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IAT Journal Animal Technology and Welfare G ATW goes open access G 70 years of IAT Education G Opinion Article G Congress 2019 Posters Part 3 Official Journal of the Institute of Animal Technology and European Federation of Animal Technologists ISSN 1742 0385 Vol 19 No 1 April 2020

CONTENTS Vol 19 No 1 April 2020 IAT Journal Animal Technology and Welfare G ATW goes open access G 70 years of IAT Education Editorial Jas Barley Chair of the Editorial Board ix It s OK NOT TO BE OKAY Let s Talk COVID 19 IAT Council xx 70 years of Animal Technician education Stephen W Barnett 1 An assessment of the validity of laboratory animal behavioural research as translatable models of early childhood adversity a review Kieran McManamon 7 Why talking is important Danielle Cox 25 The impact of training and development on staff working in Animal Research Sylvia Mehigan 31 G Opinion Article G Congress 2019 Posters Part 3 Official Journal of the Institute of Animal Technology and European Federation of Animal Technologists ISSN 1742 0385 Vol 19 No 1 April 2020 PAPER SUMMARY TRANSLATIONS 36 French German Italian Spanish OPINION ARTICLE The Concordat on Openness on Animal Research and Animal Technologists Wendy Jarrett 45 TECH 2 TECH What 3Rs idea have you developed Emma Filby 49 Sharing mouse resources Julie Roberts 52 An Animal Technician s life for me Stuart Saigeman 56 AS ET BURSARY ESSAY COMPETITION 63 Outline the responsibilities of the Named Animal Care and Welfare Officer in a facility licensed under the Animals Scientific Procedures Act 1986 as amended 2012 or the EU directive 2010 63 EU Discuss the ways in which you can assist the NACWO in ensuring the welfare of the animals in your care Rebecca McClean i

CONTENTS POSTER PRESENTATIONS ADVANCE MRC Harwell a new training centre for laboratory animal science and genetics Tertius Hough Mark Gardiner and Sara Wells 65 Competency assessment for skill acquisition the TASK model Beth Lotocki Heather Waldis Jason Davies Rhiannon Roark Karyn Shinn Lorne Celentano Amelia Schirmer and Danielle Meadows 68 E Learning a flexible learning solution for an ever changing world of work Fiona Jameson 71 A sweet change to the needle Gemma Forrest Abdul Sattar Paul Evenden Sylvie Sordello Peter Warn and Lucy Whitfield 73 Alternative handling techniques to reduce anxiety in laboratory mice Emily Thorpe 76 A technician s guide to ferret enrichment Sarah Holmes 79 Ferret influenza work at the Francis Crick Institute Caroline Zverev 82 A study into viable wooden enrichment objects for Syrian Hamsters Hannah Watson 86 Confronting crunching a refinement for the care of mice with the desire to crunch Tolga Oralman 89 The cotton rat a new challenge Alistair Ballantine D Rodgers Carolyn Watts and Samantha McBride 92 Does relative humidity affect reproducibility of animal research K Andersen K Petersen and C Andersen 97 Mirror mirror on the wall Pauline Reading Reece Reading and Callum Branstone 98 Index to Advertisers AS ET 48 AVID Plc iii Datesand Ltd IFC Institute of Animal Technology 44 96 IPS Product Supplies Ltd IBC ii LBS iv Somni Scientific vii Special Diets Services viii Sychem OBC Tecniplast UK Ltd xii

IAT REPRESENTATIVES OFFICERS Council Officers President Dr Robin Lovell Badge CBE FRS Immediate Past President Professor Sir Richard Gardner MA PhD FRSB FIAT Hon FRS Vice Presidents Senga Allan MIAT RAnTech David Anderson MRCVS Stephen Barnett BA MSc FIAT Hon CBiol FRSB RAnTech Miles Carroll PhD Brian Cass CBE Paul Flecknell MA Vet MB PhD DLAS DipLECVA MRCVS FIAT Hon Penny Hawkins PhD BSc Wendy Jarrett MA Judy MacArthur Clark CBE BVMS DLAS FRSB DVMS h c DipECLAM FRAgS DipACLAM MRCVS Fiona McEwen BSc BVM S MSc MRCVS Tim Morris BVetMed PhD DipACLAM DipECLAM CBiol FRSB CertLAS MRCVS Clive Page OBE PhD BSc Jan Bas Prins PhD MSc Vicky Robinson CBE BSc PhD Paul Sanders MIAT RAnTech David Spillane FIAT Gail Thompson RLATG Robert Weichbrod PhD RLATG Life Members Charlie Chambers MIAT RAnTech Roger Francis MSc FIAT RAnTech Pete Gerson MSc FIAT RAnTech Cathy Godfrey FIAT RAnTech John Gregory BSc Hons FIAT CBiol FRSB RAnTech Patrick Hayes FIAT DipBA RAnTech Robert Kemp FIAT Hon RAnTech Phil Ruddock MIAT RAnTech Ted Wills FIAT Hon RAnTech Honorary Members Mark Gardiner MIAT RAnTech Andy Jackson MIAT Sarah Lane MSc FIAT Brian Lowe MSc FIAT RAnTech Sue McHugh BSc FIAT Norman Mortell BA Hons MIAT RAnTech Terry Priest MBE FIAT RAnTech Trevor Richards BEM MIAT David Spillane FIAT Wendy Steel BSc Hons FIAT Pete Willan DMS FInstLM MIAT Members of Council Matthew Bilton Kally Booth Steven Cubitt Simon Cumming Haley Daniels Glyn Fisher Nicky Gent Alan Graham Nathan Hill Linda Horan Sam Jameson Elaine Kirkum Adele Kitching Theresa Langford Sylvie Mehigan Steve Owen Alan Palmer Allan Thornhill John Waters Lynda Westall Carole Wilson Adrian Woodhouse Chair Linda Horan BSc Hons MIAT RAnTech Vice Chair Glyn Fisher FIAT RAnTech Honorary Secretary Simon Cumming BSc FIAT RAnTech Treasurer Glyn Fisher FIAT RAnTech Chair of Board of Educational Policy Steven Cubitt MSc FIAT RAnTech Chair of Board of Moderators Haley Daniels MBA MSc MIAT RAnTech CIPD Chair Registration Accreditation Board Ken Applebee OBE FIAT CBiol FRSB RAnTech ATW Editor Jas Barley MSc FIAT RAnTech Bulletin Editor Carole Wilson BSc MIAT ATW Bulletin Editorial Board Jas Barley Chair Matthew Bilton Nicky Gent Patrick Hayes Elaine Kirkum Carole Wilson Lynda Westall Branch Liaison Officer Lynda Westall BSc Hons FIAT DMS RAnTech EFAT Representatives Glyn Fisher Alan Palmer Website Coordinator Allan Thornhill FIAT RAnTech Animal Welfare Officers and LABA Representatives Matthew Bilton Kally Booth Lois Byrom Simon Cumming Nicky Gent Sylvie Mehigan John Waters Board of Educational Policy Steven Cubitt Chair Adele Kitching Secretary v

Communications Group Adrian Woodhouse Chair Nathan Hill Elaine Kirkum Teresa Langford Sylvie Mehigan Allan Thornhill Lynda Westall CPD Officer Vacant Registration and Accreditation Board Glyn Fisher Secretary John Gregory Cathy Godfrey Kathy Ryder Home Office Stuart Stevenson Observer Ngaire Dennison LAVA Congress Committee Alan Graham Chair Haley Daniels Linda Horan Adele Kitching Allan Thornhill John Waters IAT OFFICERS MAY BE CONTACTED VIA IAT Administrator admin iat org uk OR VIA THE IAT WEBSITE AT www iat org uk Diversity Officer Haley Daniels MBA MSc MIAT RAnTech CIPD UK Biosciences ASG Representative Home Office Steve Owen Alan Palmer OR THE REGISTERED OFFICE 5 South Parade Summertown Oxford OX2 7JL Advertisement Managers PRC Associates Ltd Email mail prcassoc co uk BRANCH SECRETARIES 2020 Cambridge Edinburgh Huntingdon Suffolk Norfolk Ireland London Midlands North East England North West Oxford Surrey Hampshire Sussex West Middlesex Wales West West of Scotland Sarah Shorne Janice Young Jo Martin Lisa Watson Rebecca Towns Ian Fielding Rachel Sandy and Joanne Bland Nicky Windows April Shipton Francesca Whitmore Josefine Woodley Rhys Perry Linda Horan cambridgebranch iat org uk edinburghbranch iat org uk hssbranch iat org uk irelandbranch iat org uk londonbranch iat org uk midlandsbranch iat org uk northeastbranch iat org uk cheshirebranch iat org uk oxfordbranch iat org uk shsbranch iat org uk westmiddxbranch iat org uk waleswestbranch iat org uk westscotlandbranch iat org uk Although every effort is made to ensure that no inaccurate or misleading data opinion or statement appear in the journal the Institute of Animal Technology wish to expound that the data and opinions appearing in the articles poster presentations and advertisements in ATW are the responsibility of the contributor and advertiser concerned Accordingly the IAT Editor and their agents accept no liability whatsoever for the consequences of any such inaccurate or misleading data opinion statement or advertisement being published Furthermore the opinions expressed in the journal do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor or the Institute of Animal Technology 2020 Institute of Animal Technology All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission from the publisher vi

April 2020 Animal Technology and Welfare THE INSTITUTE OF ANIMAL TECHNOLOGY ETHICAL STATEMENT In the conduct of their Professional duties Animal Technologists have a moral and legal obligation at all times to promote and safeguard the welfare of animals in their care recognising that good laboratory animal welfare is an essential component of good laboratory animal technology and science The Institute recognises and supports the application of the principles of the 3Rs Replacement Reduction Refinement in all areas of animal research Editorial Jas Barley Chair of the Editorial Board Welcome to the 70th Anniversary year of the Institute of Animal Technology This is also the 70th year of an official Journal of the IAT which has metamorphosed through various looks and titles to the current Journal Animal Technology and Welfare In this special year we celebrate that we are now open access which means that the Journal is available to everyone without subscription which I also hope means that our audience will grow especially amongst technicians in other countries who have not had access previously This was not the editorial I intended to introduce our 70th year of both the Institute and our official Journal However as we are all only too aware we are living through unprecedented times not just in the UK but globally I am writing this on the day that the UK Government has announced a lockdown and everyone not classed as an essential worker must stay at home as much as possible Well ladies and gentlemen you are essential and we value your efforts to get to work everyday and care for your animals One thing that is clear the spirit of Animal Technologists Animal Technicians it doesn t matter what we call ourselves it is what we do that counts is alive and as strong as it was in 1950 Having known some of the early pioneers of what became the IAT they would have been proud of you all We all recognise that animal welfare must come first but at the same time we must protect our human colleagues and our family at home as well as the wider community The IAT Council knows that many of you are faced with very difficult decisions at this time and which may affect your own wellbeing Haley Daniels our Diversity Officer with help of experts in the field has put together It s OK NOT TO BE OKAY Let s Talk COVID 19 which is some advice on how to cope with difficult emotions etc that may affect your own health Of course another impact of pandemic are the restrictions on meetings which has led to the cancellation of AST2020 which was due to replace our annual Congress It must be heartbreaking for the organising committee which included the IAT s own Congress Committee that two years of work planning this meeting has been scuppered through no fault of theirs However as I speak we are working to bring posters and papers that would have been presented at AST2020 to you via ATW As a way of celebrating the work of the IAT and Animal Technologists I am using the theme of Making a Difference I was planning each issue this year to concentrate on major areas that the IAT has influenced but we will have to see how the year develops Future issues will contain some papers from the different decades of the Journal This issue of ATW celebrates the IAT s work to improve Animal Technologist education and training Steve Barnett s history of how the Institute as we now think of it has continually strived to provide a first rate education system for technicians both in the UK and overseas An example of IAT education can be seen in Kieran McManamon s IAT Fellowship thesis which looks at the validity of animal models of early childhood adversity This is the first award of a Fellowship by thesis for some time and Kieran is to be congratulated for seeing this mammoth task through to fruition Danielle Cox s paper on the benefits of sharing knowledge between two related but quite different animal based careers is a useful insight on a different approach to training Our formal papers conclude with an insight into a survey of training Animal Technicians and research staff in the Republic of Ireland USA and the UK Once again we have an opinion article this time from Wendy Jarret the CEO of Understanding Animal Research and an IAT Vice President who talks about the role of Animal Technologists in the Concordat of Openness Training and education is also covered in the first three offerings of the poster section all from Congress 2019 They deal with the establishment of a new training centre how one multi national company is ensuring equal standards in animal care through training across the globe and there is another presentation from a training company on E learning Other posters include the use of a jelly containing analgesic to refine the administration of post surgical analgesia in mice two posters on Ferrets in the research environment the challenge of dealing with a new species and a look at environmental enrichment for the Syrian hamster It is interesting to see the social media response to the current situation is to circulate pictures and videos of animals showing both natural and some might call it unnatural behaviour Animals are important to people and you are essential for the animals you look after if you think about it you are the equivalent to the NHS as far as animals are concerned They value you and so does your Institute Stay safe and well ix

April 2020 Animal Technology and Welfare 70 years of Animal Technician Education STEPHEN W BARNETT c o Editor ATW Institute of Animal Technology 5 South Parade Summertown Oxford OX2 7JL Correspondence atweditor iat org uk Introduction This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Institute of Animal Technology IAT and we look forward to being able to celebrate the fact later in the year Anniversaries also provide the opportunity to look back to record what has been achieved over the life of the organisation This article attempts to look at the major stages in the development of the Institute with particular reference to education The topics covered will mainly be concerned with qualifications and courses but will also cover the role of the Journal Congress and Branches in the dissemination of knowledge As the IAT would have achieved nothing without those members willing to give their time and talent to run it a few major players in the organisation will be mentioned A brief history What we now know as the Institute of Animal Technology IAT started life as the Association of Animal Technicians ATA in 1950 In 1948 the Medical Research Council Laboratory Animal Bureau LAB organised a Congress of Senior Animal Attendants it was a success so it was repeated the following year At this second meeting a proposal was made that the possibility of forming an Association of Animal Technicians should be investigated 1 A small committee including D J Short and A E Mundy was given the task to develop the idea At the Congress in 1950 the committee presented its report and draft rules which G G G G G to establish a scientific organisation for animal technicians the publication of a quarterly journal the formation of local branches to establish training facilities examinations and to issue diplomas ultimately to apply for Institute status Table 1 ATA Objectives 1950 were accepted by the meeting and thus the Association of Animal Technicians was established The original objectives of the Association are listed in Table 1 At this point it is worth considering what the situation was for laboratory animal staff before the ATA started its work In an account of conditions in laboratory animal houses at the time Len Bagnall describes a situation where most animal houses were manned by porters and animal attendants with no education courses and variable on the job training 2 Often young people were assigned to look after animals for six months before transferring for training as laboratory technicians Len was referring to the situation in general his own situation as far as training was concerned was better because of his enlightened super visor Marjorie Sandiford She was to become a long term council member and secretary of the ATA and IAT All people employed in animal houses were to benefit from the new organisation particularly those in the poorest situations described by Len The new Association was welcomed not just by those working in the animal house the term animal facility was not commonly used at this time but by the scientists that used the animals In his forward to the first edition of the ATA Journal Sir Alan Parks FRS wrote In the past the animal house perhaps located in some odd corner or basement has too often been the neglected relative of the laboratory and the staff have received little encouragement except to better themselves by promotion to the laboratory 3 By contrast it is now being recognised that the animal house was becoming a key point not less important and perhaps even more important than the laboratory itself and that a happy efficient and progressive staff of animal technicians is essential for the success and effectiveness of any research which involves animals In these circumstances the Animal Technicians 1

70 years of Animal Technician Education Association comes into being at a critical moment The Association must ensure that the modern view of the status of the animal house and its staff is extended and consolidated and what is more it must ensure that the enhanced prestige of animal technicians is justified by their professional standards This support is echoed by other eminent scientists of the time including Sir Solly Zuckermann FRS and Sir Percival Hately FRS who the early journal editors persuaded to write forewords to the first few volumes The new ATA council had a heavy workload to achieve the objectives it set itself and it started to achieve them in a remarkably short time These will be considered later in the article The last objective to gain Institute status had to wait until 1965 to be completed The term Institute is a protected term in the UK that means it can only be used if the organisation is approved by a government body in 1965 that was the Board of Trade Only professional bodies of the highest status are accepted as Institutes It took several years and a lot of work for the ATA to prove they deserved the title but by doing so the status of the organisation and its members was immediately raised Syllabus and qualifications In less than a year of establishing the ATA the Council had established a Board of Studies chaired by D Short who developed a syllabus for three levels of animal technicians and had also organised a pilot course and an examination system 4 A remarkable achievement particularly when it is realised they were starting from a completely blank canvas Although syllabuses have been updated many times and the form of them have changed current syllabuses are still heavily influenced by that first one The history of the Institute education system is well documented by Ken Applebee in a paper published in 2013 6 His paper traces the development of the syllabus over the years and explains the reasons for the change to the completely new system started in 2007 Up to 2007 all examinations at Certificate Membership and Fellowship levels were conducted by the IAT Board of Education The system had served the Institute and its members well since the ATA was first formed however as we approached the new millennium it was felt that both within and outside the Institute that it was no longer suitable The council instituted a root and branch review of its education system The result of the review was the recommendation that the Institute should seek to develop a new system that would be recognised by the government Qualification and Curriculum Authority QCA now Ofqual A group under the chairmanship of Bob Kemp and with the exper t guidance of Brian Lowe worked on the submission with the result that the Institute was approved as QCA Awarding Organisation This means 2 that although the assessment of candidates is no longer carried out by the Institute itself ensuring the quality of those assessments and of the people responsible for setting and marking the assessment is So while the Institute no longer directly sets and marks examinations it still remains responsible for ensuring standards are maintained Apprenticeships In his 2013 paper Ken Applebee mentions starting negotiations with the Medical Research Council to develop Animal Technology Apprenticeships 6 Apprenticeships involve young people of 16 years of age or older studying Animal Technology and related subjects full time in a school or college environment with the added element of working alongside experienced technologists These apprenticeships are now in place and the first apprentices are about to take their End Point Assessments Developing these apprenticeships has been a time consuming and complex task mainly carried out by Mark Gardiner of the MRC and Brian Lowe It is hoped they will be of benefit to the industry and to the Institute As this is a government scheme it also attracts fees for the Institute that can be ploughed into further educational activities Higher education The changes mentioned so far have concentrated on the further education stages of IAT qualifications levels 2 and 3 as they are now called changes have also been made in the higher education programme By 2013 when Ken wrote his paper both level 4 equivalent to first year degree and level 5 equivalent to second year degree were established the courses were organised by the Institute and were moderated by the Middlesex University At that time discussions were being held between the Institute and the University of Middlesex to develop a level 6 qualification that would result in a BSc degree in Laboratory Animal Science and Technology Unfortunately changes in University regulations prevented the University from completing the level 6 discussions and also meant they had to withdraw from moderating levels 4 and 5 putting at risk the Institute s higher education programme This potential disaster was averted because as an Ofqual approved awarding organisation the Institute itself could award qualifications up to level 6 the Institute applied for the necessary authorisation and took over validating the higher education programme Although a level 6 qualification recognised by Ofqual is accepted to be equivalent to a university degree only Universities and the Archbishop of Canterbury are authorised to award degrees in the UK so the qualification cannot be called a BSc In all other respects it is treated in the same way for instance it can be used as a qualification to enrol on a relevant Masters degree course The Institute has recognised level 6 in Animal Technology

70 years of Animal Technician Education as the educational requirement to apply for its Fellowship In 2018 the IAT released its own academic gown and hood Figure 1 As they are now the Awarding Organisation IAT can no longer organise the HE courses they cannot validate their own courses The College of Laboratory Animal Science and Technology CLAST was formed as a completely separate company to take over running the Higher Education courses CLAST is now responsible for all HE courses in Animal Technology The full higher education programme is now operating and several graduation ceremonies have been held Figure 2 Course provision Figure 1 Patrick Mason wearing FIAT academic dress at the 2017 graduation ceremony The way Animal Technology courses are provided has also changed in the last fifteen years It appears from early Journals that the ATA organised short courses from time to time and set up examination days a few times a year Later responsibility for teaching was taken up by technical colleges and colleges of Further Education who relied on experienced Animal Technologists to teach the animal technology section of the syllabus By the late 1970s and early 80s most parts of the country were close to centres offering Animal Technology courses Some larger employers organised their own training courses One College offered Animal Technology by distance learning but apart from this students were released by their employers to attend college for one day a week for 36 weeks per year 7 The Certificate course took one year the Membership and Fellowship each took two years Releasing staff for this amount of time caused problems for employers and this together with the changes outlined by Ken Applebee resulted in less students on College courses and therefore a reduction in Figure 2 HE Graduation 2014 3

70 years of Animal Technician Education Colleges offering Animal Technology courses 6 College courses have been replaced by independen providers offering courses on employers premises or by distance learning 6 Higher education courses are provided in a different manner Each of the levels consist of four units one unit is completed in each semester Most units require students to attend for a four day block at the beginning of the unit and two one day seminars later in the semester The rest of the time is taken up with guided learning using internet support The IAT Journal The importance of the ATA and IAT Journals as educational resources cannot be over emphasised Updating knowledge communicating best practice and reporting experimental findings is essential for all professions The first edition was published within three months of the ATA being formed Figure 5 It was made up of 17 type written pages and was reproduced on a Gestetner duplicator and the pages collated by hand To produce their first edition in so short a time especially by such a labour intensive method was another great achievement of the early Council and the number of advertisements increased Over the years the design of the Journal has changed both in its name and its design Recent volumes have benefitted from being able to use colour illustrations a great improvement on the black and white version of the earliest editions In 1964 the Council decided to introduce a new magazine the Bulletin to provide a closer link with members allowing a means by which they could contribute news and opinions 7 Council reports and other official announcements now use the Bulletin and the Journal concentrates on scientific and technical papers A journal is only as good as the papers that technical staff submit for publication and it is pleasing to note that the standard of papers is very high The Tech 2Tech section provides a good oppor tunity for technicians to share their ideas and with the support of the editor it is hoped more will take advantage of that It will be obvious by now that the Institute has taken the decision to produce the Journal electronically and to make it fully open access to comply with Plan S So far there have been 70 volumes of the Journal and 55 volumes of the Bulletin Congress and branch meetings Earlier it was mentioned that most further education courses are now run in the workplace or by distance learning There are good reasons for this practice but there is a major disadvantage which is that technicians no longer have the regular opportunity to meet talk to and learn from colleagues employed in other establishments while at College This networking is an impor tant if somewhat unrecognised education resource Fortunately Congress and Branch meetings exist to provide a point of contact Figure 3 The first edition of the ATA Journal 1950 The first edition was a mixture of news items and reports from Council and branches the sort of thing we now see in the Bulletin It also included scientific and technical papers that are seen in the IAT Journal Animal Technology and Welfare By the third edition the Association was able to afford professional printing 4 A Congress is not the same as a conference although it has some of the same elements Congress as Mundy points out is a gathering 5 It brings together people who have similar interests so they can discuss problems successes ideas as well as make contacts with possible collaborators Learning by talking to colleagues may be considered soft education but it is of great importance The opportunity to listen to presentations given by experts in their field is an invaluable part of continuing education Add to that trade exhibits demonstrating the latest equipment and services available to the bio medical industry and the availability of participation in workshops as provided by the annual IAT Congress enriches technologists and technicians continuing professional education The original Congresses predate the establishment of the ATA The first was held in London in 1948 and two were held in 1949 one in Edinburgh and one in

