-IRBFN) (Numer. Meth. Partial Differential Equations 2007; 23:1192,1210). The present method is enhanced by a new boundary interpolation technique based on 1D-IRBFN, which is introduced to obtain variable approximation at irregular points in irregular domains. The proposed method is well suited to problems with mixed boundary conditions on both regular and irregular domains. The main results obtained are (a) the boundary conditions for the reformulated problem are of Dirichlet type only; (b) the integrated RBFN approximation avoids the well-known reduction of convergence rate associated with differential formulations; (c) the primary variable (e.g. displacement, temperature) and the dual variable (e.g. stress, temperature gradient) have similar convergence order; (d) the volumetric locking effects associated with incompressible materials in solid mechanics are alleviated. Numerical experiments show that the proposed method achieves very good accuracy and high convergence rates. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Detection and quantification of flaws in structures by the extended finite element method and genetic algorithmsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 3 2010Haim Waisman Abstract This paper investigates the extended finite element method (XFEM)-GA detection algorithm proposed by Rabinovich et al. (Int. J. Numer. Meth. Engng 2007; 71(9):1051,1080; Int. J. Numer. Meth. Engng 2009; 77(3):337,359) on elastostatic problems with different types of flaws. This algorithm is designed for non-destructive assessment of structural components. Trial flaws are modeled using the XFEM as the forward problem and genetic algorithms (GAs) are employed as the optimization method to converge to the true flaw location and size. The main advantage of the approach is that XFEM alleviates the need for re-meshing the domain at every new iteration of the inverse solution process and GAs have proven to be robust and efficient optimization techniques in particular for this type of problems. In this paper the XFEM-GA methodology is applied to elastostatic problems where flaws are considered as straight cracks, circular holes and non-regular-shaped holes. Measurements are obtained from strain sensors that are attached to the surface of the structure at specific locations and provide the target solution to the GA. The results show convergence robustness and accuracy provided that a sufficient number of sensors are employed and sufficiently large flaws are considered. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Explicit coupled thermo-mechanical finite element model of steel solidificationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 1 2009Seid Koric Abstract The explicit finite element method is applied in this work to simulate the coupled and highly non-linear thermo-mechanical phenomena that occur during steel solidification in continuous casting processes. Variable mass scaling is used to efficiently model these processes in their natural time scale using a Lagrangian formulation. An efficient and robust local,global viscoplastic integration scheme (Int. J. Numer. Meth. Engng 2006; 66:1955,1989) to solve the highly temperature- and rate-dependent elastic,viscoplastic constitutive equations of solidifying steel has been implemented into the commercial software ABAQUS/Explicit (ABAQUS User Manuals v6.7. Simulia Inc., 2007) using a VUMAT subroutine. The model is first verified with a known semi-analytical solution from Weiner and Boley (J. Mech. Phys. Solids 1963; 11:145,154). It is then applied to simulate temperature and stress development in solidifying shell sections in continuous casting molds using realistic temperature-dependent properties and including the effects of ferrostatic pressure, narrow face taper, and mechanical contact. Example simulations include a fully coupled thermo-mechanical analysis of a billet-casting and thin-slab casting in a funnel mold. Explicit temperature and stress results are compared with the results of an implicit formulation and computing times are benchmarked for different problem sizes and different numbers of processor cores. The explicit formulation exhibits significant advantages for this class of contact-solidification problems, especially with large domains on the latest parallel computing platforms. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] An accelerated FFT algorithm for thermoelastic and non-linear compositesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 11 2008V. Vinogradov Abstract A fast numerical algorithm to compute the local and overall responses of non-linear composite materials is developed. This alternative formulation allows us to improve the convergence of the existing method of Moulinec and Suquet (e.g. Comput. Meth. Appl. Mech. Eng. 1998; 157(1,2):69,94). In the present method, a non-linear elastic (or conducting) material is replaced by infinitely many locally linear thermoelastic materials with moduli that depend on the values of the local fields. This makes it possible to use the advantages of an algorithm developed by Eyre and Milton (Eur. Phys. J. Appl. Phys. 1999; 6(1):41,47), which has faster convergence. The method is applied to compute the local fields as well as the effective response of non-linear conducting and elastic periodic composites. 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