70 years of Animal Technician Education Reading These were organised by the MRC Laboratory Animal Bureau who continued to organise Congresses until 1965 when the newly named Institute of Animal Technology took over responsibility for them It has organised them every year since The IAT Congress is the largest laboratory animal meeting in the UK All of the organisation and arrangements are made by Animal Technologists formed into a Congress Committee who voluntarily spend time inviting speakers arranging a trade fair the social events hotel accommodation and dealing with registrations The venues are booked several years in advance Once the Congress ends work starts on the next one Branches Much of what has been said about the importance of Congress is equally true of IAT branches London technicians formed the first ATA branch in 1950 and it is still going strong At the 21st Anniversary in 1971 there were 21 Branches 5 The current number has dropped to 13 but that is probably explained by a reduction in the number of research establishments A perusal of branch reports in the Bulletin show how vibrant they are arranging symposia and lectures as well as more social events People The IAT like the ATA before it is dependent on individual Animal Technologists volunteering to stand for Council and then to take on the jobs that need doing All do important jobs but a few stand out for various reasons Some of the founders of the ATA I have already mentioned D J Short who was the first Chair of Council a position he held for 20 years He also chaired the first Board of Education and therefore was responsible for the early development of the education system A E Mundy served for ten years as the first Figure 4 Dorothy Woodnott with Professor Sir Richard Gardner IAT President 1986 2006 at the IAT 60th Figure 5 Dorothy Woodnott with Keith Millican IAT Chair of Council 1980 1994 secretary One other person deserves to be mentioned and that is Dorothy Woodnott Figures 4 and 5 she was a member of the first council and took a number of key roles over the 30 years she remained a member including editor of the Journal Chair of the Board of Education and for nine years as Chair of Council When she retired she moved to Canada but she returned often and sometimes those visits coincided with Congress The last time she visited was in the 60th anniversary year She was the last link with the founders of the Institute as sadly she died in 2018 In his article on IAT Education published in 2013 Ken Applebee rightly mentioned the role of Bob Kemp and Brian Lowe in developing the current educational Figure 6 Ken Applebee 5

70 years of Animal Technician Education system He modestly left out one person who has been pivotal in the educational development over the last 20 years that is Ken Applebee6 himself It is thanks to Ken and Brian that we have both the further and higher education systems that we have today Conclusions This article has sought to map the development of the education in the IAT and the effect that has had on the status of animal technical staff Until the ATA was formed in 1950 there was no formal education and little informal education and training for those looking after laboratory animals Now An individual technician can progress from a level 2 qualification to a qualification equivalent to a University degree all within the IAT education system There is an IAT Journal that is read around the world and has been adopted as the official journal not only of the IAT but of European Animal technicians as well There is a Congress every year that is the biggest in the UK There are 13 Branches organising talks symposia visits and social events throughout the year The most important function an Institute has is its educational one It not only has to establish a workable system but must constantly ensure the system remains relevant and works in the interest of its members the industry and continues to improve animal welfare and the validity of scientific research results It is clear from the above that the Institute of Animal Technology has achieved this in its first 70 years Long may it continue Acknowledgements I wish to thank the following people Jas Barley who provided me with relevant Journals from earlier years and did some research for me Elaine Kirkum looked up a number of the earliest Journals they are a fascinating read Ken Applebee provided me with some very useful documents and answered several of my queries References 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 Journal of the Association of Animal Technicians 1950 Vol 1 Nos 1 Bagnell L 1998 A History of the ATA and IAT Unpublished Document Parks A S 1950 Foreword JATA Journal Vol 1 Nos 1 Mundy A E 1950 From the Secretary s Desk JATA Vol 1 Nos 3 Mundy A E 1971 21 Years in Retrospect JIAT Vol 22 Nos 3 Applebee K A 2013 IAT Education Past Present and Future JATW Vol 12 Nos 1 7 Porter R I 1986 An alternative way to learn JAIT Vol 37 Nos 3

April 2020 Animal Technology and Welfare An assessment of the validity of laboratory animal behavioural research as translatable models of early childhood adversity KIERAN McMANAMON Biological Services Unit University College Cork Cork Ireland Correspondence k mcmanamon ucc ie Submitted to the Institute of Animal Technology 2019 as a FIAT Literature Review Thesis Summary In mammals early life experiences from post partum to adolescence shape the response to chronic stress and its related disorders later during their adult lives Laboratory animals predominantly rodents are used in preclinical research models of early life adversity to determine the pathogenesis of stress related psychiatric disorders such as depression PostTraumatic Stress Disorder PTSD and anxiety disorders By tracking the behaviour of rodents and obtaining neurochemical data the impact of early life traumatic events can provide insights into stressinduced risk of psychiatric disorders in humans The value of using rodents in models of childhood adversity is dependent on an integrative approach of finding common endophenotypes between the species This review finds that there are deficiencies in dealing with conceptual issues including genetic influences and inter individual differences in vulnerability or resilience to negative consequences of stress The need for standardisation and quality control incorporating better experimental design and an understanding of the strengths and limitations of the models used is prominent in current literature This review outlines the frameworks and hypotheses that form the basis for the use of rodent models of early childhood adversity The outcome of this review is that there is justification for the use of laboratory animal models to investigate individual symptoms or markers of early childhood adversity and associated psychiatric disorders The frequently used rodent paradigms of early years adversity provide a significant wealth of information of the impact of early life stress on the functioning and architecture of the relevant brain regions and associated behavioural and physiological changes in mammals Future research should focus on developing high quality rodent models of early childhood stress with the benefit of input from specialists designing human clinical research This combined with reproducible carefully designed experiments incorporating translatable rodent models will help achieve increased validity of preclinical research of early childhood adversity Introduction Context The author is the laboratory animal facility Manager and oversees the research and the provision of access to laboratory animal services to the Life Sciences and in vivo research groups in University College Cork UCC Ireland The diagram below outlines the daily duties that form a context for interaction with laboratory animal behavioural research that is linked to the research hypotheses of this thesis Figure 1 Relevance of career pathway to this FIAT Thesis 7

An assessment of the validity of laboratory animal behavioural research as translatable models of early childhood adversity Background A laboratory animal model is an experimental paradigm specifically designed to study a known phenomenon present in humans The current animal models incorporating rodents are not complete models of human early life stress but are designed to provide information on specific elements of the disorder being assessed All rodent models of early childhood adversity provide information on the biological basis of anxiety and depressive disorders in humans but due to the complex nature of these disorders cannot be compared directly to the human disorders 1 Figure 2 provides an overview of the principle areas researched in this thesis To achieve this refinement and standardisation of experiments input from specialists in the areas of psychiatry scientific research scientific ethical review genetics psychology behavioural sciences and neurosciences will be required 6 Methodology Introduction In researching the validity of laboratory animal models for early childhood adversity a detailed review of the literature relating to both animal models of early childhood adversity and the impact of early childhood adversity on subsequent mental health was undertaken University College Cork library was the primary source Using nested searches the keywords used were rodent OR model AND early life OR juvenile adversity AND maternal OR separation AND anxiety OR depression AND Validity These search words were entered in the following databases PubMed Scopus Web of Science and Science Direct Figure 3 All final selection publication references were saved to the Mendeley referencing system library 10 Mendeley s function of alerts for relevant journals and articles of interest produced a significant number of the additional publications used in this research The author is a reviewer of behavioural research projects Figure 1 involving models of early life adversity in both rats and mice and therefore also had access to relevant journals through the references provided during these reviews Figure 2 Areas of research for FIAT thesis Adverse early life experiences are believed to have a lifelong impact on the mental health and emotional quality of life experienced thereafter One such early life adversity is a deficiency in the normal motheroffspring relationship in early life 2 Maternal Separation Maternal Deprivation MS MD which is the most widely used animal model for early life intermittent stress involves removing rodent pups from their mother for protracted periods of time from postnatal day PND 2 3 More recent research has resulted in the development of models that include chronic rather than intermittent stress in which the mother rat is present or in close proximity to the developing pups but in environments that adversely affect and interrupt the normal nurturing of the offspring 2 4 For a model to be translatable there is a requirement to identify common endophenotypes elemental components of a given disorder that have been shown to have the same effect in both species which can be studied under a synchronised experimental regime 5 8 The search was refined to 71 peer reviewed journals published 2007 2019 Figure 3 The journals returned and saved to Mendeley library were sorted into categories in accordance with the objectives of the report Table 1 The Vancouver referencing system is used throughout this thesis Data Bases Search Results

An assessment of the validity of laboratory animal behavioural research as translatable models of early childhood adversity Article Subject Matter Number Publication Year Range Detailed rodent 25 2011 2019 29 2010 2019 10 2011 2017 7 2011 2018 experimental models of early life adversity Behavioural and psychological impact of early life adversity stress in both humans and rodents as evidenced by published research Conceptual issues relating to the use of rodents as models for early life adversity Quality control and public interest Table 1 Categories of journal articles in the final review Data Analysis see Section 2 4 for explanation Figure 3 Selection process for articles for systemic review of the validity of Laboratory Animal Models of Early Childhood Adversity Adapted from 11 Categories of Articles in Final Selection The majority of the journals selected were original research articles In order to develop chapters by themes the articles were categorised and saved as per Table 1 Not all articles listed are cited in the references as some were retained for supplemental reading understanding of the research into early life adversity and the complexity of the animal models developed to investigate them The information was evaluated using Presentation Relevance Objectivity Methodology Provenance Timeliness PROMPT guidelines 12 This included an evaluation of whether the information was presented in a clearly laid out structure The relevance of the material to the objectives of the project was also evaluated The objectivity of the author of each article was assessed for bias or vested interests The methodology was assessed for being appropriate and trustworthy The provenance of the material was assessed against the supporting institutions and publisher The relevance of the information was checked during the filtering stages and old obsolete material discarded The timeliness of the article s publication in relation to the research cited within was also assessed A meta analysis of the data collected was not possible in this project as quantitative data provided in the 25 animal model studies could not be analysed against the quantitative data published from the 9 human clinical studies The variety of the information gathered in the total 71 studies was deemed to provide insufficient information for an effective meta analysis The impact of early childhood adversity Background The postnatal period of development in both rodents and humans has been identified as a significantly sensitive and important window of brain development Indeed growth and connectivity in the brain is at its highest during the early developmental years 13 9

An assessment of the validity of laboratory animal behavioural research as translatable models of early childhood adversity The mother child relationship during this time is seen as a critical influence on the development of the offspring Adversity during this period such as trauma or parental neglect are identified as a major risk factor for psychiatric disorders such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD and depression later in life Causal Factors of Early Life Adversity Children and adolescents experience traumatic incidences in their lifetime with 15 to 20 experiencing a relatively severe encounter 14 Stress can be defined as a common frequently occurring experience which incorporates a variety of physical psychological and social factors in mammals including humans 15 The stress response is an important and necessar y mechanism to adapt to environmental changes and challenges However severe traumatic and chronic stress can constitute a serious threat to the physical and mental health of the individual experiencing the adversity There are many factors that cause early childhood adversity for example lack of adequate nutrition poverty and parental neglect This research reviews the use of animal models of early childhood adversity with a significant focus on the influence and the impact of the mother and her presence absence on the offspring Early life adversity experienced from or in the presence of an attachment figure most normally the mother has been shown to produce more detrimental effects both immediately and in the long term than adversity experienced in situations where the mother is absent and the juvenile is in isolation 16 Moreover studies on children in orphanages indicate that the environmental impact of inadequate maternal and social stimulation and suppor t drastically increases the risk of subsequent psychiatric disorders 13 In addition early life adversity results in an inability of the developing child to regulate emotions in a normal healthy manner and these children have limited adaptive skills in comparison to children reared in a non aversive environment 17 Vulnerability Vulnerability in the context of early life adversity relates to sensitive periods when environmental cues exert a maximum impact on the developing organism 18 Vulnerable periods differ from critical periods in that critical periods require an all or nothing response The sensitive period of vulnerability is thought to be an evolutionary development in order to condition the organism to adapt to the changing environment Vulnerable individuals have preconceived expectations of the future based on the immediate environmental information gained but are at risk from adversity that differs from the expected adversity 19 A three hit concept of vulnerability to the negative effects of adversity and stress proposes that genetic 10 predisposition coupled with early life environment plus later life environment result in cumulative stress increasing vulnerability and a difficulty in stress coping resulting from early life adversity 20 This is supported by an assumption that the vulnerability genes and plasticity genes are one in the same This suggests that early life adversity in combination with genetic predisposition can lead to programming effects in the brain which can manifest to unpredictable outcomes in later life once challenged with adult adversity Figure 8 The nature and severity of the adult adversity are also mitigating factors in the psychiatric outcome 21 Resilience Not all children that experience early life adversity and trauma develop a psychiatric disorder in later life Although the basis for resilience is unclear there is evidence that some children are resilient while others are susceptible when exposed to similar adversity in early life 22 This suggests that the brains of the resilient individuals might be pre prepared through geneenvironment preprogramming to be resilient unlike the brains of the vulnerable individuals 23 On the other hand research also indicates that early childhood adversity artificially induced in rodents protected against or slowed down the occurrence of pain hypersensitivity 24 This suggests that these rodents were capable of developing resilience as a result of being able to adapt to later challenges following early life stress exposure Adaptation The post natal period of brain development is characterised by higher rates of remodelling synaptic re organisation and neuronal plasticity The view that most early life stress is maladaptive is widely held but is also disputed in some publications for example several hypotheses detailed in this thesis suggest that a certain level of childhood adversity may confer some beneficial adaptation proper ties on the developing organism 25 Andrew Sih 2011 proposes a behavioural ecologist s view that moderate stress experienced at the right time prepares the developing mammal by inoculating and developing a stress response model for the future 26 This research also suggests that maternal influence and emitted cues may be focussed on preparation of the offspring for independent living by providing a representative level of care and attention during early development The impact of genetic predisposition is also a factor in the impact of early childhood adversity in humans 5 In order to research adaptation the effects of MS MD model in two strains of rats the stress normo sensitive Wistar strain and the more stress susceptible WistarKyoto WKY which have an innate heightened vulnerability to stress were assessed in behavioural paradigms The strains that underwent MS MD showed a marked difference in their response to anxiety

An assessment of the validity of laboratory animal behavioural research as translatable models of early childhood adversity provoking anxiety behavioural tests Adult WKY rats that underwent MS showed increased coping behaviour in the behavioural tests in comparison to the stress normosensitive Wistar strain which showed increased anxiety like behaviours This indicates that the genetic predisposition to stress like phenotype prepared the WKY rats for future stress later in adult life This supports the theory of an adaptive capability in mammals in this case a genetic predisposition to deal with early life adversity and proposes that early stress exposure might actually confer protective properties on the developing mammal that will be beneficial in later adulthood 27 Not all of the effects of early life adversity are irreversible Behavioural plasticity facilitates adaptation in order to arm mammals for unanticipated adverse events 21 The effects of moderate early life adversity could potentially be beneficial in all mammals even those without a genetic predisposition to anxiety and depression 28 Previous research identified that development of the fear instinct in normally reared rats occurred at post natal day PND 10 2 however rats reared under the Chronic Early Life Stress CES model displayed an earlier emergence of fear instinct at PND 7 due to adaptation of the amygdala the threat recognition region in the brain 29 Pathological Consequences The central nervous system CNS is designed to cope with the stress threat to evaluate the threat and make a decision to fight flight or freeze Under certain conditions for example early development stage the stress adaptation capability of the CNS fails and this results in long term cognitive emotional and mood disorders This suggests that early childhood adversity is a major causal factor in the pathogenesis of many disorders such as anxiety and depression in later life See Figure 4 30 The impact of early childhood stress and trauma at specific developmental stages doubles the risk of psychopathology primarily in the forms of anxiety depression and behavioural problems 14 Environmental adversity induces remodelling and can imprint morphological neurological and behavioural changes on the developing brain with chronic effects 21 In the pathogenic state the amygdala becomes hyperesponsive and exhibits neuronal hypertrophy The brain becomes damaged by neuroinflammation and the neurotoxic effects of cortisol the hormone released during stress on brain function and structure which in turn leads to reduced hippocampal neuronal plasticity Cortisol is released in humans and corticosterone is released in rodents 31 The volume of the hippocampus is reduced as a result of neuronal atrophy The medial Prefrontal Cortex mPFC also exhibits atrophy This pathology may explain some of the symptoms of PTSD and depression such as cognitive impairments due to disruption of the HIPP and mPFC functioning and heightened anxiety See Figure 4 Figure 4 Impact of early childhood stress on higher cognitive function and emotional learning Adapted from Krugers H J et al 201713 image courtesy of Google Images Illustration of the brain regions associated with early childhood stress Prefrontal Cortex Hippocampus and Amygdala Photo courtesy of www psypost org Laboratory animal models of early childhood adversity Background The use of laborator y animal models has been developed to examine the biological basis and cellular and molecular pathways of human diseases Humans and cer tain mammals have similar genetic and epigenetic the biological mechanism for controlling gene expression without altering the genetic code markers as well as other peripheral characteristics in common This forms the basis for the use of laboratory animals predominantly rodents in researching human 11

An assessment of the validity of laboratory animal behavioural research as translatable models of early childhood adversity diseases such as stress related psychiatric disorders Animal models of such related psychiatric disorders are used because there are limitations in the study of the neurobiological mechanisms of anxiety and depression in humans The use of blood and faecal matter from samples taken in human clinical studies for in vitro research has limited value in terms of gaining behavioural or psychological data Human post mortem brain tissue when available may have been compromised by drug treatment and comorbid diseases and in vivo neuroimaging techniques do not have resolution at a cellular level thus precluding the study of the human brain at cellular and molecular level 5 Therefore models of laboratory rodents have been developed over decades to deliver a mechanism for studying the biological imprint factors and behavioural consequences of early life adversity 4 The European Scientific Animal Protection SAP legislation ensures that the animals used in such studies are necessary the numbers of animals required is justified and that all pain and distress is kept to an absolute minimum 32 Here 3 different laboratory animal models of early life adversity will be presented Maternal Separation Maternal Deprivation MS MD The rat MS MD models are referenced throughout this project as they are the most frequently used animal models of early life adversity researched in this review The impact of childhood adversity on brain and behaviour cannot be achieved in a human clinical environment and therefore models have been refined in a laboratory environment using rodents Figure 5 illustrates the experimental paradigm The dam is removed from the litter daily from PND 2 for a period in excess of 3 hours and then returned for a short duration primarily to allow lactation and essential grooming This process normally occurs daily until PND 14 though some continue to PND 21 until the rodents are weaned Table 2 There is a control group whereby the mother and litter have constant access to each other The rodents are weaned and grouped into their two respective experimental groups MS MD control and allowed to grow on to adulthood Both the MS MD groups and the control groups are assessed at adulthood for behaviour and physiological changes and the results assessed for differences 33 Often blood samples are taken both during the experiment for neurochemical and stress hormone evaluation and at post mortem stage and post mortem tissue samples primarily the brain are taken for histological cellular and molecular analysis Table 2 Prototypical Schedule for Maternal Separation Maternal Deprivation MS MD models Chronic Early Life Stress CES Model Figure 5 Maternal Separation Deprivation Model adapted from Tan S et al 201733 Images courtesy of Google Images and Colourbox a Mother rat with litter b The mother rat is removed for 3 hours at a time from PND 2 to 14 c Rats are weaned and allowed to grow to adulthood under normal housing conditions d Adult offspring undergo behavioural tests to determine the effects of the Maternal Separation Deprivation 12 This model was developed by the Baram Laborator y as a CES model of early life adversity in the presence of the mother and commences at PND 2 in rats Table 3 2 The mother and pups are placed on a per forated floor base in a modified home cage setting from PND 2 to PND 9 Figure 6 This contrasts with the normal solid home cage base of the control group which typically holds 3cm of wood chip and nesting material in the form of commercially available purpose designed shredded paper or wool The CES model home cage has a sparse scattering of wood chip added in addition to a single sheet of nesting substrate The result is a barren cage space experimentally designed to simulate a human impoverished living environment The mother rat is forced to alter her nur turing behaviour to accommodate a dispersed caring system for her pups The lack of adequate nesting material in the CES home cage available to the control mother rat results in maternal stress which in turn creates erratic early life care for the rat pups therefore experimentally generating chronic stress in that environment

An assessment of the validity of laboratory animal behavioural research as translatable models of early childhood adversity During the CES PND 2 to 9 the mother rat demonstrated rough manipulations of the pups and shortened bouts of feeding caring for her offspring when compared to the behaviour of the control dam Some rat mothers showed adaptability by hoarding both faecal pellets and chunks of uneaten food to compensate for insufficient nesting substrate It is significant that once returned to normal caging on PND 9 the mother rat invariably reverts to normal caring and handling of the pups as the stress of the impoverished living conditions is lifted The rats are allowed to develop to adulthood in a normal manner as in the MS MD model detailed in Section 4 2 The test CES and control offspring are assessed at adulthood for behavioural neurological and physiological differences 2 Samples for analysis are taken as in the MS MD paradigm description in Maternal Separation Maternal Deprivation Section towards the perceived intruder The resident male forces the intruding mother rat into submission and maintains an aggressive stance for the allowed period 3 intervals of 10 minutes with 5 minute rest period between daily from PND 21 to PND 24 The offspring of the mother are housed individually in arena type transparent Perspex caging around the perimeter of the aggressive male home cage thus exposing them as unavoidable witnesses to repeated aggressive social defeat of their mother on a daily basis Figure 7 4 days following the last exposure to stress at PND 28 the pups are weaned and separated according to sex and returned to normal husbandry until adulthood Table 4 Upon reaching adulthood the offspring then undergo a series of behavioural assessments to determine the impact of the early Life Trauma Witness Model Trauma witness animals are compared to control animals which undergo the same protocol above with the exception that the male is known to and socially acceptable to the female and therefore is not aggressive towards her 4 Samples for analysis are taken as described previously in Maternal Separation Maternal Deprivation Section Figure 6 Chronic early life stress CES model of early life adversity Image courtesy of the Baram Laboratory 2 The mother rat and litter are maintained on a gridded floor with a minimal amount of bedding nesting substrate Table 3 Schedule for chronic early life stress CES model in rats Figure 7 Witnessed aggression model of early life adversity Adapted from images cour tesy of Brattleboro Rat Can Stock Photo 4 The 6 offspring have clear sight of their mother being attacked into submission by the larger male aggressor Early Life Trauma Witness Model The Early Life Trauma Witness Model seeks to deliver a rodent model of chronic early childhood adversity by emulating chronic early life adversity caused by postnatal witnessing of violence abuse and or dominance against the mother 4 The mother rat is removed from the home cage and placed in the home cage of an aggressive Long Evans male rat The resident male rat attacks the female rat as a mark of aggression Table 4 Schedule for early life trauma witness model 13

An assessment of the validity of laboratory animal behavioural research as translatable models of early childhood adversity Relevance of laboratory animal behavioural research as translatable models of early childhood adversity Background The ability to reproduce all the symptoms of a human psychiatric disorder is rarely achieved in experimental animal models due mainly to the complexity of brain and behavioural differences between humans and animals 34 The use of laboratory animal models for evaluating early childhood adversity has been a source of controversy and scepticism with the main argument relating to the difficulty in replicating the higher cognitive and emotional ability in humans Behavioural researchers seek to achieve in the study of early life adversity the generation of a state of anxiety or depression in rodents that simulates humans experiencing these disorders The models of stress in rodents detailed in this report see Laboratory Animal Models of Early Childhood Adversity were originally developed for drug screening and have been refined to study specific elements of symptoms that closely resemble early childhood adversity 35 The use of laborator y animals in the development of new treatments and therapies for mental health is acknowledged as a necessary and ethical use of animals but will not be discussed in further detail here as it is beyond the scope of this thesis Research Ethics University College Cork 2018 The 3Rs evaluation process has been validated by the regulatory authority The Health Products Regulatory Authority HPRA as an appropriate model of institutional assessment and is fully compliant with the Irish and European legislation S I 543 of 2012 and Directive 2010 63 EU In terms of replacement of a rodent model of early childhood adversity the main objectives of a rodent model of early life adversity incorporating the motherchild relationship are to investigate the development of complex behaviours as a result of being deprived of the normal mother offspring relationship The impact is measured by assessing the behaviour of the whole organism over time In vitro cellular or simulation methods cannot replicate the behavioural and physiological processes involved in the models detailed in Chapter 4 35 The specific timing of critical interventions is not feasible in humans and thus live animals need to be used The following websites are regularly accessed in UCC for information on where to look for possible alternatives to using the animal models detailed in Laboratory Animal Models of Early Childhood Adversity https www niehs nih gov health topics science syaiccvam http animalresearch thehastingscenter org factssheets alternatives to animals https www nc3rs org uk the 3rs The 3Rs As part of the legislative authorisation process every researcher carrying out an experiment involving the use of live laboratory animals must carry out a harm benefit analysis The stress and disruption the harm being inflicted on for example the mother and offspring rats must be shown to be necessary in order to achieve benefits to human and or animal welfare the benefit All applications for authorisation for proposed models must demonstrate that they have considered Replacement Reduction and Refinement the 3Rs in their approach to the experimental design The 3Rs were developed 50 years ago and have evolved to become a guiding framework for the humane use of animals in biomedical research 36 The impacts are seen at laboratory animal cage level in terms of improved experimental design but also at regulatory levels as they guide policy and regulatory change in animal welfare matters The 3Rs have had a significant impact on the uptake of new improved approaches to designing animal experiments and several of the current journals reference its influence for example 37 The evaluation process at University College Cork UCC incorporates the principles of the 3Rs in the Animal Welfare Body AWB and Animal Experimental Ethics Committee AEEC review processes and a representation of how this applies is outlined further 14 In terms of reduction all laborator y animal experiments undergo a rigorous evaluation of the numbers required to complete the experimental model A typical experiment involves a detailed examination of relevant published literature to determine likely effect sizes for behavioural readouts because of early life adversity exposure in rodents Comprehensive power analysis typically 0 05 power 80 are performed to determine the minimum number of mothers with litter of pups required for each of the models in order to achieve statistical significance The aim is to achieve statistically sound relevant results with a potential to benefit future clinical experimental design Qualified biostatisticians assess the models and associated research projects including the sample sizes and overall animal numbers to be used before the research achieves authorisation In terms of refinement the applicants must indicate that they have considered refinements under the following headings most appropriate choice of species the most refined choice of procedures the appropriate policies in place to minimise suffering the details of welfare monitoring the details of caging husbandry and care and the details of environmental enrichment used Each individual procedure involved in the models detailed in Laboratory Animal Models of

An assessment of the validity of laboratory animal behavioural research as translatable models of early childhood adversity Early Childhood Adversity has undergone refinements to achieve models that consider the above during the experimental design stages For example MS MD models of early childhood stress are required to detail how the welfare of the pups is monitored while the mother is removed and any interventions required should the pups become too distressed or at risk of unnecessary pain Criteria for Selection an Animal Model of Early Life Adversity Four strategies form the basis for the development of rodent models of early childhood adversity A Genetic predisposition of the species being investigated for example the use of WKY rats with an innate susceptibility to anxiousness B Selective breeding for the characteristics required to carr y out the experiments for example the use of the Long Evans rat as an aggressor in the witness model of early life adversity see Laboratory Animal Models of Early Childhood Adversity C Physical and environmental manipulations required to achieve the model selected for example the housing of the mother rat with offspring on a perforated cage floor as opposed to normal cage substrate D Tightly controlled adherence to protocol in order to ensure reproducibility and repeatability between laboratories 5 Validation Criteria for Laboratory Animal Models Establishing the credibility of a laboratory animal research model is based on meeting certain validity The three main validity criteria assessed are Face Validity Predictive Validity and Construct Validity 5 Face Validity refers to the clinical symptoms of the human disease that must be observed in the animal model 3 Face Validity is difficult to achieve in entirety in psychiatric disorders but symptoms of human stress can be identified in early life rodent models for example agitation and sleep disruption and food water intake variations 38 This suppor ts the current research that suggests researching specific symptoms or endophenotypes rather than the entire disorder results in better translational value 5 The difficulty in achieving DSM 5 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fifth edition criteria of psychiatric disorders supports the suggestion that face validity is the most difficult of the validities to achieve in rodent models of early childhood stress 38 In Construct Validity the cause or mechanism of the human disease must be represented in the experimental design for the animal study The rodent models of early childhood adversity detailed in Laboratory Animal Models of Early Childhood Adversity attempt to simulate the cause of early childhood adversity by altering the mother offspring normative relationship in an adverse manner By inclusion of for example WKY rats predisposed to vulnerability in the MS MD paradigm 27 the researchers have achieved Construct Validity in that they incorporated the geneenvironment interaction that has been identified as a vulnerability or resilience factor in human early life adversity In Predictive Validity the response to the therapy treatment of the animals is expected to be also seen in the human patients 39 Predictive Validity has been challenged in terms of effectiveness in relation to psychiatric disorders For example it is unclear whether Predictive Validity refers solely to the predictive effect of the treatment or to the ability to predict some of the markers specific to the disease 40 Treatment and therapy are not discussed in this report but many of the adult rodent behavioural tests referred to in Laboratory Animal Models of Early Childhood Adversity incorporate treatment during the experimental behavioural assessment A proposal for a modified set of criteria to include Pathogenic Validity Homological Validity and Mechanistic Validity while retaining but modifying the meaning of face validity and predictive validity have been proposed 40 41 Pathogenic Validity refers to the similarity of the process that leads to the pathogenesis of the disease disorder Homological Validity refers to the assessment of both the species and the strain of the species in terms of their relevance and suitability at both behavioural and biological levels Mechanistic Validity refers to our interpretation of what we know is working in the chosen animal species versus what we assume to be working in the human pathogenic condition This amended framework of assessing animal model validity involves prioritising in accordance with the objectives of the given experiment A scoring system is proposed to assess the validated rating of each procedure The proposer acknowledges that the categories of validities may not all apply to models of early childhood adversity with pathogenic validity cited as an example of irrelevance 40 In recent years behavioural research has developed into modular experiments which can be used in isolation or combined to study specific aspects of the disease 3 This has increased the validity values of the current laboratory animal models of early childhood adversity due to identifying common endophenotypes The recent availability of feedback information from human clinical trials of depression has led to the development of more accurate and specific design of the independent variables This is achieved by breaking down the illness into individual behaviours common to and measurable in both humans and animals endophenotypes Endophenotypes of the models are 15

An assessment of the validity of laboratory animal behavioural research as translatable models of early childhood adversity measured using behavioural tests This results in rodent models that better represent the childhood adversity outcome in terms of relevance to human psychiatric disorders 39 Endophenotypes allow direct comparison across species provided that they have the elemental components of the disorder 19 Reproducibility and Translational Value The use of laboratory animals as models of early life adversity in research is highly regulated and governed by strict legislation as detailed in the 3Rs section The harm benefit analysis assesses the objectives and the benefits of the research against the potential distress and physical harm inflicted on the laboratory animal s Recent guidelines such as Animal Research Reporting in vivo Experiments ARRIVE have further encouraged researchers to focus on the 3Rs by requiring reporting of details on the laborator y animal experimental design relevance to human biology and diseases statistical analysis and the health status of the animal at the commencement of the experiment 42 These guidelines are taking some time to have effect with some publication review bodies not enforcing the need to meet the ARRIVE criteria 6 However the Journal of British Pharmacology BPS require authors to use the ARRIVE guidelines which is encouraging The Planning Research and Procedures on Experimental Animals Recommendations for Excellence PREPARE guidelines complement the ARRIVE guidelines They were developed on the basis that better reporting in retrospect will not improve the quality of an experiment already completed but will provide valuable information for future experiments ARRIVE are a set of guidelines which include the formulation of the study the communication process between the researcher and the animal facility staff and details of the quality control measures that will be implemented for each aspect of the study PREPARE focusses on a wide variety of aspects which are seldom reported in publications but if followed can have a significant influence on both the validity and reproducibility of the research They act as a useful checklist for researchers and include all aspects from an analysis of the facility management to carrying out the procedure at the cage level 43 There is a need for clinicians and neuroscientists to collaborate in the development of laboratory animal research For example very few clinicians understand the complexities or benefit of the rodent models early childhood adversity models detailed in Laboratory Animal Models of Early Childhood Adversity Similarly very few behavioural scientists are likely to have contributed to clinical research trials involving children that have experienced early childhood adversity 44 Several drawbacks remain in the ability to translate laboratory rodent research into clinically beneficial 16 data These include a lack of homological validation value as rodents may not score adequately in the scale of stress reactivity to be valid subjects for early childhood adversity research 41 Of major relevance to early childhood adversity research is the need to ensure that the test animals have been challenged at all relevant stages of development in order to achieve pathological validity 3 There is a lack of refinement at experimental design stage of preclinical studies It is necessary to employ numerous rodent models and tests in order to develop translatable data in terms of drug manipulation for the treatment of depression in humans 5 Framework An animal model of early life adversity must draw on the comparisons between two pathological species in this case rodents and humans 40 The majority of models detailed in the articles reviewed operate on a general framework of a three stage input output process Figure 8 There is a transformation process from a healthy organism Stage 1 to a vulnerable organism Stage 2 as a result or early life adversity A trigger factor in adulthood transforms the already vulnerable organism into a pathological organism Stage 3 33 In the early life adversity model setting this trigger factor is an experimentally designed artificial stressor for example restraint or social instability paradigms In humans homelessness domestic violence and or substance abuse are examples of stimuli that represent the trigger factor 45 The adult rodent behavioural tests referred to in Laborator y Animal Models of Early Childhood Figure 8 A 3 stage input output framework for animal models of early life adversity adapted from Belzung C et al 40 images taken by author courtesy of Colourbox Note that the common process by which animals and humans progress from normal organisms through vulnerability and onto pathological conditions is the basis for laboratory animal models of early childhood adversity

An assessment of the validity of laboratory animal behavioural research as translatable models of early childhood adversity Adversity determine the presence of irregular behaviour while blood and tissue samples can determine the presence of biological markers of these behaviours 40 Intermittent vs Chronic Models of Early Life Adversity Intermittent Models MS MD in rodents particularly in rats is the most frequently cited paradigm for the study of early life adversity In normal mammalian circumstances the mother provides early life care and this regulates the development of the brain and behaviour in the developing offspring By altering the rat pup mother relationship during this crucial period of development it is possible to experimentally induce susceptibility to adverse psychopathological phenotypes in rodents 46 A review of literature has found multiple variations of the MS MD procedure for example the timing of the separation and the age of the pups at separation differs widely There are also variables such as distance of the isolated pups from the separated mother which has implications for sound and smell interference 29 Handling the pups for the purpose of removing them from the mother has been used as an additional experimental stressor in comparison to the control animals Interestingly rat pups that had been handled were shown to have better coping strategies in adulthood when challenged with behavioural tasks in comparison to the control animals 27 It is unknown however if the extra attention given by the mother upon return to the handled pups is a factor in the development of the coping strategies Most studies are consistent in the view that although short term maternal separation and handling may be beneficial in terms of building coping strategies for future scenarios Long term maternal separation 3 4 hours per day are associated with negative outcomes in terms of mental health at adulthood 47 The MS MD model is an intermittent model of early childhood stress as there is a relatively short and regular span of disruption to the mother offspring relationship However in cases of extreme poverty living in war zones or homes with chronic addiction the human mother is often present but provides either sub optimal care or the adversity itself in the form of abuse and the chronic models of early life adversity are important in this regard 2 Chronic Models The use of MS MD intermittent stress model detailed above has been challenged as some would argue that the wild mother rat leaves the pups in the nest for up to three hours to forage 35 In addition the stress effects on the rodents in the MS MD model differs greatly from the experience of some children experiencing chronic adversity Children experiencing the effects of war child abuse parents with chronic addictions etc are exposed to ongoing chronic stress rather than intermittent stress 2 Research has also indicated that adversity suffered in the presence of the primar y caregiver is equivalent in terms of neurobehavioral consequences to trauma or abuse inflicted directly by the caregiver 4 The impact of such stress in chronic rodent models of early childhood adversity was found to be more profound than the stress experienced in the intermittent models of MS MD 16 A rodent model of chronic stress was developed to research chronic stress caused by early life adversity 2 This CES model was based on simulating poverty in the rodent cage setting by exposing the mother and pups from PND 2 old to a barren cage environment as detailed in the section dealing with Chronic Early Life Stress CES Model Although the mother rodent carries out a level of care to the best of her ability the care to each individual animal is fragmented and erratic resulting in chronic unpredictable stress to the developing offspring Rough manipulations of the offspring by the mother were also noted frequently in the CES model This is deemed to be a closer representation of the stressful experience of young children living in an abusive household or those living in extreme poverty or war torn areas This therefore delivers higher construct validity than the MS MD model as it gives a better representation of the causal effects of early life adversity 19 The full impact of the stress that is potentially imparted from the mother rat as a result of being artificially stressed to the offspring is not detailed in either the intermittent or chronic models cited in the journals and requires further research Another model of chronic early life adversity is the Maternal Trauma Witness Model in rats CES Model section The American Psychological Association APA state that 15 5 million children in the USA witness maternal abuse 4 The full impact of this abuse on the brain and behaviour is difficult to research in humans and therefore the Early Life Maternal Trauma Witness Model in rats was developed to assess the impact of early life witnessing of traumatic events see Laboratory Animal Models of Early Childhood Adversity section This model also delivers high construct validity as it has high simulation value to early childhood adversity The attempts of the mother to shield her offspring were also noted in this research and supports the influence of a mediatory role by the mother in situations of early life adversity discussed fur ther under the section relating to Maternal Mediation Hypothesis Conceptual issues Background The use of laboratory rodents to model childhood adversity is primarily based on models of attachment 17

An assessment of the validity of laboratory animal behavioural research as translatable models of early childhood adversity and the relationship between the mother and offspring The defence mechanism relates to a set of behavioural physiological and psychological responses that occur in both humans and animals Even purpose bred laboratory animals express some inter individual differences and are not a homogenous group 3 The strategies that individual animals use to deal with adverse situation can be divided into passive and active similar to the fight or flight response However rodents could not represent a complete model of early childhood adversity and subsequent potential psychiatric condition due to the diversity in life histories co morbidities and neurobiological mechanisms 48 Nevertheless the models hypotheses outlined below are cited by researchers using rodents as models for early childhood adversity in support of their justification Diathesis Stress Model This model attempts to explain the impact of predispositional vulnerability reacting with life experiences to create a pathological condition Diathesis meaning predisposition can take the form of biological genetic or psychological factors The genetic biological or psychological traits of the developing mammal interacts with environmental stressors to result in either vulnerable or resilient individuals 49 The model is based on there being a threshold of adversity caused by environmental factors Below this threshold both vulnerable and resilient individuals develop in a similar manner Once the threshold is exceeded the vulnerable individual will experience worse outcomes than the resilient individual 50 This model is useful in determining why some individuals that had shown no symptoms of mental health disorder unexpectedly develop behavioural problems As an example a child from a family with a history of depression and later exposed to a trigger factor such as social exclusion in adolescence is more likely to develop a mental health disorder than if that same child developed in a stable and reliable adolescent social group 40 environmental cues and the ability to adjust phenotype are closely linked during the early development period Offspring are likely to be informed by early life information either from their mother or from direct interaction with the environment on which phenotype is best suited to their future existence This predictive adaptive response is dependent on an accurate forecast of the future environment In cases where a mismatch between the anticipated and subsequent environmental occurs the individual may suffer adversity as a result of having an inappropriate phenotype 27 This Phenotypic Plasticity Model is therefore based on the early developing mammal being able to adjust their phenotype in response to environmental cues in an evolving manner 52 The 3 Hit Concept of Vulnerability and Resilience During early developmental periods stressful experiences can modulate the behavioural cognitive and emotional functioning of the developing mammal through modulation of the associated brain circuitry The 3 Hit Concept of Vulnerability and Resilience Figure 9 is based on the interaction between multiple genetic influences Hit 1 and the early life environment Hit 2 which lead to programmed phenotypes Depending on the phenotypes and interaction with an adult life trigger factor Hit 3 there will be either a vulnerability outcome as a result of compromising of mental function or resilience outcome resulting in resistance to mental dysfunction 20 Phenotypic Plasticity Model Despite large volumes of information on the impact of early life adversity relatively few attempts have been made to develop a rodent model that explains how the effects have evolved in mammals Some publications have considered the evidence of the mammals ability to adapt and also an ability to generate age dependent plasticity 51 26 The association between phenotype and plasticity arises if the environmental cues do not accurately represent the environmental state leading to uncertainty about the most suitable phenotype for the immediate environment There may be adjustments required to the phenotype for example behaviour which incur a physiological cost or perhaps crucial time wasted on a phenotype that will not suit alternative environments The information gained through 18 Figure 9 Representation of The 3 Hit Concept of Vulnerability and Resilience adapted from Daskalakis et al 2013 20 Maternal Mediation Hypothesis In normal developmental circumstances the development of the neonate is enhanced by close frequent contact and interaction with the immediate caregiver normally the mother In rodents this is represented by a series of gathering pups into a huddle licking and standing over them in a dorsal arch posture Pups that experience this normative behaviour have been shown to be resilient to stress in later life 19

An assessment of the validity of laboratory animal behavioural research as translatable models of early childhood adversity The process of feeding and interaction is thought to be mediated by a complex two way cue system between the needs of developing offspring and the maternal instincts of the mother The mother imparts the stress hormone corticosterone equivalent to cortisol in humans in her milk to the offspring which regulates the stress response 53 Levels of corticosterone have been recorded as higher in the mother rat in both of the chronic early life stress models detailed in Chronic Early Life Stress CES Model and Early Life Trauma Witness Models than in the intermittent MS MD model 29 The maternal mediation hypothesis is based on the theory that the mother rat mediates the effects of the artificially induced early life stress She changes her behaviour to reduce the impact of the stress on the offspring The offspring are thought to also trigger the mother rodent s alteration in behaviour by emitting signals for example vocalisations indicating discomfort or distress in the presence of the mother The research indicated that following all stress paradigms detailed in Laboratory Animal Models of Early Childhood Adversity the mother increased the level of active maternal care when reunited therefore potentially negating the impact of the stress of being separated 22 The chronic models of rodent early life adversity detailed in Chronic Early Life Stress CES Model Early Life Trauma Witness Model supports this theory in that the mothers were also observed attempting to mitigate the impact of the adversity on the offspring by shielding in the Witness Trauma Model and being resourceful in the CES model 2 4 Allostatic Load Model Allostatic load has been defined as the impact of wear and tear on the brain function of the organism Figure 10 which results in a predisposition to disease 54 Most newborn mammals remain in close contact with their mothers for the early developmental stage of life Under normal circumstances the mammalian brain like other essential systems in the body will strive to maintain normal functioning known as the allostatic response Disruption to the mother offspring relationship creates an allostatic load caused by the disturbances in the stress mediators in the body 55 This allostatic load influences the animals behaviour and neurobiology over the course of a lifetime Manipulations of this load in rodents is the basis for laboratory based preclinical in vivo research into the impact of early childhood adversity on psychiatric disorders 28 For example by removing the mother for prolonged periods during early postnatal developmental days PND 2 12 the rodent pups experience a sense of helplessness and despair while separated as measured by subsequent behavioural tests This elevates allostatic load which creates a disturbance in the physiological neurological and hormonal make up changes which have shown to result in long term anxiety and depression 56 Major Life Early Life Adversity Events Trauma Abu se Perceived Stress Helplessness Behavioural and Vulnerability Response in Unique differences e g Adulthood Genotype Fight or rate of Flight development Personal Behaviour Physiological Responses 61 Allostasis Adaptation Allostatic Load Figure 10 The development of an allostatic load adapted from Hostinar et al 201354 Image courtesy of Google Images Results Background This report analysed in excess of 70 publications in order to research the impact of early childhood adversity and the usefulness of laboratory rodent models in creating models of early childhood adversity Findings There has been a noted shift in the recognition of the limitations of the laboratory animal models of early childhood adversity In particular the recognition that human feelings cannot be fully captured in the rodent models is prominent in recent publications 3 The need for identification of translational genetic and epigenetic factors is essential at the experimental design stage of rodent models for early life adversity 5 The impact of resilience and the need to factor this into the model by using specific strains and relevant experimental paradigms was prominent in the recent publications 3 There is also recognition that the traditional widely used model of early life adversity such as MS MD has been re categorised as a collective term for a number 19

An assessment of the validity of laboratory animal behavioural research as translatable models of early childhood adversity of extremely different manipulations many of which have been adapted by behavioural scientists worldwide 5 Recent publications also suggest that a moderate amount of intermittent early life stress could be beneficial in terms of developing resilience to stress later in life 25 8 Chronic rodent models of early childhood adversity have been developed to supplement the information gained from intermittent stress of the MS MD models 2 4 There was a noted lack of standardisation of the experimental paradigms throughout the review with experimental protocols varying widely throughout the studies The MS MD model although widely cited is challenged in terms of validity in several publications 33 2 As an example the duration of the separation in the MS MD models can vary from PND 2 to PND 10 PND 14 or PND 21 Similarly the duration of separation can var y across research groups ranging from 180 minutes to 24 hours 46 The variability of the protocols and the lack of quality control to date have resulted in a lack of reproducibility and missed opportunities for vital collaborations that would lead to meaningful clinical studies 5 The understanding of what qualifies as a control group in several studies also varied greatly 57 The variability of using different husbandry regimes inconsistency in the strains being used and little consideration for the impact of biological sex on the pathological condition result in a barrier to the usefulness of early life animal models as models of childhood adversity 31 While the majority of publications acknowledged the impossibility of developing models equivalent to humans laboratory rodents are widely acknowledged as indispensable tools for the study of the ethology of early life adversity Several publications detailed the impossibility of recreating the entire spectrum of human mental health disorders 2 The optimal use of rodent models for early childhood adversity research lies in the assessment of specific behavioural dimensions of early life adversity 5 Discussion The potential for the use of a rodent model of early childhood stress lies in its ability to achieve reliable valid and direct comparisons between rodents and humans The models described in the section Laboratory Animal Models of Early Childhood Adversity are experimentally designed to assess the behavioural neuroanatomical and biochemical changes that are common to both species in the early life developmental stage It is increasingly accepted in the publications reviewed that the complexities that lie between humans and rodents are too diverse to sufficiently directly compare early life stress adversity in both species However the identification of endophenotypes has made certain aspects of human early life adversity possible to model in rodents 19 20 There are opposing opinions on the effects of early life manipulations as a result of variables in the timing stage of development and type of artificial adversity imposed Until relatively recently the MS MD model provided an all encompassing model of early life adversity but new paradigms that deliver chronic and potentially more translatable research have been developed to good effect 2 22 There are contradictory outcomes of many of the published results from the MS MD procedures leading to a consensus that the currently used MS MD models are a series of procedures adapted by the principal researcher to fit with the hypothesis being tested 2 The role of the pup in reading the mother s cues and influencing her behaviour has been underestimated in MS MD models to date 4 Although there is evidence of alterations in physiology reduced body temperature food deprivation and reduced excretory functioning there is inconsistent evidence that these effects are entirely causal of subsequent behavioural abnormalities 22 The maternal mediation hypothesis suggests a two way interaction process between the mother and offspring allowing for a compensatory effort to restore a normal environment by the mother There is also little consideration in the publications reviewed for the ability of the developing rodent to modify its phenotype in line with the cues from the mother This infers that there is an adaptive ability potentially of genetic or innate origin in the developing rodent that develops resilience 24 There are conflicting publications in relation to the negative impact of early childhood adversity There is evidence of a potential adaptive advantage in the developing rodent as a result of having experienced moderate stress in early life 58 Considering that a wild adult mother rat may leave her nest for up to three hours at a time in search of food during her pups early development 22 the MS MD paradigm may not adequately expose the developing laboratory rodent to adversity 29 In addition a comparative study involving genetically altered WKY rats that exhibit innately higher stress sensitivity indicated that early life stress had potential for developing beneficial adaptive response to subsequent stress This suggests that innate stress reactivity may influence the susceptibility to anxiety depressive like outcomes in later life 27 Any assessment of the validity of the use of rodent models of early life adversity must include an assessment of the reproducibility and translational value of the models Several publications in this review expressed the need for better designed animal experiments with a general consensus that the variables must be reduced and quality control at experimental implementation increased 5 29 39 Stress experiments in rodents are extremely sensitive to variation There is variability between the behavioural

An assessment of the validity of laboratory animal behavioural research as translatable models of early childhood adversity laboratories in terms of their implementation of protocols in relation to for example the MS MD model 29 The CES model detailed in Laboratory Animal Models of Early Childhood Adversity is highly reproducible as it delivers a robust and repeatable change in maternal behaviour 2 The CES model also has high translational value as the rodent phenotypes of the offspring rats closely relates to the phenotype of children exposed to various forms of adversity 29 There is evidence that maltreatment at early development stages and its associated behavioural abnormalities do not always translate to adult psychiatric illness This suggests that early life childhood adversity may be contributory and not the primary causal factor in adult mental health diseases 22 There is increasing evidence of sensitive windows of vulnerability extending into adulthood and not isolated to early childhood adversity 52 There is also literature that suggests that during adolescence humans have a switching adaptation which allows an adaptive vs maladaptive response to early life adversity 22 This argument is frequently used by anti vivisection groups in relation to the ethical consideration of subjecting rodents to pain and distress involved in the models detailed in the section Laboratory Animal Models of Early Childhood Adversity as the harm benefit evaluation is open to refinement 23 Hypothesis Accepted or Rejected The hypothesis of this report is that laboratory animals make valid models for early childhood stress on which a link to subsequent adult psychiatric illnesses and disorders can be formed This hypothesis is accepted on the basis that there is an acknowledgement of the necessity to assess specific symptoms rather than the whole disorder and create reproducible quality driven research The null hypothesis is that laboratory animals do not make valid models of early life adversity as animals cannot represent the superiority of the human cognitive processes The null hypothesis is rejected as there is evidence of common endophenotypes that can be researched in animals and humans Conclusion This review has achieved its objectives in that it evaluated the relevance of the use of animal models of early childhood adversity In the author s opinion the relatively recent inclusion of the chronic Early Life Trauma Witness and CES models have increased the translational and validity value as they represent a more specific stress paradigm than the more widely cited MS MD paradigm The strict regulation and compliance together with effective harm benefit analysis have also increased validity and therefore relevance of these models Concerning the relationship between early childhood adversity and subsequent development of psychiatric disorders The 3 Hit concept of Vulnerability and Resilience the interaction between multiple genetic influences Hit 1 and the early life environment Hit 2 and depending on the phenotypes and interaction with an adult life trigger factor Hit 3 provides a balanced representation of the relationship between early childhood adversity and subsequent disorders The impact of a developing mammal s ability to adapt and become resilient combined with the influence of genetic makeup are critical factors in determining the individual s trajectory in terms of mental wellbeing In terms of conceptual thinking the various theories and hypotheses and models put forward represent credible reasoning as to why recent publications suggest that the relationship between early life adversity and adult psychiatric disease is not linear In the author s opinion the Maternal Mediation hypothesis is highly significant for those fortunate to have the experience of the nurturing effects of a caring mother or caregiver This hypothesis and the chronic stress models cited in the section Laboratory Animal Models of Early Childhood Adversity mirrors the human scenario of a mother compensating and shielding her children in abusive and or poverty stricken homes Offspring reared in the care of a positive maternal environment despite experiencing adversity in early life have the capability to adapt to become resilient because of the maternal protective influences Future research The usefulness of animal models in determining the modulating effects of genetic background and biological sex in relation to resilience and vulnerability has been highlighted as deficient in this review The factor of biological sex is important because women are twice more likely to develop PTSD or depression than men and yet most animal studies of PTSD use males and not females The translational value of the extensive findings relating to how early life stress in experimental rodent models can fully benefit our understanding on human childhood brain development requires further evaluation There is emerging evidence of the roles of stress mediators including novel molecules glucocorticoids and neuropeptides but their impact at specific sensitive time points requires further research Background The author declares no commercial interest in this research As stated in the preface the author s primary remunerated role is that of Manager of an academic research animal laboratory with a high 21

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April 2020 Animal Technology and Welfare Why talking is important DANIELLE COX c o Institute of Animal Technology 5 South Parade Summertown Oxford OX2 7JL Correspondence atweditor iat org uk Introduction As a former student of the IAT education programme I have learnt the importance of learning and developing my knowledge and skills An additional important element was instilled to us all which was the very important message that we must be the best version of Animal Technologist we can possibly be With this in mind after completing my Bachelor of Science BSc in Animal Technology and Science I wanted to continue with my own continued professional learning and I asked myself how I could use what I had learnt to help others This led me to enrol in the postgraduate course in Veterinary Education which enabled me to interact with other professionals in the veterinary education sector allowing open discussion on a variety of subjects Throughout the course much time was spent discussing how the animal technology education system helps develop skills and knowledge to enable the promotion of a culture of care introduce refinement in our practice and to be able to offer the highest level of animal care As part of a final element of the course we had to present a novel ideal for a teaching session In a discussion with a veterinary nurse teacher about ethics and practices in both industries it became apparent that neither of us wanted to develop just a theoretical session we wanted it to become a reality and a develop a unique learning experience for our industry Bringing together par ticipants from different professions around a par ticular task it is anticipated to increase the diversity of knowledge and perspectives so enhancing the learning of all This is exactly the kind of teaching session we wanted to deliver for our students and we believed within our professions had never been done before but we did wonder whether our students would benefit from this style of teaching We reviewed and conducted a literature review and found two case reports of similar studies which brought veterinar y and health professionals together as part of their curriculum Tierney et al 2011 3 conducted a pilot study with veterinar y surgeons and veterinar y nurses which highlighted by using IPE allowed a change of attitudes overcomes misconception about the professions and promote the importance of communication between two professions 3 Another study conducted by Estrada et al 2016 4 explored veterinar y medical students interprofessional experiences through participation 4 They brought together college students from medicine dentistry nursing pharmacy nutrition public health and health professional and veterinary medicine for an IPE course Using qualitative research methods they found that a powerful experiential learning had occurred for all involved when working as a team Both studies found by using IPE that students had benefited when working together equally they both mutually benefit from the session This gave us the inspiration that such sessions could work however we needed to ensure the topics were relevant to both parties in order to succeed An idea is born Throughout the course we learnt the importance of learning experiences and how they should impact and enrich the learners abilities and how as a teacher we should encourage this learning by using pedagogical and anagogical approaches One of these approaches interprofessional educations IPE sparked our interest as it was described by the Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education CAIPE 2019 1 Occasions when two or more professions learn with from and about each other to improve collaboration and the quality of care Freeth 2014 clarified this by 2 We decided that ethics would be the main focal point of our workshops as the subject is par t of both profession s education curriculum includes ethic modules but neither focus on other profession e g veterinar y nurses are not taught about animal experimentation that has helped in advances in veterinary medicine and animal technicians about the different influences e g cost implication involved in euthanasia in veterinary practice As we discovered just by talking they are so many similarities with veterinary and Animal Technology practices including husbandry scoring system 2016 PDSA Animal Wellbeing Paw Report NC3Rs Pain Scoring Grimace Scale 5 6 and legal obligations Animal Welfare Act Animal Scientific 25

Why talking is important Procedures Act 1986 7 8 we decided it was time to break the taboo Educational influences Throughout the course we learnt about different learning theories from education thinkers i e Blooms thinking 9 Vygotsky social constructivism 10 Kolb experiential learning 11 and Dweck motivation 12 In the planning stages we need to reflect on what learning theories fit best with our students we decided to use Kolb s learning cycle Figure 1 which argues that we learn from our experiences of life even on an everyday basis 11 It also treats reflection as an integral part of such learning we wanted the session to relate to their own experiences but reflect on each other s experiences to come to the conclusion on what they have learnt may change their thinking and may influence their own working practices Using Vygotsky theory zone of proximal development Figure 3 created the rational for our workshop as we wanted the learners interactions to play a key role by sharing meaning and expertise with each other that would encourage collaboration between the professions 10 Planning the workshop how could we be different We had an idea and we learnt how to engage with our learners but how were we going to develop an effective session that both professions would enjoy We needed to ensure our learning objectives were equally matched and should include active learning As this was a pilot study we wanted to ensure the workshop was unique creating a new experience for both professions learners this was achieved by using techniques used by Parsell and Bligh 1999 to assess the readiness of students for interprofessional learning RIPLS and talking wall technique described by Parsell et al 1998 14 We also wanted to introduce Blooms Taxonomy Figure 2 as we wanted to create an interactive session rather than a traditional teaching style 9 This allowed the students to achieve the highest order thinking to their own beliefs around the subject rather than just remembering what they have been told or the facts that were being presented 26 This allowed us to gain an understanding of our learners ethical stance of other industries by using RIPLS we asked six questions that would allow the learners to share their knowledge and opinion on the subject The questions were 1 How would you rate your overall knowledge of the use of animals in research or of the welfare of animals in veterinary practices 2 How would you rate your knowledge of the laws and codes of practice that govern animal research in the UK or which govern animal welfare in veterinary practice in the UK 3 How much do you understand about the roles of the individuals responsible for promoting animal care and welfare in research laboratories or in veterinary practice 4 How much do you feel that shared learning with other welfare professionals will help you understand related issues within your own industry

Why talking is important 5 Do you feel that shared learning with other professionals would help your communication skills in practice 6 Would shared learning before qualification help you to become a better team worker We took the idea from the Parsell and Bligh 1999 paper of employing a readiness for interprofessional learning scale or RIPLS which could be applied before and after the session 13 This encouraged reflection before and after on opinions and how they may have changed post the session By using a numerical scale of 0 Not at all 5 Large amount we handed out the questionnaires same questions but posed differently for nurses and technicians Pre attendnance Animal Technology Results Pre attendance Animal Technology Results 5 4 5 4 3 5 3 2 5 2 1 5 1 0 5 0 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Graph 1 Pre attendance Animal Technology students results Pre attendnanceVeterinary Veterinary Nurse Results Pre attendance Nurse Results 5 4 5 4 3 5 3 2 5 2 1 5 1 0 5 0 Using the talking wall technique describe by Parsell et al 1998 as a simple technique adapted from commercial situations of exploring issues analysing problems or developing action plans 14 It is used to encourage students to explore the roles of other professions and start discussions with members of professions they will work closely with in future but have little contact with during their separate educations We felt that a good way to try this technique was during the ice breaker session which is the first interaction our learners would have with each other Using the Maslow s Hierarchy of Needs pyramid we wanted to promote a safe learning environment but also raise their self esteem and feel supported throughout the session 15 As a learner I hated to speak about myself as I always felt self conscious I always mumble through my introduction and kept them very short to avoid any elaboration As I understand this and in my teaching like to push the boundaries and be a little different we decided to match the learners from our own interaction with them and decided who would work well together To ensure that we support the active learning and encourage the learners to talk to each other we had to find a common theme that both learners were passionate about obviously are animal welfare and team work To gain the interest in the topic and provide a focal point for the discussion the veterinary nurse students were provided with a handout generated by the RSPCA providing information on Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Bodies AWERB and ethical review 16 ASPA 1986 8 3Rs17 and the Concordat on Openness in Animal Research 18 Animal Technologists were provided with a paper by Yates and Main 2011 on Veterinary Surgeons Opinions on dog welfare issues 19 20 We set the following objective for our learners to interact with each other Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Graph 2 Pre attendance Veterinary Nurse students results We had 10 students in total and the results show that the knowledge was limited but also showed they were willing to learn from each other Comparing the initial results from veterinary nurses there was a doubt that learning from animal technicians would make them a better communicator or team player We have primary results from both groups learning about their attitudes and opinion towards learning and the subject matter we just need to find a way to get them talking and improving the result Explain the importance of a culture of care professional code of conduct with respect to animal welfare in both the veterinary nursing and animal technology professions Create a poster policy which identifies the importance of culture of care in the workplace and justify why you created it Discuss the potential impact on public opinion Justify the reasoning behind your poster policy Reflect on your change of opinion toward other industry care policies We had our plan but would it work in practice Active experimentation In April 2017 we delivered a 2 hour training session at The Francis Crick Institute with 5 animal technicians 27

Why talking is important and 5 veterinary nurse students The session started with establishing the aims and learning objectives that we hoped to achieve for the session following through to the ice breaker introduction This was experimental as neither of us had used this method before and we based it purely on our own experiences with the learners but to our surprise the pairings worked far beyond our own expectation The learners found they had common interests ranging from a Harry Potter enthusiast to horse riding As an observer of this interaction it appeared to put the learners at ease as they found a common link with each other caused the session to overrun As teachers we were disappointed that we were not able to deliver the whole session but we learnt a lot from the session including student management especially with strong characters and about setting of boundaries within the classroom With this reflection we were unsure how successful this session was at the end we asked the students for feedback and encouraged them to reflect and complete the same questionnaire they were given at the beginning of the session to see if there was a change of opinion Results Using the same RIPLS techniques as the previous questionnaire with a numerical scale of 0 Not at all 5 Large amount we evaluated the results Post attendnanceAnimal Technology Results Pre attendance Animal Technology Results 4 8 4 6 4 4 4 2 4 3 8 3 6 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Graph 3 Post attendance questionnaire results Animal Technology The result of the pre training session questionnaires were shared and the background of each industry was given on how animal care is provided We invited a different spokesperson from each industry to come and talk to the students They were given a 10 minute presentation slot where they would speak about what culture of care means to them and how they promote within their roles This included a veterinary nurse specialist in exotic animals Animal Technician Education Provider The Learning Cur ve Named Veterinary Surgeon Named Training and Competency Officer and Post doctoral Research staff Each presenter gave their own insights and promoted a lot of questions and answer sessions however this meant we did not get beyond the information collecting stage The students were fascinated to learn from the professionals both research and veterinarians veterinary nurses so we fell into the trap of the session becoming a bit too didactic although the students were fully participating in dialogues and at times were guiding the session The session became a bit too didactic although the students were fully participating in dialogues and at times were guiding the session as they become self regulated controlling how they learnt However one of the students was a little too self regulated and took over the classroom which 28 Post attendnance Veterinary Nurse Results Pre attendance Veterinary Nurse Results 5 4 5 4 3 5 3 2 5 2 1 5 1 0 5 0 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Graph 4 Post attendance questionnaire results Veterinary nurses The results showed an increased knowledge gained by both professions about each other s practices and ethics surrounding animal welfare This was a positive sign that both professions had achieved learning even though we did not get to the learning activity session Interestingly from the results there was an increase in both industries surrounding the question about shared learning communication and team work We asked for any additional comments from our students for feedback to help us evaluate the success of the session

Why talking is important Veterinary Nurse student I have not changed my mind on animal research but I now know and understand a lot more about it Animal Technician I found the session ver y informative and increased my knowledge and more importantly my confidence to use new found knowledge in my work practices The results indicated that learning had taken place even though we did not reach the assessment stage Our reflection We were disappointed that we were unable to complete the session but it allowed us opportunity to reflect Location if we run the session again we would need to ensure the location was accessible to all that would be participating Timing was an important part of the session we underestimated the time we needed for the session and did not allow for the students becoming so involved in the topics and did not factor in extra discussion time If we are able to run sessions in the future we would need to consider it would it be better conducted over a whole day or in mini sessions Student Management we came across a student who was over opinionated in certain topics areas at the time we felt that that the discussion was good but it impacted on the time we had In future sessions in the roles of facilitator we can guide discussions towards the end so it does not impact learning time and allow other students a chance to participate Balance we had a concern that the session was not balanced enough for the animal technicians Did they get as much out of the session as the veterinary nurses We had 5 different professionals from the animal research industry compared to one veterinary professional there is an argument that animal technicians could have achieved learning by motivation self directed and self regulated learning Zimmerman 1986 19 In the future we could invite other veterinar y professions for example a veterinary nurse who now works in research or vice versa who could give an insight and perspective on moving from one industry to another Recommendations From our experiences we started to think if we could hold another session and how we could improve and gain more for the learners experiences with each other Subject matter at the beginning we thought that culture of care was an obvious focal point of teaching When delivering the session there was many discussions surrounding different practices within both industries The veterinary nurses were particularly interested in our husbandry practices e g provision of red domed houses for the rodents and surgical techniques for implanting embryos which could be implemented in their own practices With this in mind we could introduce different sessions that focus on husbandr y practices aseptic and surgery techniques animal care and welfare Student and Teacher participation consider inviting different animal research professionals e g NC3Rs or RSPCA speakers researchers and different professionals within the veterinar y industry e g teachers and diagnostic team We can also focus the teaching to an industry specific session for researchers and Animal Technician or veterinary surgeons or veterinary nurses to benefit interprofessional relationship Different teaching strategies timing was a big issue in our teaching as we failed to deliver everything we intended As an alternative we can use flipped classroom teaching when we present the information section as online lectures which can be guided through a study programme Introducing a forum would allow open discussion guided by a mentor allowing open discussion before entering the classroom Gain CPD accreditation CPD accreditation is important to both professions as CPD provides oppor tunities to develop improve skills and knowledge and benefits students personally which allows them to put into work practice The opportunity to communicate with others allows the freedom to share information and gain different perspectives for topics and provides a chance to reflect which are the transferable skills that benefit all concerned in everyday life Conclusion In conclusion throughout my career I have learnt from other people s perspectives on different subjects By reflecting on what I have learnt and considering my own views I was able to develop my own practices Coming from a learning background and developing my own teaching styles and working with junior technicians I can see the importance of talking with each other and how it can impact on us I believe it does not matter what level of professional you are there is open oppor tunity to learn from each other and communication is the key this is why it is important for us to keep talking Acknowledgements Charlotte French Kirsty Smith Louise Fisher Martin Heath Alan Palmer Yolanda Saavedra Torres Eleanor Wainwright and the participants from the animal technician and veterinary nurse students 29

Why talking is important References 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 30 CAIPE 2019 Freeth D 2014 Interprofessional Education in Swanwick T ed Understanding Medical Education Evidence Theory and Practice 2nd edn Chichester Wiley Blackwell pp 81 93 Tierney K Lumbis R Orpet H Welsh P Gregory S and Baillie S 2011 Piloting interprofessional interventions with veterinary and veterinary nursing students Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 201 38 3 pp 311 318 Estrada et al 2016 Incorporating Inter Professional Education into a Veterinary Medical Curriculum Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 43 3 pp 275 81 PDSA Animal Wellbeing PAW Report 2016 www pdsa org uk media 2627 pdsa paw report 2016 National Centre for the Replacement Reductiona and Refinement of Animal used in Research https www nc3rs org uk grimacescales Animal Welfare Act 2006 http www legislation gov uk ukpga 2006 45 contents The Animals Scientific Procedures Act 1986 http www legislation gov uk ukpga 1986 14 contents Bloom B S Ed Engelhart M D Furst E J Hill W H and Krathwohl D R 1956 Taxonomy of Educational Objectives Handbook I The Cognitive Domain New York David McKay Co Inc Dietze B 2006 Vygotsky s Zone of Proximal Development in Early Childhood Education Foundations of Early Childhood Education Learning Environments and Childcare in Canada Pearson Learning Solutions 2006 VitalBook File Kolb D A 1984 Experiential Learning Experience as the source of learning and development Prentice Hall Englewood Cliffs N J Dweck C S 1999 Self Theories Their Role in Motivation Personality and Development Hove Psychology Press Taylor and Francis Group Parsall G and Bligh J 1999 The development of a questionnaire to assess the readiness of health care students for interprofessional learning RIPLS Med Educ 1999 Feb 33 2 95 100 Parsell G Gibbs T and Bligh J 1998 Three visual techniques to enhance interprofessional learning Postgraduate Medical Journal 74 pp 387 390 Maslow A H 1943 A Theory of Human Motivation Psychological Review 50 4 pp 370 96 Guiding principles on good practice for Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Bodies 3rd Edition September 2015 http www lasa co uk PDF AWERB_Guiding Principles_2015_final pdf National Centre for Replacement Reduction and Refinement of Animal in Research https www nc3rs org uk Understanding Animal Research http www understanding animalresearch org uk Yeates J W and Main D C J 2011 Veterinar y surgeons opinions on dog welfare issues JSAP 52 464468 Yeates J W and Main D C J 2009 Assessment of companion animal quality of life in veterinary practice and research JSAP 50 274 281 IPE Talking Walls Teaching Resource for staff LIVE Available at www live ac uk Media LIVE IPE_Talking_Walls_Teaching_Resource _for_staff pd Accessed on 19 06 19 Additional information If you are interested in the different resources provided on the teaching session or different learning theories please see below Resources for use by students pre post session Journals Yeates J W and Main D C J 2011 Veterinar y surgeons opinions on dog welfare issues JSAP 52 464 468 Yeates and Main 2009 Assessment of companion animal quality of life in veterinary practice and research JSAP 50 274 281 Selected sections of RCVS Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Nurses https www nc3rs org uk accessed on 19th June 2019 http www understandinganimalresearch org uk accessed on 19th June 2019 Learning theories information https www learning theories com accessed on 19th June 2019

April 2020 Animal Technology and Welfare The impact of training and development on staff working in animal research SYLVIA MEHIGAN Comparative Medicine Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute 152 160 Pearse Street Trinity College Dublin Ireland Correspondence sylvie mehigan gmail com Abstract This study looked at the impact training and development has on the motivation of animal research staff A questionnaire was distributed to animal research individuals by way of emails forums and mailing lists There was a total of 256 participants across the Republic of Ireland the United Kingdom and the United States of America Results show a dedicated profession who are committed to animal care and welfare and who recognise that education and training promotes an improved culture of care and better science Key words animal research education training culture of care biomedical research Introduction This article is based on a study to evaluate the effects of training and development on staff in three different countries that took place in 2018 these countries were the United Kingdom UK Republic of Ireland Ireland and the United States of America USA There have been many changes and advancements in the laboratory animal research industry over the last 50 years Developing from the breeding and housing of mice in small rooms to highly controlled environments detailed regulation on cage space environmental parameters and how we work in partnership with the animals The facilities of today are high specification with highly skilled and specialised personnel and researchers which are regulated by detailed legislation In November 1986 The European Council adopted Directive 86 609 EEC in order to eliminate disparities between laws regulations and administrative provisions of the member states regarding the protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purpose 1 Since then the European Council have been upgrading the law to aid a uniformed approach to legislation and in January 2013 each member state of the European Union enacted the new directive 2010 63 EU law into their current laws 2 For example the UK national law is the Animals Scientific Procedures Act 1986 which was updated to include the changes mandated by the EU Directive from 1st January 2013 3 The Directive was transposed into Irish law in December 2012 by SI No 543 of 2012 4 As part of this Directive training and competency is one of the areas which has come to the fore and its importance highlighted It details the need for training records for all staff and researchers working in an animal facility and the need for this training record to be up to date and available for inspection As part of the new legislation there are several people that need to be named in order to comply with the Directive These are called competent persons meaning under the Directive someone who is adequately educated and trained before they are permitted to perform any procedures on animals design procedures or projects take care of animals or cull kill them The study In 2018 we evaluated the effects of training and development on staff in three different countries namely the United Kingdom Republic of Ireland and the United States of America Legislation Legislation is a vital part of the biomedical research industry and has developed and improved over the years as has the industr y Animal research is constantly moving forward with new practices and techniques that continue to improve science both human and animal health and life The most progressive changes in the legislation came in 2013 The results show a highly trained and educated work force A total of 256 participated in a questionnaire with distribution of participants being as follows Ireland n 30 UK n 73 and USA n 155 All participants in the questionnaire replied that they did the job for the love and care of the animals and to be the advocate for the animals as well as being able to 31

The impact of training and development on staff working in animal research advance science and the health and care of both humans and animals The following outlines the results of this study Training and development Within all industries but especially within the animal research industry there are many levels grades of staff all of which have a detailed job description As staff are promoted to higher grades the individual takes on more responsibility and there is need for further knowledge and expertise It is important at each of the different grades that the right staff are in place with the necessary expertise so that they can fulfil the role of that grade and be able to advise and work closely with researchers Therefore education training and development are key factors in our industry Following analysis of the results qualifications of the participants were as follows IAT IAT Degree Masters PhD R AnTech Membership Fellowship 56 16 134 47 12 19 The following graph Table 1 is the complete breakdown participants qualifications from all three countries development provide staff that are highly trained and have the knowledge and skill to run specialised equipment like Magnetic Resonance Imaging MRI Computer Assisted Tomography CT Scan and to provide skilled procedures where necessary It is a legal requirement to have well trained and skilled staff in order to know when an animal is unwell and what is the line of reporting IAT Institute of Animal Technology LAT Laboratory Animal Technician CMAR Certified Manager in Animal Research RAnTech Registered Animal Technician RLATG Registered Laboratory Animal Technologist CVT Certified Veterinary Technician HNC Higher National Certificate DVM Doctor of Veterinary Medicine ILAM Institute of Laboratory Animal Management LVT Licensed Veterinary Technician CPIA Certificated Professional in IACUC Administration LAM Laboratory Animal Medicine RVT Registered Veterinary Technician AALAS American Association for Laboratory Animals IACUC Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee Table 2 List of qualifications relevant to Biomedical Research Industry It clearly appears from this study that training and development has an impact on staff motivation When participants were asked what would motivate them to take part in training Table 3 shows that the majority of participants do so for personal interest advancement and that it was also required by the facility and was a legal requirement Table 1 Qualifications held by survey participants The tables above show the breakdown of participants education There was a high response in the other qualifications section Table 2 shows the other qualifications which were named in the questionnaire by participants 52 3 of participants have a minimum of a degree in addition to animal veterinary technician qualifications It is clear from the results of the questionnaire that the staff who took part in the questionnaire were highly trained and educated That they were interested in progressing both their careers and education but are also interested in progressing science Training and 32 Table 3 Motivation for training

The impact of training and development on staff working in animal research When asked what incentive attracted participants to do training and development they indicated the following had been impor tant when deciding to complete training If there was clear pathway for promotion or an increase in salary See Table 4 When participants were asked what the criteria for promotion was it was interesting to see even with a limited chance of advancement that when there is a promotion opportunity it was overwhelmingly apparent as to the impor tance of both experience and qualifications This is reflected in the Table 6 as almost 70 of participants said that they would need both experience and qualifications to be promoted in their facilities Table 7 shows the range of positions participants held within their facilities when asked 70 of responses indicated they held positions other than the ones named in the questionnaire Table 4 Incentives to complete training Participants were also asked what would stop them from starting or continuing training Most participants said it was the time commitment and the cost involved in doing further training Table 5 shows a breakdown of responses over the three countries Table 7 Range of positions held within facilities Table 8 lists different positions and membership of professional bodies held other than those listed in the questionnaire Table 5 Disincentives for training Table 6 Facility promotion criteria IAT Institute of Animal Technology LAT Laboratory Animal Technician CMAR Certified Manager in Animal Research RAnTech Registered Animal Technician RLATG Registered Laboratory Animal Technologist CVT Certified Veterinary Technician HNC Higher National Certificate DVM Doctor of Veterinary Medicine ILAM Institute for Laboratory Animal Management LVT Licensed Veterinary Technician CPIA Certified Professional in IACUC Administration CPIA LAM Laboratory Animal Medicine RVT Registered Veterinary Technician ILASA Irish Laboratory Animal Science Association AALAS American Association for Laboratory Animal Science Table 8 Professional body membership 33

The impact of training and development on staff working in animal research Culture of care Creating a culture of care in a laboratory animal environment is of the utmost importance What is meant by a culture of care A culture of are sets the stage for attitudes and behaviours that enhance animal welfare beyond the legal requirements This is created by good hiring and training practices good communications between staff researchers and management Good management and leadership are ver y impor tant as they help to lead staff and researchers to create this culture and to maintain and continually improve it To aid making sure that staff and researchers are trained correctly and are competent the legislation in both Ireland and the UK states that a training officer must be in place in facilities to facilitate training and making sure that facility users both staff and researchers are trained this training is recorded and that people are competent to per form any technique permitted under their licence When participants were asked Do you have an input into the training structure and planning over 80 of them said they did have an input into the structure as indicated in Table 10 A high proportion of the participants were management level and therefore would have input into the planning and structure of same The results may have differed if the question had been focussed on all levels of staff in facilities It is possible that there is a higher percentage of participants who do not have an input into the planning and structure Following on from the question Do you have an input into the training structure and planning Participants were asked if the facilities where they worked had a training budget Over 60 of responses said yes See Table 11 Supervision of training In 2013 when new legislation was introduced in Europe one of the new Named Persons in the legislation was a Training Officer Out of the 256 participants who responded to the questionnaire this role has been taken on board by many facilities in all three countries 73 of participates said yes to having a Training Officer Table 9 Table 11 Availability of training budgets When asked what motivates you to do this job Table 9 Provision of Training Officers Below are the most frequent words or phrases cited in the answers for this question What stands out from the answers is that care and welfare of the animals is at the forefront of motivation for participants and they all consider that they have a duty of care to all the animals they look after They want to make sure that people are trained correctly to do the job they have been employed to do Recognising that there is continued advancement in the sciences affecting both humans and animals alike and that continued advancement is required in the care and welfare of animals and training of the staff caring for them is essential Motivational words used by responders help training welfare job people improve work humans care love animals animals love research best animal welfare good ensure well staff science Conclusion Table 10 Percentage of Responders involved in training structure and planning 34 This study looked at the impact training and development has on the motivation of animal research

The impact of training and development on staff working in animal research staff A questionnaire was distributed to animal research individuals by way of emails forums and mailing lists There was a total of 256 participants across three countries Animal research staff are very special individuals who put the care and welfare of the animals in their care to the fore They wish to help advance science in aid of both humans and animals All animal care staff are advocates for the animals in their care Creating a culture of care in a laboratory animal environment is of the utmost importance This is created by careful hiring of staff training practices and good communication between staff researchers and management Good management and leadership are also important It is clear from the results of the questionnaire that the staff who responded are highly trained and educated They are interested in progressing both their careers and their education but also progressing science Training and development for all staff in animal research is a very important part of any facility This provides staff that are highly trained with the knowledge and skill to care for specialised animals such as those which have been genetically altered and run specialised equipment like MRI CAT scans and other skilled procedures as well as complying with legal requirements and further studies and a further study may wish to tailor the questionnaire to look closer at the views of more junior members of staff in facilities References 1 2 3 4 Council Directive 86 609 EEC of 24 November 1986 on the approximation of laws regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States regarding the protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes Published 1986 11 24 Corporate author s Council of the European Union Subject administrative control animal experimentation animal welfare protection of animals CELEX 31986L0609 OJ JOL_1986_358_R_0001_01 Directive 2010 63 EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2010 on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes Text with EEA relevance https eur lex europa eu eli dir 2010 63 oj Animals Scientific Procedures Act 1986 www legislation gov uk 1986 contents S I No 543 2012 European Union Protection of Animals used for Scientific Purposes Regulations 2012 http www irishstatutebook ie eli 2012 si 543 made en print Legislation plays a very important part in the day to day running of all facilities and dictates a minimum training programme for both the researchers and staff working in any facility It also dictates that there should be a Training Officer in each facility and the results of the questionnaire indicates most facilities have one in place It also states that not only should staff and researchers be trained but also have a level of competence which is recorded by way of a training record which can be asked for by the inspectors when inspecting a facility Training and development have an impact on staff motivation the majority who took part in this study were motivated to do further training and development when it available to them It is clear there are factors that do impact on the motivation and why some individuals do not take par t in training and development including no clear pathway for promotion or understanding that pathway one which is mapped out for individuals to be able to follow and know that if they do a piece of training and development that it will lead to the next stage of their career The cost of training both in money and time is also a large factor deterring participants in this study from undergoing additional education or training One of the other important factors encouraging further training and development is an increase of salary What this study has shown is the majority of those who took part are at a high level already in the career map 35

Animal Technology and Welfare April 2020 CONTENU DE LA REVUE 70e anniversaire de l Institut de formation des techniciens animaliers STEPHEN BARNETT Correspondance atweditor iat org uk R sum Cet article marque le 70e anniversaire de la cr ation de l Animal Technician Association ATA devenue par la suite l Institute of Animal Technology IAT ou Institut de technologie animale Ces anniversaires servent d excuse aux c l brations mais offrent galement l opportunit de porter un regard r trospectif afin d valuer les accomplissements r alis s au fil des ann es Ils permettent en particulier d tudier le r le jou par l IAT dans le domaine cl de l ducation Ils permettent d tudier non seulement l ducation et les qualifications formelles mais aussi le r le des revues scientifiques des diff rentes branches scientifiques et du Congr s afin de s assurer que le personnel technique animalier est tenu inform des opinions actuelles Les objectifs du personnel technique animalier de laboratoire ayant cr l ATA ont t clairement pens s et nonc s dans les statuts de ce dernier Ceci offre un point de d part pour cette tude et permet de d finir les objectifs et la fa on dont ils ont t atteints Mots cl s Institut de technologie animale ducation Formation Personnel technique animalier Une valuation de la validit des recherches comportementales sur les animaux de laboratoire en tant que mod les transposables des preuves rencontr es dans la petite enfance KIERAN McMANAMON Correspondance k mcmanamon ucc ie Soumis l Institut de technologie animale 2019 en tant que th se d analyse documentaire FIAT R sum Chez les mammif res les premi res exp riences de la vie fa onnent la r ponse au stress chronique et aux troubles connexes observ s au cours de leur vie d adulte Des animaux de laboratoire principalement des rongeurs sont utilis s dans les mod les de recherche pr clinique sur les preuves de la petite enfance afin de d terminer la pathogen se des troubles psychiatriques li s au stress En tudiant le comportement des rongeurs et en obtenant des donn es neurochimiques l impact des v nements traumatiques survenant dans la petite enfance peut fournir des renseignements sur le risque de troubles psychiatriques induits par le stress chez l homme L importance d utiliser des rongeurs dans les mod les li s aux preuves de l enfance d pend d une approche int grative de la recherche d endoph notypes communs entre les esp ces Cette tude indique qu il existe des lacunes dans le traitement des probl mes conceptuels y compris les influences g n tiques et les diff rences interindividuelles en termes de vuln rabilit ou de r silience aux cons quences n gatives du stress La n cessit d une standardisation et d un contr le de la qualit int grant une meilleure conception exp rimentale et une compr hension des forces et des limites des mod les utilis s est pr dominante dans la litt rature actuelle Cette tude d crit les cadres d analyse et les hypoth ses qui constituent la base de l utilisation des mod les de rongeurs pour d finir les preuves de la petite enfance Les r sultats de cette tude indiquent qu il est justifi d utiliser des animaux de laboratoire pour identifier les sympt mes individuels ou les marqueurs des preuves de la petite enfance et des troubles psychiatriques connexes Les paradigmes des rongeurs fr quemment utilis s pour les preuves de la petite enfance fournissent une quantit consid rable d informations concernant l impact du stress en d but de la vie sur le fonctionnement et la structure des r gions c r brales pertinentes et sur les changements comportementaux et physiologiques associ s qui sont observ s chez les mammif res Les prochains travaux de recherche doivent se focaliser sur le d veloppement de mod les de rongeurs de haute qualit pour d crire les preuves stressantes de la petite enfance et inclure les avis de sp cialistes concevant les recherches cliniques humaines Ceci associ des exp riences reproductibles et soigneusement con ues incorporant des mod les de rongeurs transposables contribuera accro tre la validit des recherches pr cliniques sur les preuves de la petite enfance Mots cl s rongeurs stress mod les comportementaux endoph notypes 36

Paper Summary Translations Pourquoi il est important de discuter DANIELLE COX Correspondance atweditor iat org uk Basado en una Presentaci n de Plataforma en un Congreso de IAT R sum Cet article tudie la mise en place d une session de formation visant encourager l apprentissage en utilisant des approches p dagogiques et anagogiques L une de ces approches l enseignement interprofessionnel IPE ou interprofessional educations telle que d crite par le Center for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education CAIPE 2019 1 tait particuli rement int ressante car les auteurs pensent qu elle n avait jamais t utilis e auparavant dans le domaine des sciences animales la suite de recherches documentaires approfondies l auteur et son partenaire du secteur des soins v t rinaires ont d cid de se concentrer sur l thique en tant que point central Le programme de formation du secteur des soins v t rinaires et celui des technologues animaliers comprennent tous les deux des modules d thique mais aucun ne se concentre sur une autre profession par exemple les infirmiers v t rinaires sur l exp rimentation animale et sur la fa on dont elle a contribu aux progr s de la m decine v t rinaire et aux diff rentes influences des techniciens animaliers exemple les co ts li s l euthanasie Ils ont identifi de nombreuses similitudes avec les pratiques de la technologie v t rinaire et animale notamment l levage les syst mes de notation exemple le syst me Pain Scoring Grimace Scale ou C3R et les obligations l gales Mots cl s Formation soins v t rinaires technologie animale enseignement interprofessionnel p dagogique anagogique L impact de la formation et du d veloppement sur le personnel travaillant dans le domaine de la recherche animale SYLVIA MEHIGAN Correspondance sylvie mehigan gmail com Basado en una Presentaci n de Plataforma en un Congreso de IAT R sum Cette tude a examin l impact de la formation et du d veloppement sur la motivation du personnel travaillant dans le domaine de la recherche animale Un questionnaire a t distribu aux chercheurs en recherche animale par le biais d e mails de forums et de listes d envoi Au total 256 personnes y ont particip en R publique d Irlande au Royaume Uni et aux tats Unis Les r sultats pr sentent des professionnels enti rement d vou s aux soins et au bien tre des animaux et reconnaissant que l ducation et la formation favorisent une meilleure culture de soins et de meilleures donn es scientifiques Mots cl s Recherche animale R publique d Irlande ducation Formation Culture de soins 37

Paper Summary Translations INHALTVERZEICHNIS 70 Jahre Tiertechniker Ausbildung STEPHEN BARNETT Korrespondenz atweditor iat org uk Abstract Dieser Artikel blickt auf den 70 Jahrestag der Gr ndung der Animal Technician Association ATA aus der sp ter das Institute of Animal Technology IAT hervorging Jubil en sind Anlass zum Feiern bieten zudem aber auch Gelegenheit zur ckzuschauen und die Leistungen in der Vergangenheit zu bewerten Insbesondere betrachten wir hier die Aufgaben die das IAT im wichtigen Bereich Ausbildung bernommen hat Dabei geht es nicht allein um formale Ausbildung und Qualifizierung sondern auch um die Rolle die Fachzeitschrift Disziplinen und Kongress spielen damit Tiertechniker stets auf dem aktuellen Stand der Entwicklung sind Die Versuchslabortechniker die die ATA gr ndeten hatten klar durchdachte und in ihrer Satzung festgelegte Ziele Diese Ziele und ihre Umsetzung sind Ausgangspunkt f r diesen Bericht Schlagw rter Institute of Animal Technology Ausbildung Weiterbildung Tiertechniker Eine Bewertung der Validit t der VersuchstierVerhaltensforschung f r bertragbare Modelle fr hkindlicher Schwierigkeiten KIERAN McMANAMON Korrespondenz k mcmanamon ucc ie Als Abschlussarbeit zu FIAT Literaturstudien beim Institute of Animal Technology 2019 eingereicht Abstract Bei S ugetieren sind fr he Lebenserfahrungen pr gend f r die Reaktion auf chronischen Stress und die damit verbundenen St rungen im Laufe des adulten Lebens Labortiere vorwiegend Nager werden in pr klinischen Forschungsmodellen f r fr he Lebenserfahrungen verwendet um die Pathogenese stressbedingter psychiatrischer St rungen zu bestimmen Durch die Verfolgung des Verhaltens von Nagetieren und die Gewinnung neurochemischer Daten k nnen die Auswirkungen fr her traumatischer Ereignisse Einblicke in das stressbedingte Risiko psychiatrischer St rungen beim Menschen geben Der Nutzen der Verwendung von Nagern in Modellen f r Schwierigkeiten in der Kindheit h ngt von einem integrativen Ansatz zur Ermittlung gemeinsamer Endoph notypen zwischen den Arten ab Im Rahmen der vorliegenden Untersuchung wurde festgestellt dass es Defizite im Umgang mit konzeptionellen Fragen gibt einschlie lich genetischer Einfl sse und interindividueller Unterschiede in der Anf lligkeit oder Widerstandsf higkeit gegen ber negativen Folgen von Stress Die Notwendigkeit einer Standardisierung und Qualit tskontrolle die ein besseres Versuchsdesign und ein Verst ndnis der St rken und Grenzen der verwendeten Modelle einschlie en geht aus der aktuellen Literatur deutlich hervor Diese Bewertung umrei t die Rahmenbedingungen und Hypothesen die die Grundlage f r die Verwendung von Nagermodellen f r fr hkindliche Schwierigkeiten bilden Im Ergebnis dieser Bewertung wurde festgestellt dass die Verwendung von Versuchstiermodellen zur Untersuchung einzelner Symptome oder Marker f r fr hkindliche Schwierigkeiten und damit verbundene psychiatrische St rungen gerechtfertigt ist Die h ufig verwendeten Nagetierparadigmen von Schwierigkeiten im fr hen Leben liefern eine signifikante F lle von Informationen ber die Auswirkungen von Stress im fr hen Lebensalter auf die Funktion und Architektur der relevanten Hirnregionen und die damit verbundenen Verhaltens und physiologischen Ver nderungen bei S ugetieren Zuk nftige Forschung sollte sich auf die Entwicklung qualitativ hochwertiger Nagermodelle f r fr hkindlichen Stress konzentrieren wobei der Input von Spezialisten f r klinisches Humanforschungsdesign von Nutzen sein d rfte Dies wird in Verbindung mit reproduzierbaren sorgf ltig konzipierten Experimenten unter Einbeziehung von bertragbaren Nagermodellen dazu beitragen die Validit t pr klinischer Forschung ber fr hkindliche Schwierigkeiten zu erh hen Schlagw rter Nager Stress Verhaltensmodelle Endoph notypen 38

Paper Summary Translations Warum miteinander reden wichtig ist DANIELLE COX Korrespondenz atweditor iat org uk Basierend auf einer Pr sentation anl sslich des IAT Kongresses 2019 Abstract Diese Abhandlung diskutiert die Entwicklung eines Weiterbildungskurses zur F rderung des Lernens mit Hilfe p dagogischer und anagogischer Ans tze Einer dieser Ans tze der vom Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education CAIPE 2019 1 dargestellte Ansatz zur interdisziplin ren Ausbildung IPE war hierbei von besonderem Interesse da er nach Ansicht der Autorin im Bereich der Tierkunde bisher unber cksichtigt geblieben ist Nach einer umfangreichen Literaturrecherche entschieden sich die Autorin und ihr Mitarbeiter aus dem Veterin rbereich das Thema Ethik in den Mittelpunkt ihrer Betrachtungen zu stellen Sowohl die Lehrpl ne des Veterin rbereichs als auch die f r Tiertechnik beinhalten Ethik Module Diese beziehen allerdings die Erfahrungen aus dem jeweils anderen Fachgebiet nicht als Schwerpunkt mit ein So lernen Veterin re nicht eingehend ber Tierversuche und wie diese zu Fortschritten in der Veterin rmedizin gef hrt haben und Tiertechniker erfahren wenig ber verschiedene Einfl sse wie z B die mit Euthanasie verbundenen Kosten Sie stellten viele hnlichkeiten tier rztlicher und tiertechnischer Praktiken fest darunter Haltung Bewertungssysteme wie z B die C3R Schmerzbewertungs Grimassenskala und gesetzliche Vorschriften Schlagw rter Weiterbildung Veterin r Tiertechniker interdisziplin re Ausbildung p dagogisch anagogisch Auswirkung von Weiterbildung und Qualifizierung auf Personal in der Tierforschung SYLVIA MEHIGAN Korrespondenz sylvie mehigan gmail com Abstract Die vorliegende Studie untersuchte die Auswirkungen von Weiterbildung und Qualifizierung auf die Motivation von Personal in der Tierforschung Ein Fragebogen wurde per E Mail ber Foren und Mailinglisten an Tierforschungspersonal verteilt Es nahmen insgesamt 256 Mitarbeiter aus der Republik Irland dem Vereinigten K nigreich und den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika teil Die Ergebnisse zeigen einen engagierten Berufsstand der sich f r Pflege und Wohlergehen der Tiere einsetzt und sich bewusst ist dass Aus und Weiterbildung die Verbesserung von Tierpflegekultur und Wissenschaft f rdern Schlagw rter Tierforschung Republik Irland Ausbildung Weiterbildung Tierpflegekultur 39

Paper Summary Translations INDICE DELLA REVISTA 70 anni di formazione dei tecnici veterinari STEPHEN BARNETT Corrispondenza atweditor iat org uk Estratto Questo articolo segna il 70 anniversario di fondazione della Animal Technician Association ATA poi divenuta Institute of Animal Technology IAT Gli anniversari non sono solo un ottimo pretesto per festeggiare ma danno anche l opportunit di guardare indietro per valutare i risultati raggiunti nel corso degli anni in particolare il ruolo svolto dall IAT nel campo della formazione un area di particolare importanza L articolo non prende in considerazione solo i corsi e le qualifiche formali ma anche il ruolo svolto dalla pubblicazione dalle filiali e dal Congresso nell assicurare che gli stabularisti siano sempre aggiornati sul pensiero corrente Le finalit dei tecnici di stabulario fondatori dell ATA sono scaturite da una riflessione approfondita e sono statechiaramente delineate nello statuto dell associazione Questo proprio il punto di partenza della presente disamina quali erano le finalit e sono state raggiunte appieno Parole chiave Institute of Animal Technology formazione training tecnici di stabulario Una valutazione della validit delle ricerche sul comportamento degli animali da laboratorio come modelli traslazionali delle avversit precoci KIERAN McMANAMON Corrispondenza k mcmanamon ucc ie Presentata all Institute of Animal Technology nel 2019 come tesi di revisione bibliografica FIAT Estratto Nei mammiferi le prime esperienze di vita modellano la risposta allo stress cronico e ai relativi disturbi durante la vita adulta Gli animali da laboratorio prevalentemente roditori vengono usati nei modelli di ricerca pre clinica sulle avversit della prima infanzia per determinare la patogenesi dei disturbi psichiatrici legati allo stress Monitorando il comportamento dei roditori e ottenendo i dati neurochimici l impatto degli eventi traumatici nelle prime fasi dello sviluppo pu fornire informazioni sul rischio di disturbi psichiatrici indotti dallo stress negli esseri umani Il vantaggio derivante dall utilizzo dei roditori nei modelli di avversit infantili dipende da un approccio integrato alla ricerca degli endofenotipi comuni fra le specie La presente analisi ha riscontrato delle lacune nell affrontare i problemi concettuali fra cui le influenze genetiche e le differenze interindividuali nella vulnerabilit o resilienza alle conseguenze negative dello stress Nella letteratura corrente spicca la necessit di standardizzazione e controllo della qualit incorporando una migliore progettazione degli esperimenti e una comprensione dei punti di forza e delle limitazioni dei modelli usati La presente analisi delinea i contesti e le ipotesi alla base dell uso dei roditori come modelli delle avversit della prima infanzia Il risultato della revisione conferma che sussiste una giustificazione per l utilizzo degli animali da laboratorio come modelli per l indagine dei sintomi individuali o marcatori delle avversit della prima infanzia e dei disturbi psichiatrici associati I paradigmi delle avversit infantili relativi ai roditori di frequente utilizzo forniscono una significativa mole di informazioni sull impatto dello stress infantile sul funzionamento e sull architettura delle relative regioni cerebrali e sulle associate alterazioni comportamentali e fisiologiche nei mammiferi La ricerca futura dovrebbe concentrarsi sullo sviluppo di modelli di roditori di alta qualit per lo stress nella prima infanzia affiancati dal contributo di specialisti addetti alla progettazione della ricerca clinica umana Tutto ci combinato con esperimenti riproducibili e attentamente progettati che incorporano modelli traslazionali di roditori permetter di accrescere la validit della ricerca preclinica sulle avversit della prima infanzia Parole chiave roditori stress modelli comportamentali endofenotipi 40

Paper Summary Translations Perch parlarsi importante DANIELLE COX Corrispondenza atweditor iat org uk Estratto Questo articolo tratta la creazione di un corso di formazione avente la finalit di incoraggiare l apprendimento per mezzo dei metodi pedagogici e anagogici Uno di questi metodi la formazione interprofessionale interprofessional education IPE descritta dal Centro per il Progresso della Formazione Interprofessionale Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education CAIPE 2019 1 risultato di particolare interesse in quanto l autrice ritiene che non sia stato mai usato nella scienza degli animali In seguito a un ampia ricerca della letteratura l autrice e il suo collaboratore del settore paraveterinario hanno deciso di scegliere l etica come punto focale Sia il corso di studi per il settore paraveterinario sia quello per gli stabularisti includono moduli di etica ma nessuno dei due si sofferma sull altra professione ad es i paraveterinari sulla sperimentazione animale e su come essa abbia agevolato i progressi della medicina veterinaria e gli stabularisti sui diversi fattori influenzanti ad es le implicazioni di costo dell eutanasia Gli autori hanno individuato numerose analogie fra le prassi della veterinaria e della zootecnia fra cui l allevamento i sistemi di punteggi es la Scala di Punteggio delle Smorfie di Dolore C3R e gli obblighi di legge Parole chiave formazione paraveterinaria zootecnia formazione interprofessionale pedagogico anagogico L impatto di formazione e sviluppo sul personale addetto alla ricerca sugli animali SYLVIA MEHIGAN Corrispondenza sylvia mehigan gmail com Studio basato sulla presentazione data in occasione del Congresso IAT 2019 Estratto Questo studio ha preso in esame l impatto della formazione e dello sviluppo sulla motivazione del personale addetto alla ricerca sugli animali Ai singoli individui stato distribuito un questionario per mezzo di posta elettronica forum e mailing list Il numero totale di partecipanti stato di 256 fra Repubblica d Irlanda Regno Unito e Stati Uniti d America I risultati mostrano una professione dedita e impegnata nella cura e nel benessere degli animali che riconosce il ruolo dell istruzione e della formazione nella promozione di una migliore cultura della cura e di un settore scientifico pi avanzato Parole chiave ricerca sugli animali Repubblica d Irlanda istruzione formazione cultura della cura 41

Paper Summary Translations INDICE DE LA REVISTA 70 a os de formaci n de t cnicos veterinarios STEPHEN BARNETT Correspondencia atweditor iat org uk Resumen Este art culo marca el 70 aniversario de la fundaci n de la Animal Technician Association ATA que luego pasar a ser el Institute of Animal Technology IAT Los aniversarios son una buena excusa para hacer una celebraci n pero tambi n brindan la oportunidad de mirar atr s y evaluar los logros conseguidos con los a os En este caso en particular vemos la funci n que el IAT ha desempe ado en el rea central de la formaci n No solo considera la formaci n y las cualificaciones formales sino tambi n la funci n de la revista las sucursales y el Congreso a la hora de garantizar que el personal t cnico veterinario est al d a de las corrientes de pensamiento actuales Los objetivos del personal t cnico veterinario de laboratorio que fundaron la ATA fueron indicados claramente en sus estatutos de formaci n Esto indica el punto de partida de esta revisi n cu les eran los objetivos y c mo se han conseguido Palabras clave Institute of Animal technology Educaci n formaci n personal de t cnico de animales Evaluaci n de la validez de la investigaci n sobre el comportamiento de los animales de laboratorio como modelos trasladables de la adversidad en edad temprana KIERAN McMANAMON Correspondencia k mcmanamon ucc ie Enviado al Institute of Animal Technology 2019 como una tesis de revisi n de documentos FIAT Resumen En los mam feros las experiencias en edad temprana dan forma a la respuesta ante estr s cr nico y sus problemas relacionados durante la vida adulta Los animales de laboratorio principalmente roedores son utilizados en modelos de investigaci n precl nica de adversidades en edad temprana para determinar la patog nesis de las complicaciones psiqui tricas relacionadas con el estr s Al llevar un control del comportamiento de roedores y al obtener datos neuroqu micos el impacto de eventos traum ticos en edad temprana puede ofrecer informaci n sobre el riesgo de estr s inducido de complicaciones psiqui tricas en humanos El valor de utilizar roedores en modelos de complicaci n juvenil depende de un m todo integrador para buscar endofenotipos comunes entre las especies Seg n este estudio hay deficiencias a la hora de tratar problemas conceptuales incluidas influencias gen ticas y diferencias interindividuales en la vulnerabilidad y resistencia frente a las consecuencias negativas del estr s La necesidad de una estandarizaci n y un control de la calidad que incorporen un dise o experimental mejorado y una comprensi n de las ventajas y las limitaciones de los modelos utilizados resulta crucial para la bibliograf a actual Este estudio destaca los marcos y las hip tesis que sientan la base del uso de modelos de roedores de adversidad en edad temprana El resultado del estudio indica que existe una justificaci n para el uso de modelos de animales de laboratorio para investigar s ntomas individuales o indicadores de adversidad en edad temprana y complicaciones psiqui tricas relacionadas Los paradigmas de roedores utilizados normalmente de adversidad en edad temprana ofrecen un volumen significativo de informaci n sobre el impacto del estr s en edad temprana respecto al funcionamiento y dise o de las regiones cerebrales relevantes y los cambios fisiol gicos y de comportamiento relacionados en mam feros La investigaci n futura deber a centrarse en la creaci n de modelos de roedores de alta calidad con estr s en edad temprana con la ventaja de contar con aportaciones de especialistas que dise an investigaciones cl nicas con humanos Esto junto con experimentos reproducibles dise ados cuidadosamente y que incorporen modelos de roedores trasladables ayudar a conseguir una mayor validez de investigaci n precl nica de adversidades en edad temprana Palabras clave roedores estr s modelos de comportamiento endofenotipos 42

Paper Summary Translations La importancia de hablar DANIELLE COX Correspondencia atweditor iat org uk Resumen Este estudio trata sobre el establecimiento de un curso de formaci n para fomentar el aprendizaje utilizando m todos anag gicos y pedag gicos Uno de estos m todos la educaci n interprofesional IPE tal y como describe el Centre for the Advancement of Interprofessional Education CAIPE 2019 1 fue de gran inter s ya que la autora piensa que no se ha utilizado anteriormente en el rea de las ciencias animales Tras una b squeda bibliogr fica extensa la autora y su ayudante del sector de paraveterinaria decidieron centrarse en la tica como punto fundamental Tanto el plan de estudio del sector de paraveterinaria como el de los t cnicos veterinarios incluyen m dulos sobre tica pero ninguno se centra en otras profesiones p ej paraveterinaria sobre experimentaci n animal y sobre c mo esto ha ayudado a conseguir avances en la medicina veterinaria y las distintas influencias de los t cnicos veterinarios p ej implicaci n de los costes que conlleva la eutanasia Identificaron muchas similitudes con las pr cticas de tecnolog a animal y veterinaria como cr a sistemas de puntuaci n p ej Escala de Muecas respecto a Puntuaci n de Dolor C3R y obligaciones legales Palabras clave formaci n paraveterinaria tecnolog a animal educaci n interprofesional pedag gica anag gica La repercusi n de la formaci n y el desarrollo del personal que trabaja en la investigaci n animal SYLVIA MEHIGAN Correspondencia sylvie mehigan gmail com Resumen En este estudio se evalu la repercusi n que tienen la formaci n y el desarrollo en la motivaci n del personal involucrado en la investigaci n animal Se reparti un cuestionario entre individuos que trabajaban en la investigaci n animal mediante correo electr nico foros y listas de correo Hubo un total de 256 participantes en la Rep blica de Irlanda el Reino Unido y los Estados Unidos de Am rica Los resultados muestran una profesi n comprometida con el cuidado y el bienestar de animales y que reconoce que la educaci n y la formaci n fomentan una cultura del cuidado y una ciencia de mayor nivel Palabras clave investigaci n animal Rep blica de Irlanda Educaci n formaci n cultura del cuidado 43

April 2020 Animal Technology and Welfare OPINION ARTICLE The Concordat on openness on Animal Research and Animal Technologists WENDY JARRETT Understanding Animal Research Abbey House 74 76 St John Street London EC1M 4DZ Correspondence wjarrett uar org uk As the IAT celebrates its 70th birthday Wendy Jarrett from Understanding Animal Research reflects on the key role that animal care staff have played in supporting the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK and considers how they might help the public to understand animal research in the future It would be fair to say that the results of Ipsos MORI s 2012 opinion research into the public s views on animal research were a shock to our sector 1 They showed a 10 percentage point drop in public acceptance of the use of animals in research from around three quarters of the GB population saying in 2010 that they could accept animal research down to around two thirds saying the same thing in 2012 Was this a blip or the start of a worryingly downward trend Why when animal rights extremism and the publicity that surrounded it had disappeared was the UK public becoming less accepting rather than more so The UK bioscience community agreed that we could not afford to wait to find out the answers something needed to be done as soon as possible to help the public to understand why and how animals are used in scientific research in this country We identified the need for more and better communication with the public and around 40 organisations announced in October 2012 that they would work together to develop a Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK 2 Over the next 18 months Understanding Animal Research UAR coordinated the work to draft the Concordat forming a Steering Group and a Working Group We sought a wide range of opinions on what openness around animal research should look like including a meeting with the UK s leading science journalists and a public dialogue project to find out what the public really thought about this issue The focus groups that made up the public dialogue project revealed quite a high level of misunderstanding among the public about animal research several people thought that we were talking about cosmetic testing many thought that the main animals used in research were dogs cats and monkeys and most were unaware that anaesthetics and analgesics are required in the vast majority of cases where they can help to alleviate pain But we also found that the par ticipants had quite sophisticated concerns about the lack of openness around animal research they worried that unnecessary duplication might be going on if no one was sharing information about their current projects and they wanted reassurance that the research being carried out was valid and had a good chance of leading to medical progress When we had a draft Concordat that we were happy with we opened it for public consultation for six weeks towards the end of 2013 After some minor tweaks the Concordat was published in May 2014 Animal care staff had of course already been positive ambassadors for animal research well before the Concordat came about Technologists had been involved in several leading examples of openness such as the Coalition for Medical Progress project whereby journalism students had been given tours of the facilities at both King s College London and Huntingdon Life Sciences with Animal Technologists accompanying them to explain how and why the animals were used and cared for Once the Concordat was published signator y organisations were committed to supporting staff who 45

Opinion Article wanted to be open about their work and we began to see a wider range of communications activities Statements on websites confirmed that organisations were carrying out animal research and we started to see more images and videos of research animals on websites and social media In 2015 UAR organised the first competitive Openness Awards designed to celebrate the great work being done to help improve public understanding inviting entries from Concordat signator y organisations From the start of these Awards animal care staff were involved in many of the winning and commended activities from suppor ting media visits to King s College London s marmoset facilities to Agenda s Welfare First programme and posters of Named People being displayed at the MRC s Laborator y of Molecular Biology In subsequent years the IAT s Careers Pathway won an Openness Award as did Leicester University s media engagement with The Sun and GSK s remote video tour of its animal facilities None of these awardwinning projects would have been possible without the involvement of Animal Technologists Animal care staff have also been involved with UAR s schools talks programme now re named The Animal Research Conversation As with tours of facilities young people have found it very reassuring to hear that laboratory animals are looked after by people who love animals and to learn about the lengths that Animal Technologists go to in order to care for them In 2017 UAR created Labanimaltour org an online 360 video tour of four UK animal research facilities As well as the walk though tours visitors can click on videos and information boxes to find more detail Many of these videos feature animal care staff explaining how the animals are fed housed trained treated and cared for The 2014 2016 and 2018 Ipsos MORI opinion research findings show that public acceptance of animal research is holding steady and that the feared downward trend has not materialised at least not yet The numbers of people who think that animal research establishments are secretive are dropping and the numbers that consider themselves well informed about research using animals are rising Since the Concordat was published we have had almost six years of constantly improving public engagement and communications activities in the UK and Spain Por tugal and Belgium have published their own versions of the Concordat with several fur ther countries including the USA considering how they can enhance openness 46 So where do we go from here What should our sector s next steps be to continue to improve public understanding None of us has a crystal ball but I would like to highlight three areas where I think we need to prepare for the future In each of these Animal Technologists will have an important role to play in helping the public to understand the reality of animal research in the UK in the 21st Century We have seen a huge change over the last ten years in how people access information about the world Social media is gradually taking over from traditional media such as television radio and newspapers While this is a good thing in many ways it undoubtedly leads to more opportunities for misinformation to reach a large number of people particularly younger people We need to continue to adapt and evolve our communications strategies to keep up We will need people who work in animal research and especially Animal Technologists to share accurate content on social media comment on and correct misleading posts and consider creating their own posts to help people understand the reality of animal research The second area that we will need to embrace is an increase in public concern about animal welfare This is being seen across the board from the way animals in the food chain are treated to concerns about animals used in sport and recreation While we would all applaud the public s concerns we will want to ensure that they are based on fact and not fiction Once again animal care staff will be some of the best ambassadors in helping the public to understand how and why animals are used in scientific research in this country And thirdly we will need to adapt to the changes we will see in the way that animal protection groups work We are slowly getting used to the idea that illegal animal rights extremism is a thing of the past but we need to accept that legitimate forms of protest are here to stay We are already seeing a rise in groups demonstrating outside animal facilities as well as campaigns targeting particular areas of research Our sector will need to be resilient and robust in its explanations of why our work is important UAR does its best to counter these campaigns and support those institutions that are affected We will continue to de bunk misinformation on social media to give media interviews on behalf of the sector and to remind government and the Civil Service why research using animals remains a small but vital part of medical and veterinary progress We will also continue to provide opportunities for young people to find out about the reality of animal research and encourage them to make up their own minds about the ethics of

Opinion Article this research But UAR s budget is tiny compared to the incomes of organisations opposed to animal research and we need every organisation that uses or funds the use of animals in research to play their part in helping the public to understand what they do and why and how they do it There are many opportunities for animal care staff to engage with the public If anyone would like support and advice from UAR on how to start communicating please get in touch with us We are always happy to help our member organisations and can provide training in various different aspects of public engagement starting with how to go about telling your friends and family what you do for a living We have thankfully moved on from the bad old days of animal rights extremism to the extent that many people working today as Animal Technologists have never experienced any form of intimidation connected to their work We need to capitalise on this more supportive environment that we have all worked so hard to create and maintain it by helping the public to understand the benefits that animal research brings to science and society and the role of animal technicians in caring for laboratory animals References 1 2 Ipsos MORI 2012 Views on the use of animals in scientific research https www ipsos com ipsos mori en uk views useanimals scientific research Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK http concordatopenness org uk about the concordaton openness 47

April 2020 Animal Technology and Welfare TECH 2 TECH Haven t the time to write a paper but want to get something published Then read on This section offers readers the opportunity to submit informal contributions about any aspects of animal technology Comments observations descriptions of new or refined techniques new products or equipment old products or equipment adapted to new use any subject that may be useful to technicians in other institutions Submissions can be presented as technical notes and do not need to be structured and can be as short or as long as is necessary Accompanying illustrations and or photos should be high resolution NB Descriptions of new products or equipment submitted by manufacturers are welcome but should be a factual account of the product However the Editorial Board gives no warranty as to the accuracy or fitness for purpose of the product What 3Rs idea have you developed EMMA FILBY Mira Building University of Cambridge University Biomedical Services Charles Babbage Road Cambridge CB3 0FS Correspondence emma filby admin cam ac uk Based on an article written for the National Centre for the 3Rs Background Emma was invited to write an article as a 3Rs champion in NC3Rs Tech 3Rs Issue 5 November 2019 Here is her response describing how she has used an automated system to reduce how frequently mouse cage bedding is changed without compromising cleanliness Introduction Our unit opened in 2017 during the procurement of new equipment we had the opportunity to purchase a digital ventilated rack system from Tecniplast UK The cages are referred to as the Digitally Ventilated Cage or DVC This system uses the data collected by sensors below the cage to flag when to clean out based on the change in an electromagnetic signal To have this functionality we first needed to create an algorithm during a learning phase The learning phase devising an algorithm We held a meeting to agree what warranted a cage base change based on pictures to avoid being subjective We referred to the Home Office Codes of Practice for the housing and care of animals bred supplied or used for scientific purposes HOCoP for advice on husbandry practices to set our criteria balancing hygiene and the importance of olfactory cues to rodents and their need for control over their environment 1 We started the trial noting when the cage reached the point it required a base change We assessed air quality what proportion of the cage base was wet and whether the animals still had choice over their environment and their ability to show spatial separation of different behaviours such as nesting and excretion for example their nest was free of faeces During the learning phase we asked our Named Veterinary Surgeon NVS and Home Office inspector HOI to check that they agreed with our assessment 49

Tech to Tech We used ammonia level testing to ensure it remained safe for the animals The Small Animal Ammonia Sensors were from Vet Tech Solutions 2 We were surprised to find that for up to 6 weeks animals housed in pairs continued to remain looking clean and dry on visual inspection and that ammonia levels stayed low on the test strips meaning ammonia levels were 0 1 ppm which has been reported safe for mice 3 Using the algorithm The algorithm was developed by Tecniplast and applied the definition of dirtiness determined by Cambridge during the learning phase Now when we log into the DVC interface on our laptops the system automatically flags to us when the cage base needs changing The cage environment is measured by the DVC s sensors and the systems software combines different parameters to make an automated decision whether a cage base needs changing taking in consideration 1 Time since last bedding change 2 Moisture level evaluation 3 Number of animals in the cage increase in heart rate is acknowledged as a measure of stress 6 When moved to a clean cage a rodents heart rate increases twofold for over an and for this reason it can be argued as one of the most stressful procedures 7 For example Gerdin et al 2012 in an interesting study comparing venesection for blood sampling which involved nicking the tail with a sharp blade reported a rodents heart rate to raise for 35 40 minutes to a cage base change causing a longer rise in heart rate of 4560 minutes 7 Another study by Duke Zammit and Lawson 2001 also showed an increase in physical activity 8 Therefore HOCoP recommends Too frequent changing of enclosures should be avoided which inspired our review of our cage cleaning procedures when we purchased the DVC 1 What are your future plans In collaboration with Charles River Laboratories we plan to take routine Bio Burden samples to ensure that while the cage appears clean and ammonia levels low bacteria levels in the cage do not reach unsafe levels9 The frequency of cage changing has changed dramatically which we have found to have many positive impacts Animal welfare by reducing stress related to cage cleaning Reduced use of consumables saving money Reduction in the number of cages technicians are cleaning per week More time for technicians to carry out other tasks for example animal interactions such as handling habituation and cage improvements such as enrichment rotation Useful tool for training new technicians objectively as to which cages need cleaning previously training took longer because the criteria were ver y subjective and took time to learn We observe the mice are noticeably calmer and perform more complex and naturalistic behaviours such as nest building which is echoed in the feedback we receive from users and visitors to the facility Gaskill et al 2013 reported the direct correlation between the quality of their nests to their welfare 4 How did you develop your idea This idea came from the desire to reduce animal stress to a minimum Mouse activity is impacted by standard animal handling procedures such as cage changes showing that such procedures are stressors impacting in cage activity 5 An 50 Figure 1 We attribute the complex nest structures like the one pictured above created by a C57bl 6 lone stud male to the reduction in cage base changing frequency meaning the animals and nests are less disturbed The HOCoP recommends that transferring nesting material but not soiled bedding can be useful in order to maintain odour cues 1 Animal care staff in the facility rotate the nesting material given to their rodents resulting in a variety of materials being transferred during cage cleans and becoming incorporated into the animals nests For example Datesand Ltd Aspen Wood Wool was adopted as one of the materials offered on rotation an idea gained after Technicians from Mira attended RSPCA UFAW 25th Rodent and Rabbit Welfare Meeting in October 2018

Tech to Tech References 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Housing and Care of Animals Bred Supplied or Used for Scientific Purposes Code of Practice for the Housing and Care of Animals Bred Supplied or Used for Scientific Purposes Section 3 1 3 7 Cleaning p 82 https www vet tech co uk veterinary supplies facilitiesmanagement ammonia sensor aspx Eriksson A Hassan M and Konigsson K 2019 A simple method to determine the ammonia levels in order to improve the cage conditions for the mice Huddinge Sweden s n 2019 Gaskill B N Karas A Z Garner J P and PritchettCorning K R 2013 Nest Building as an Indicator of Health and Welfare in Laboratory Mice J Vis Exp 82 e51012 doi 10 3791 51012 Pernold K Iannello F Low B E Rigamonti M Rosati G et al 2019 Towards large scale automated cage monitoring Diurnal rhythm and impact of inter ventions on in cage activity of C57BL 6J mice recorded 24 7 with a non disrupting capacitive based technique s l PLOS ONE 2019 Vol 14 2 e0211063 Meijer M K B M Spruijt L F van Zutphen M and Baumans V 2006 Effect of Restraint and Injection Methods on Heart Rate and Body Temperature in Mice Laboratory Animals 40 4 382 91 Gerdin A K Igosheva N Roberson L A Ismail O Karp N Sanderson M Cambridge et al 2012 Experimental and Husbandry Procedures as Potential Modifiers of the Results of Phenotyping Tests Physiology and Behavior 106 5 602 11 Duke J L Zammit T G and Lawson D M 2001 The Effects of Routine Cage Changing on Cardiovascular and Behavioural Parameters in Male Sprague Dawley Rats Contemporar y topics in laborator y animal science American Association for Laboratory Animal Science 40 1 17 20 https www criver com products ser vices biologics testing solutions contamination and impurity testing microbiology testing region 3601 51

Animal Technology and Welfare April 2020 Sharing mouse resources JULIE ROBERTS MRC Harwell Institute Harwell Campus Oxfordshire OX11 0RD Correspondence j roberts har mrc ac uk Based on a platform presentation at IAT Congress 2019 Introduction Since the dawn of genetic engineering many thousands of genetically altered mice have been created that have been used to advance our understanding of the links between gene function and human disease Fortunately many investigators recognise the value of sharing their mice par ticularly if they can take advantage of secure well funded repositories Embr yo cr yopreser vation has been a standard laboratory technique since the early 1970s and still remains the method of choice when freezing inbred lines or complex strains 1 However it was not until the turn of the century that advances in technology yielded simple and robust sperm freezing protocols which for the most part have now superseded embryo archiving Sperm freezing has some distinct advantages namely it uses fewer animals and is a quick and easy procedure to set up The timely cryopreservation of mouse models is seen as a key aspect of good colony management supporting the drive for improvements in animal care and the implementation of the 3Rs Archiving and distributing QC verified mouse strains for the community also safeguards the mouse strain eliminates the need to recreate mice while at the same time providing a check point in the development of mouse strains that minimises genetic drift and the risks of genetic contamination through breeding mishaps All of which can contribute to poor data reproducibility which has become an area of great concern Similarly having to create mouse strains that are not freely available is an enormous waste of animals time and money 2 well characterised mice on a known genetic background If this is not the case data generated may be difficult to reproduce therefore wasteful of resources and potentially damaging for the researcher s reputation Mouse users need to be aware of the implications of genetic variability for their studies following the accumulation of unwanted mutations caused by genetic drift in their colonies estimated at 100 point mutations per generation 3 Embryo and sperm banking can help control genetic drift It is now common practice for animal facilities to return to frozen stocks allowing them to re establish an inbred strain from the founder stock every five generations 18 months This effectively erases any mutations that have occurred in the colony over that time The main objective here is to freeze germplasm harvested from mice that are genetically defined Exchanging material Promoting the exchange of frozen and unfrozen material between establishments has under pinned the drive towards improvements in animal welfare and offers both ethical and practical advantages over live animal shipment Sharing resources benefits science in other ways Making archived strains available to the scientific community encourages collaborations between researchers who may otherwise work independently on similar models It also raises the profile of the originator and increases their citation index Crucially the beneficial rights are always retained by the owner Quality control know thy mouse Sharing mouse models is great for science but it does come with the caveat that the recipient needs to receive 52 Figure 1 Number of shipments distributed since 2002 from EMMA either as live mice or frozen material

Tech to Tech As technology has advanced it is now often possible to replace the global movement of live animals with frozen and fresh germplasm without any significant loss of viability The Harwell embryo bank and other large repositories now regularly import and export samples in a variety of formats i e conventional LN2 shipping vessel as well as on dry ice sperm only chilled at 4 8 C embryos in M2 medium or as sperm retained in epididymides held in specialised preservation media e g Lifor Data from the EMMA repository Figure 1 show there has been a marked reduction in the proportion of live animal shipments being distributed since 2013 With recent technical developments this proportion is set to fall further Figure 2 A liquid nitrogen dry shipper The conventional method of transporting frozen materials In order to promote the exchange of frozen unfrozen germplasm it is important to consider what type of service researchers require Namely a fast and flexible exchange process which offers cheaper alternatives to live animal transportation Using the Harwell embryo bank as an example the uptake of dry ice shipments has increased in recent years Since 2014 the Har well repositor y has successfully exchanged over 290 strains as frozen sperm on dry ice to establishments all over the globe Figure 3 This is a very robust technique in fact studies show that sperm can be held at dry ice temperatures for up to two years 4 As is always the case these results are dependent on ensuring that care is taken when handling the material during packing or transfer back into LN2 storage on arrival to ensure the samples do not warm up Incorrect handling or storage will compromise the viability of the samples and subsequent fertilisation rates Despite the benefits of this technique some researchers clients still have a preference for using traditional shipping methods Their main concerns often centre around their uncertainty over how the samples should be handled and the viability of material being held in an environment other than liquid nitrogen To encourage the uptake of dr y ice shipments guidelines for handling the material are made available prior to shipping in addition to data from viability studies This includes validated results using dry ice shipments of sperm harvested from inbred and GA mice on a variety of genetic backgrounds and frozen using one of three commonly used freezing methods namely a the classical protocol using 18 raffinose 3 skim milk b the classical protocol modified using MTG by Ostermeier et al and c the classical protocol as modified using L Glutamine by Takeo and Nakagata 4 5 Figure 3 Shows the distribution of countries that have received frozen sperm in dry ice shipments sent from the MRC Harwell Despite the exchange of frozen sperm on dry ice becoming more widespread researchers are yet to develop a robust procedure for exchanging frozen embryos using the same technique One promising area of research has been the use of high osmolality vitrification HOV techniques 6 There is however a caveat to this the exchange of HOV embryos using dryice would only be appropriate for material frozen via HOV and will not be suitable for most of the existing archived embryos frozen using conventional methods Cold transport systems Not all laboratories are equipped to handle frozen germplasm Fortunately there are practical options for those laboratories without the capacity to handle frozen material yet still keen to safeguard their mouse lines For example refrigerated epididymides can be exchanged The recipient laboratory just needs to 53

Tech to Tech har vest the sperm in the normal way Although untreated sperm can remain viable for up to 48 hours at refrigerated temperatures fertilisation rates using this sperm are generally low In addition 48 hours does not always allow sufficient travel time for material to reach their destinations especially if the samples are being shipped from overseas Fortunately a study conducted at Kumanoto University Japan demonstrated that the Lifor organ transfer medium greatly improved fertility of sperm shipped in unfrozen epididymides 5 Higher fertility levels were seen after 72 96 hour of cold storage using Lifor compared with alternative storage solutions such as paraffin oil or M2 medium When combined with the addition of reduced glutathione in the in vitro fertilisation medium to enhance sperm motility shipment in Lifor provides a simple reliable alternative to live animal transportation and frozen sample exchange More recent developments have further prolonged the survival of cold stored sperm with the addition of DMSO and quercetin to Lifor preser vation media allowing epididymal sperm to remain viable for up to 10 days 7 Figure 4 shows fertilistion rates for frozen sperm harvested from epididymides held in Lifor plus DMSO and quercetin compared with sperm frozen directly after harvesting easy access to mouse models In Europe the European Mouse Mutant Archive EMMA www infrafrontier eu operates as a non profit repository for the collection archiving and distribution of novel mouse models There are now 13 EMMA nodes dotted across Europe The EMMA network has global reach distributing gold standard materials to facilities all across the world Currently researchers have access to 7 200 mouse mutants in addition to other services such as mouse production phenotyping services training and axenic mice The International Mouse Strain Resource IMSR www findmice org is another overarching multiinstitutional collaboration supporting the exchange of mouse models The primary goal of the IMSR is to provide an online searchable catalogue that will assist the international research community in finding the specific mouse resources they require These resources may be available as live mice embryos ES cells or sperm Large institutional repositories as well as small independent laborator y collections are displayed on the database making the IMSR the largest such resource currently available Figure 5 It is worth noting that the IMSR does not physically hold the resources instead it provides direct links to the repository from where the material can then be obtained It is worth noting that the Mouse Genome Informatics database http www informatics jax org links through to the IMSR International Mouse Strain Resource Figure 4 Average fertilisation rates for refrigerated epididymides held in Lifor supplemented with DMSO and quercetin over a 72 hour period Accessing the resources and training To promote a cooperative research environment it is vital that the available resources are of the highest quality and easily accessible These are important factors when considering what type of archiving distribution services researchers require A number of collaborative programmes have been established to provide the scientific community with 54 Figure 5 Larger established repositories as well as smaller independent laboratories make their material available via the IMSR Another public resource that promotes sharing is the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium IMPC In 2011 the IMPC was launched as an international scientific endeavour to create and characterise the phenotype of 20 000 knockout mouse strains that comprise the entire mouse genome Mouse strains generated by the IMPC are deposited as frozen material at the KOMP www KOMP org repositor y or in EMMA along with all the phenotypic data This data is freely accessible on a fully searchable online database

Tech to Tech www mousephenotype org generating what has been described as a comprehensive encyclopaedia of mammalian gene function In keeping with the ideals of open exchange of mouse models preferably as germplasm is the need to disseminate the skills required to handle freeze and thaw the samples competently In Europe a range of embryo handling and cryopreservation training courses are advertised through the EMMA website all of which offer comprehensive hands on training Efficient archives are essential to the future success of bio medical science They reduce animal usage promote collaborations and help advance research by providing investigators with access to gold standard mouse models References 1 2 Future outlook If repositories are to realise their full potential in supporting the research community and eliminating the recreation of pre existing models they need to encourage open access sharing between establishments and institutions The Harwell Archive is currently diver ting more resources to increasing awareness of its services and to encourage early career scientists and technical experts to use biobanks through a series of road hows and exhibitions at scientific meetings Figure 6 3 4 5 6 7 Whittingham D G Leibo S P and Mazur P 1972 Survival of mouse embryos frozen to 196 degrees and 269 degrees C Science 178 411 414 doi 10 1126 science 178 4059 411 Freedman L P Cockburn I M and Simcoe T S 2015 The economics of reproducibility in preclinical research PloS Biol 13 6 e1002165 doi 10 1371 journal pbio 1002165 Lynch M 2010 Evolution of the mutation rate Trends Genet 26 345 352 doi 10 1016 j tig 2010 05 003 Raspa M Guan M Paoletti R Montoliu L Ayadi A Marshall S EMMA Infrafrontier Technical Working Group Fray M and Scavizzi F 2010 Dry ice is a reliable substrate for the distribution of frozen mouse spermatozoa A multi centric study Theriogenology 2017 96 49 57 Takeo T Tsutsumi A Omaru T Fukumoto K Haruguchi Y Kondo T Nakamuta Y Takeshita Y Matsunaga H Tsuchiyama S Sakoh K Nakao S et al 2012 Establishment of a transport system for mouse epidiymal sperm at refrigerated temperatures Cryobiology 2012 65 163 168 Mochida K Hasegawa A Li M W Fray M D Kito S et al 2013 High Osmolality Vitrification A New Method for the Simple and Temperature Permissive Cryopreservation of Mouse Embryos PLoS ONE 8 1 e49316 doi 10 1371 journal pone 0049316 Yoshimoto H Takeo T and Nakagata N 2017 Dimethyl sulfoxide and quercetin prolong the survival motility and fertility of cold stored mouse sperm or 10 days Biology of reproduction 2017 97 6 883 891 doi 10 1093 biolre iox144 Figure 6 The MRC Harwell exhibition stand at a recent scientific conference Promoting training opportunities and the sharing of resources 55

Animal Technology and Welfare April 2020 An Animal Technician s life for me STUART SAIGEMAN Laboratory Animal Services Centre The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Correspondence s saigeman cuhk edu hk Based on an IAT Congress 2019 Platform Presentation Abstract Introduction Opportunities that has been my favourite buzz word for the last 14 years and if you had a look at my CV you would understand why The opportunities in the Animal Technology industry are great and there are many ways to enter and develop a career within this industry When I look back at my life at my career I have been in pretty much the same career path from the age of 16 year old when I left school That was in 1981 at Glasgow University in the Department of Dermatology animal facility looking after mice and Guinea pigs as a trainee Animal Technician Since then my career path has taken me through many great opportunities Some have been a certain amount of luck being in the right place at the right time Some of that luck was having a good set of skills and knowledge behind me One thing I did learn which I hold to this day if you have the oppor tunity to do something or learn something provided by your employer TAKE IT All too often I would hear technicians say I don t like that where am I going to use that it looks boring and other negative remarks For me that is the wrong attitude I honestly cannot think of any situation whereby I turned down an opportunity to learn It also helped that those 11 years at Glasgow University in two facilities my manager gave me those opportunities a good manager does help What kept me in the industry for so long Do I have any regrets Have I tried to leave For me I was 14 years old when I decided I wanted to become a veterinary surgeon I did voluntary work at a small veterinary practice for six months after school and at weekends and I got bored I received no advice from the veterinarians my school or even my parents I did some more research through the careers section in the local job centre and found animal technology so at 15 years old I decided that was the job for me At 16 years old I started work as a trainee animal technician at Glasgow University fast forward a good few years and I am still in the industry I have come a long way but more importantly so has animal research Some things have been good some bad and some just a pain As a person starting at a young age has my perception and thoughts about the industry changed since then Has the industry made me change Has legislation made me change Has society made me change Or is it just maturity What challenges are mature young and new technicians facing today The journey Between Glasgow University and Organon Laboratories Ltd these accounted for approximately 21 years of my working life with the next 17 or more years taking up the rest Furthermore what challenges are faced by employers Or by employees to want to stay in this industry Life is a journey and I have shaped that journey by choice mostly good choices hard work being in the right place at the right time and a certain amount of luck but most impor tantly by embracing the opportunities presented to me This is my journey I would like to share 56 Figure 1 My career journey

Tech to Tech he retired and another who attained a Grade 3 position I think he tried to progress but for various reasons never achieved a higher grade and stayed as a hands on technician with a limited licence They did not necessarily want to continue studying and move up the ladder with the added responsibility not forgetting the politics that are always there regardless if it s a University a CRO or a large Pharma The politics are the same just different people Figure 2 Job locations So two jobs in 21 years based in Scotland UK and nine jobs over 17 years in Auckland NZ Palmerston North NZ England UK and currently Hong Kong If you look at the IAT Career Pathway for Animal Technologists Figure 3 you see there is a linear route of progression via different course providers and a rough time guideline to achieve a high position in the industry which is typically a mangers role That is fine and there are lots of people who have done just that As are there people who get to a position grade with a nice salary a good working environment who are quite happy staying where they are I once knew two technicians one got up to a grade 5 and stayed in that position until When I first started I was a Trainee Technician for 2 years before I got my Personal Licence under the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 Then I was considered for a promotion which was dependent on gaining an ONC in Biological Sciences Nowadays people can start doing animal work after a very short period of time in its simplest form they sit a couple of exams after a few days of lectures a hands on animal handling assessment and then they can apply for a license to carry out a range of procedures on living animals However some institutions may require additional inhouse training before they are deemed competent to carry out these procedures and then possibly only under supervision It is still a long way short of the 2 years I had to go through and then I was supervised until I was deemed competent That is no reflection of the training requirements that have been adopted today as my two year training was implemented by my employer at the time not legislation The range and availability of qualifications today is fantastic from a variety of providers and range from the basics onto more specialised areas around animals in research However there is a whole world of opportunities whereby you can come into and out of the Animal Technologist field without compromising a career pathway as can be seen in Figure 4 Figure 4 A non linear career pathway Figure 3 Institute of Animal Technology Career Pathway The arrows represent pathways in and out of the linear approach to a career pathway whereby you can move between disciplines and even specialise These all have a certain amount of transferrable skills and even making a side way move will allow you to use these skills and knowledge to gain this position and at the same time learn new skills I have known people who started as 57

Tech to Tech Animal Technologists moved into sales set up their own business went back into sales and even back into an animal facility over several years Around 2011 I was getting to the end of a 2 year fixed term contract working mainly with pigs involved in human nutrition trials I absolutely loved working with pigs and the location the salary was great and I had learnt a lot of new skills These included making a research diet from scratch setting up and running studies helping with study design designing modifying cages pens rooms as examples What I did not like was smelling like a pig for 2 years Leaving work on a Friday night I would shower change my clothes then go to the pub to meet friends I would always sit at the end of the table as on smelling myself I would not want to sit next to me I decided to get out of animal technology and do something different and I looked at what skills I had that I could use in a completely different industry without having to retrain The skills I looked at were project managing working with people and key stakeholders writing reports working outside the box and ability to learn legislation very quickly These coupled with my liking of driving the countryside and building renovation and design I went into real estate I decided to specialise in selling lifestyle properties bare land blocks kennels catteries and motels etc I did this for just under 3 years where I was selfemployed which I loved but that s another story This and a short period trying out a role as a recruitment consultant in the UK are the only times I have actively tried to leave the animal profession What about intuition gut feelings perception hair standing up on the back of your neck feeling In these situations you are learning which will add to your skills and knowledge not forgetting plain good old maturity in my case at least Take a manager technologist doing a job for 30 years do you think you can get their skills and knowledge passed onto another technologist in the 30 days of their notice period No you cannot that is a skill and knowledge set that will be lost forever Working at various facilities you will encounter a variety of different species depending on the nature of work associated with that institution or facility whether it is a big pharmaceutical company contract research organisation university or a small independent company specialising in a particular field On my journey I have worked with a lot of different species undoubtedly mice and rats being the most common species used But I have worked with other species such as sheep dogs zebra finches pigeons horses and cats as shown in Figure 6 some of which I have bred within the facilities I worked Skills learnt Some skills and knowledge are gained through training whether that s a formal course of study working with a colleague s in your institution or attending seminars meetings conferences and visiting other facilities and institutions There is a however a lot gained just from doing a job or task and I am not referring to a particular task but things that can happen around it I am referring to situations that are not in a textbook or in a trainer s notes and you cannot even use Google to find it Look at Figure 5 these are all skills that you can be taught and find in a textbook Figure 6 Diferent species used in animal research The species highlighted in red are those used within the facility but which I do not have practical working experience of However outside of work I have kept and or bred snakes rabbits quail sheep finches hamsters pigeons horses dogs ferrets and chickens not on the list are budgies cockatiels and parrots If you moved between countries as I have done some countries do not have any research using particular species As in Hong Kong I am unaware of any dog cat or primate work being carried out Sheep are pretty much non existent whereas pigs are available and used Positions held Figure 5 Skills required as an Animal Technologist 58 If you were to move around you may encounter being given co opted into positions which really you cannot avoid Managers would often be added to an Ethics committee become a Named Animal Care and Welfare Officer NACWO are just two examples

Tech to Tech had free range to use the land paddocks as we pleased There I housed our 3 horses Figure 8 I had a dog pigeons finches again and I started to raise bobby calves 0 4 day old calves As part of the job I also had to breed beagles I had a stud of approximately 30 breeding bitches and 5 stud dogs Figure 7 Additional roles At around the age of 19 years old I was appointed the Health and Safety Officer for the facility bearing in mind I started at 16 years 2 years as a trainee then the next year I was given this added duty I knew nothing about Health and Safety I was given no training so ended up getting in touch with Glasgow Health Board safety department where I spent some time with them learning Health and Safety This stood me very well as I went on to learn more about safety in general and more specifically Health and Safety within an animal facility This also led me to become an Animal Laboratory Technician managing up to 9 operating procedure rooms and associated laboratory space Along the way I was given a variety of courses to attend which ranged from manual handling risk assessment surger y modules sea container inspection for Biosecurity interview skills and not forgetting areas such as computer skills When I moved from a technologist position to that of a manager I was given a PC and laptop At the time I could plug them in and could find the on off buttons that was as far as my PC skills went Moving between those positions my CV was produced on a typewriter Those were the days Out of the box opportunities With some jobs comes opportunities and perks When I was managing a kennel and small CRO site in New Zealand it was on a 10 acre lifestyle block in the country on flat sandy soil a few miles from the beach Here as well as the position coming with a house we Figures 9 and 10 Beagle breeding stock I was here for approx 1 year 6 months in the role and 6 months as weekend caretaker as the property was frequently targeted by the anti vivisectionists This I loved as when in the UK you are advised not to engage with anti vivisectionists In New Zealand my boss gave me free reign to engage So I did with great delight armed with my cup of tea and biscuits I would go down and confront them with my camera taking pictures of them and their cars threatening to go to their places of work and homes telling their neighbours and work colleagues they would rather save a mouse than their children or family pet After a while the frequency and numbers dropped dramatically until they eventually stopped I guess they saw me as too much work and not an easy pushover The challenges in roles Figure 8 At home Very often there can be many challenges when in a position and throughout your career whether you are an employer and or employee These challenges can have a very profound affect in the working environment and how you deal with these can make or break how much you like being there 59

Tech to Tech These can come from G G G G G employers employees the Industry Itself the Public governments Employers Business guru Jack Welch stated the workforce consists of 20 per cent of people who are high performers 10 per cent that you should get rid of and 70 per cent who do okay The problem is the 70 per cent Most managers want everyone in the 20 per cent We need to be careful not to believe that the 70 per cent are underperformers Sometimes we need to celebrate the competence of the masses not the superpowers of the elite As managers we are not managing things we are empowering people and making the best use of whatever it is they bring to the table If there is something challenging happening in a staff member s personal life they will have limited capacity left to deal with issues at work Someone suddenly under performing at work It may have nothing to do with work Put your caring hat on and ask questions at the same level as them not towering above them as the boss Believe me it makes a massive difference and the respect you may eventually earn from staff is very humbling Sometimes companies look for a new direction or float along year on year and then decide to ask an expert for advice Speak to your own staff first So many managers and companies fall into the trap of asking external consultants for answers and then trying to implement the recommendations over the top of triedand true employees In almost every case your own staff already know the answers musty offices talking about the 1970s or 1980s They should be proactively seeking out smart young people who can shake them out of their comfort zone and open their eyes to new ideas Do not put off working overseas Geography is becoming less relevant If you get the chance to work overseas and you aspire to do it take it There is never a right time I left the UK in 2004 moving to New Zealand with my wife and two young girls 3 and 10 years old with no job Did not know anyone and had never been there before You will regret the things you fail to do far more than the things you do Work in a facility where you have friends You spend a lot of time at work so you should work with people you like Work is much better if you are among friends The happiest people are those who do things they are passionate about with people they really like Further to that if you find you have taken on a job you hate ditch it quickly Your career can survive a few well intentioned detours and wrong paths I tried working in staff recruitment as I thought this is different and the company offered me the chance in fact I was offered two jobs from different managers in the same office I started in this position with excitement of a 20s something I hated it after 2 3 weeks I was ready to resign but didn t and stayed for 3 months I held off until other positions back in the animal industry were starting to materialise by which point I was having interviews with 3 prominent companies within the Animal Technology sector Eventually accepting one and pulling out of an interview with 45mins notice not the best action to take but my pathway was set It turns out that I did eventually go and work for that employer 1 year later so pulling out of an interview so late in the game did not do me any harm though I would not recommend this to be normal or acceptable practice Employees A career is a marathon not a sprint Allow yourself time to breathe and grow Things will come if you work hard and allow yourself time to become experienced at things When you are young in the workplace do not act as a novice If you are smart and competent step up and do whatever you can do in a mature way Similarly when you are an older worker don t act like it Approach your day with youthful energy Do not just network with people your own age In the older person s world others can be seen as bright young things This gives confidence that the future is in good hands How arrogant How many times have you heard that Smart 20 somethings should make sure they network with older people too In fact their networking should be about meeting useful mentors and career champions who can quickly open doors Similarly older successful people shouldn t just sit in 60 Never sacrifice personal ethics for a work reason If you work somewhere that compromises your personal professional ethics and values get out of there as quickly as you can Good people will be unnerved by things that they do not feel comfortable with If it doesn t feel right it probably isn t Bad things only manifest when good people do not take a stand Never work for a horrible boss or company environment Life is way too short to tolerate bad bosses If you find yourself working for one unless you are desperate or starving start looking for a new job Immediately Then sack the bad boss by leaving There is a story regarding President John F Kennedy s visit to the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA during which he asked a cleaner what his job was The cleaner replied that he sent

Tech to Tech rockets to the moon Never underestimate the value of ANYONE in your facility or company We should take the time to be part of the big picture and always feel connected with the true objectives of our workplace From the bottom to the top and from the top to the bottom Don t wait for someone to tell you that internal communication is rubbish Find out for yourself and make your own judgement as you could end up following and believing someone else s view of the workplace and it is after all THEIR opinion don t be a sheep Recognise that failure is learning doesn t mean you should actively look to fail Some reasons why people leave the profession G anti vivisection activity G contract ended G veganism G peer pressure family and friends G clamp down on types of research by governments G personal choice G personality clashes at work G hate the culture G hate my boss G navigate to my hobby G take overs G business closures G romance G compassion fatigue G wanting to travel In my travels I have experienced cultures which treat animals differently and you cannot attack it like a bull in a china shop or in the case of cows freely walking along the road in the middle of a town Figure 11 The collars are not for identification but are fluorescent so vehicles can see them at night Figure 12 Free living macaques in Hong Kong Bins are not provided in some areas as the monkeys go through them looking for scraps of food and it is against the law to feed them with a fine of 10 000 upon conviction The journey continues Where to from here Will I stop Probably not Will I move to another country or back to where I call home which is New Zealand Probably yes Will it be a direct move Who knows I did think back in 2016 I would be heading back to New Zealand after spending 3 years in the UK but ended up in Hong Kong It comes back to opportunities if its right for you and it works and you can push aside the excuses and the people clouding your judgment then do it As I write this I have just moved onto a new 2 year contract in Hong Kong and I have an outside business practice registered in Hong Kong Figure 13 The journey continues The reason because I can Why not try something new If it works great if it doesn t at least I gave it a go Figure 11 Free range cattle There is also a population of approximately 1 800 Rhesus Long tailed and their hybrids macaques in Hong Kong Yes do not feed the monkeys they have sharp teeth and are just waiting to see if you have a hint of a tasty morsel of food My take home message Employees G take control of your destiny G speak up speak with your manager engage with your employer G take every opportunity that is presented to you 61

Tech to Tech Employers G listen G be happy for someone who leaves your employment they may want to come back with even more and better skills G let your staff grow Life is too short As I finish writing this my situation is changing again and I am heading away from Hong Kong to my next adventure Dedication I would like to dedicate this short life summary to my Aunt Nena who died many years ago from cancer She was one of those people who listened to other people then told them if they were talking nonsense but she did it nicely She inspired me to do things I loved her for that 62

April 2020 Animal Technology and Welfare AS ET CONGRESS BURSARY ESSAY COMPETITION 2019 Winning entry Outline the responsibilities of the Named Animal Care and Welfare Officer in a facility licensed under the Animals Scientific Procedures Act 1986 as amended 2012 or the EU directive 2010 63 EU Discuss the ways in which you can assist the NACWO in ensuring the welfare of the animals in your care REBECCA McCLEAN FERA Science Sand Hutton York North Yorkshire YO41 1LZ Correspondence rebecca mcclean fera co uk The Animals Scientific Procedures Act 1986 as amended 2012 ASPA requires all facilities licensed for the use of protected animals in research to have a Named Animal Care and Welfare Officer NACWO The NACWO is responsible for animal care and welfare at their establishment They along with the Named Veterinary Surgeon NVS are a source of knowledge and advice on minimising suffering and optimising the care welfare husbandry and accommodation of all animals they are responsible for The NACWO will need to be an expert in the care welfare and husbandry needs of the animals they are responsible for with up to date knowledge gained from regular CPD to provide appropriate advice For this reason they are usually a senior Animal Technologist with an animal technology qualification or significant experience It is beneficial that the NACWO also holds a managerial role or is regarded in authority in order to champion a high standard of animal welfare Good communication skills and an approachable manner are key The NACWO must promote a culture of care within the facility ensuring that any concerns are communicated to them and passed on to the NVS project licence holder and study director clearly and promptly They must have diverse communication skills to enable them to communicate effectively with scientists veterinarians project licence holders and technicians alike For us as technicians we should respect and be open minded to implement their advice As animals cannot use words to communicate themselves that they are feeling unwell we must use observations to decipher their health status For this reason it is important that 63

AS ET Congress Bursary Essay Competition 2019 Winning Entry the NACWO can recognise the signs of pain suffering distress or lasting harm in each species they are responsible for They must know what normal is for each individual animal Smells in the pen room the animals posture how they move behaviour interaction with technicians and other animals and vocalisation can tell us a lot about the animals health status We can get to know what is normal for each animal For example being subdued may be abnormal for one animal but normal for another We tend to work more closely with the animals than the NACWO and so we are best placed to make these observations and report them to the NACWO and or NVS We need to report animal welfare incidents promptly and clearly so that the NACWO can act quickly and with reliable information For example if an animal has an injury did anyone see how Are there any signs of struggle Is there damage to the cage Do any other animals have similar injuries etc Prompt reports of welfare incidents improve animal welfare in the short and long term The NACWO must be aware of the areas of the establishment which are listed on the establishment licence They must be familiar with the project licences and aware of any adverse effects in each protocol control measures the specified humane end points and the licence specific methods of killing They must be well versed in the main provisions of ASPA the code of practice humane methods of killing listed in ASPA Schedule 1 appropriate for the species and any other methods specified by the relevant licences They should be competent in these methods or be able to contact someone listed on the establishment s register of qualified persons The NACWO should know how to contact at any time the NVS establishment licence holder or their deputies the project and personal licence holders This can be done by displaying a list of contact numbers relevant for work time and out of hours The NACWO should assist the establishment licence holder by ensuring that suitable records are kept detailing animal health environmental conditions of rooms housing animals and source use and disposal of animals As technicians we can make this easier by keeping an up to date record of the animals in our care and recording environmental conditions daily and legibly At least one NACWO from the establishment must be a full member of the Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body AWERB but all NACWOs should be active members of the AWERB providing up to date advice to licence applicants and holders on how studies can be adapted to ensure good welfare implementing the 3Rs in a practical way A project licence holder cannot act as a NACWO for their own studies to avoid conflict of interest 64 The NACWO is responsible for making sure every animal is checked at least once daily by a competent person This is usually done first thing in the morning and is delegated to the more experienced technologists Knowing our animals well allows us to pick up on subtle differences during these health checks and throughout the day At our facility the domestic animals are checked twice daily and the wild animals once daily For particularly nervous animals we use CCTV for the daily check to minimise the stresses of being held in captivity The NACWO NVS and NIO champion a culture of care and promote and implement refinements in animal care husbandr y and use We have a species specialist meeting quarterly or as required The NACWO NVS and NIO lead these meetings taking input from technicians and technologists educating all staff involved in animal care The purpose of these meetings is to discuss care of animals not commonly housed in research facilities and for which there is no Home Office Code of Practice guidance Advice from the NVS and NACWO is used to decide how the animals are housed fed and provided with enrichment As part of these meetings we also set up a rolling enrichment plan for all species We have found that using a rolling enrichment plan recording enrichment to ensure variation is beneficial for most but not all species The NACWO requires input and cooperation from all named people and technologists technicians to fulfil their role Enthusiasm in championing a culture of care and the 3Rs using up to date relevant knowledge of the species is key in the daily activities of the NACWO and this should cascade to everyone involved in the care of animals including Animal Technicians

April 2020 Animal Technology and Welfare POSTER PRESENTATIONS Originally presented at IAT Congress 2019 ADVANCE MRC Harwell a new training centre for Laboratory Animal Science and Genetics TERTIUS HOUGH MARK GARDINER and SARA WELLS Mary Lyon Centre MRC Harwell Institute Didcot Oxfordshire OX11 0RD Correspondence m gardiner har mrc ac uk Background In recent years there has been much publicity surrounding the growing concern around the future shortage of technical skills and expertise across all sectors in the UK Various factors are thought to contribute to this looming Skills Gap but an ageing technical workforce with many experienced technicians nearing retirement and a lack of suitable training opportunities are thought to be the main issues that need to be addressed Additionally in science and particularly laboratory animal science LAS there is very little formal training offered in the UK to support the increase in both the knowledge and technical skills required to deliver reproducible science Additionally various discussions have become recurring themes in laboratory animal science and have further highlighted the need to appropriate training For example following the publication of the NC3Rs Animal Research Reporting of in vivo experiments ARRIVE guidelines there has been an increased demand for improved reporting and alongside this there has been an awareness of the need to critically evaluate experimental protocols and biomedical data with many studies and discussions revealing probable sources of variability Appropriate training is also a key requirement to help reduce the number of animals used in research while increasing the usefulness of the data generated from in vivo models The MRC Harwell Institute is at the international forefront of the advancement of medicine and knowledge through the discovery and investigation of mouse models of human disease The Institute recently secured funding to construct a new training centre Advance MRC Har well with versatile laborator y conferencing and IT training spaces set to open in 2020 The new training centre will make an important contribution to scientific training in the UK With animal welfare being a continuous theme through the development and delivery of training courses at MRC Harwell The existing training programme is focussed Figure 1 Architects representation of finished building 65

Poster Presentations on mouse genetics in vivo skills ethics and welfare laboratory and technical skills as well as experimental design and statistics In order to expand the range of courses to be offered through the training centre Advance MRC Harwell is forging links with a growing network of training providers including academic organisations societies and commercial firms who are keen to collaborate and utilise space and facilities in the training centre Key training divisions Wet Laboratory Surgical Training IT Bioinformatics Conferencing Breakout Spaces Webinar 66

Poster Presentations Current courses available Entry level mouse genetics for animal technicians and junior researchers Advanced mouse genetics for colony managers and senior researchers Genome editing using CRISPR Cas9 in the mouse Practical training course in transgenic technology Mouse embryo and sperm cryopreservation Mouse necropsy tissue cut in and processing Collection and processing of blood and urine samples from mice Pipetting weighing and dosing skills for mouse husbandry staff An introduction to histology An introduction to light microscopy An introduction to proteomics Procedural individual licence Modules A B and C For more information about training courses and the use of training spaces email mlc training har mrc ac uk 67

Animal Technology and Welfare April 2020 Competency assessment for skill acquisition The TASK Model BETH LOTOCKI 1 HEATHER WALDIS 1 JASON DAVIES RHIANNON ROARK KARYN SHINN LORNE CELENTANO 2 AMELIA SCHIRMER 2 and DANIELLE MEADOWS2 1 2 Charles River Insourcing Solutions Frederick Maryland USA Charles River Discovery Morrisville North Carolina USA Correspondence anne murray crl com Introduction Charles River is a large global corporation with many employees located in various locations across the globe This presented a challenge in ensuring consistency within our company as there are cultural differences between countries different animal production facilities as well as scientific sites that carry out very different types of studies both in vivo and in vitro All of our sites have training programmes in place to meet the needs for that specific site which has increased workflow and respects the 3Rs However we realised that we still needed to harmonise many of the common procedures to maintain scientific integrity and reduce any variables regardless of where the study or work was being per formed To meet this global challenge our competency model Technical Assessment of Skills and Knowledge known as TASK was developed in order to assess and document the skills of each employee This document can then be archived in our Learning Management System LMS known as www charlesrivercampus com and updated as needed based upon new scientific discoveries development of new assays and updated regulatory compliance requirements Technical assessment of skills and knowledge TASK The form shown is a sample of a TASK document that provides an organised approach to the evaluations of a skill set for the subcutaneous cell line engraftment technique Criterion is listed in which our employees were initially scored when they performed their practice subcutaneous cell line engraftments Once the employee successfully completes the competency criterion which is a qualitative assessment with specific skill sets that are defined the learner must demonstrate the skill to a trainer who then records observations To demonstrate proficiency which is a high degree of skill the employee must perform an 68 internal N 100 animal study with tumour growth achieving 50 or above the specified start size range while under the direction of a trainer or SME These standards are a set of quantitative measurements These specific skill sets and quantitative assessments are how the parameters are set that are then used to evaluate an employee against a TASK performance scale TASK Name Subcutaneous Cell Engraftment Competency criterion check each Evident Not criterion if evident or not evident evident evident during assessment 1 Demonstrates drawing up the cell suspension 2 Identifies correct injection target sites central right flank 3 Demonstrates proper restraint mice are held gently but firmly by the scruff mouse does not exhibit signs of struggling or difficulty in breathing 4 Describes and demonstrates subcutaneous injection of cell suspension needle is bevel up before placed into the subcutaneous space skin is tented with the needle to confirm needle depth is appropriate tip moves freely appropriate amount of cell suspension is delivered to correct target site 5 Demonstrates proper needle removal needle is rotated clockwise during removal to mitigate cell suspension leakage from injection site

Poster Presentations Proficiency criterion check each Evident Not criterion if achieved or not evident achieved during assessment 1 Reviews applicable SOPs and regulations 2 Attends lecture didactic training on subcutaneous injections in the mouse 3 Properly answers questions regarding target engraftment as described in the protocol 4 Demonstrates adequate knowledge of dosage limitation and troubleshooting performs adequate safety awareness measures documentation with LIMS system and adherence to all SOPs for all procedures with the mouse 5 Demonstrates tumour engraftment proficiency in an internal practice Figure 4 The data then shows our high throughput capabilities via a Gantt chart which details project milestones and trigger points for overlapping the work without creating resourcing bottleneck Conclusions Figure 1 Example of TASK document TASK Performance Scale The TASK method is a process that addresses defined area s of work defined skill sets competency and proficiency standards Figure 5 Implementation of analytical alignment Figure 2 TASK performance scale Project analytics Figure 3 The data above highlights standard oncology cell lines and its projected growth overtime with a tight standard deviation and highly reliable adherence to a targeted range The application of the TASK Form provided standardisation of the cell line implantation technique and therefore a prediction tool for the success of the study This performance scale provided a tracking method to show improved technical proficiency which then resulted in less study repeats and reduced animal redundancy by not having to re engraft a study a welfare improvement The demonstrated improved model performance and improved timeline accuracy for in vivo high throughput modelling Developmental The TASK form for the engraftment technique was introduced by the Research Manager as an evaluation for proficiency and is also integrated into the technician s annual performance review in the form of a numeric metric evaluation Resourcing Logistics The TASK model allows for improved visibility in aligning technical proficiency of a research technician to model specific projects By having a set of metrics to evaluate the technician a foundation of standardisation was established as mechanisms of quality control and data integrity 69

Poster Presentations Leadership A clear assessment of technical skills quantifies technical proficiency upstream to identify trainers for model specific applications Statistically tracking and identifying successful implanters will provide an opportunity to place them in training roles to teach the nuances of implanting certain cell lines Reduction of Internal Resources By use of the TASK model of competency and proficiency we were able to reduce the number of repeat studies Figure 3 which also translated into reduction of consumables and efficient use of internal resources over time 3Rs A key outcome emerged in that we were able to recognize two of the key components of the 3Rs 1 Reduction in the number of animals placed on studies 2 Refinement due to proper training in techniques in order to alleviate or minimize pain and distress while animals are on a study Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge the research team at CR Discovery Morrisville North Carolina USA for providing the data to support this poster and for the kindness and care you provided to the animals in your charge References 1 2 70 Waldis H 2016 Developing Your TASK Form Charles River Short Course Waldis H Machholz E and Ruiz C 2013 Competency Matters Establishing Standardisation in Your Training Programme

April 2020 Animal Technology and Welfare E Learning a flexible learning solution for an ever changing world of work FIONA JAMESON Learning Curve Developments Ltd PO Box 140 Ware Hertfordshire SG9 0ZN Correspondence info learningcurvedevelopments co uk Introduction Training and CPD In an ever changing and increasingly competitive world of work where globalisation has led to greater diversity in the workplace employers must come to terms with a new environment in which flexibility plays a leading role in attracting retaining and developing staff With an estimated 92 of the millennial generation identifying flexibility as a top priority when job hunting it is time for organisations to evolve to meet the needs of an agile digital focussed and flexible workforce 1 Within the research industry the changes to The Animals Scientific Procedures Act 1986 as amended in 2012 with the additional responsibilities for ensuring staff are educated competent and continuously trained highlights the need for a new approach to training and Continuing Professional Development CPD in order to attract develop and retain skilled Animal Technologists and to support their career pathways 3 With the 3Rs at the heart of the Institute of Animal Technology IAT Career Pathway investing in staff development remains essential in promoting excellence in animal care and welfare and in supporting good science Whilst structured learning is far from obsolete and remains fundamental to learning and development strategies with learners desiring an increasingly flexible and accessible learning culture traditional face to face programmes need to evolve Meeting these challenges involves a balancing act of breaking with the past and being ready A changing world of work Meeting the development needs of individuals in an ever growing workforce in increasingly demanding work environments can prove challenging and costly Organisations are faced with the complexity of combining the need for a stable competent and present workforce with increasingly flexible working solutions that do not impact on opportunities for growth development and career progression Adopting a flexible working environment is known to have associated benefits of increased efficiency motivation staff retention and improved employee relationships Department of Business and Skills Staff 2014 but this presents challenges associated with providing equal opportunities for career progression and continuing professional development 2 71

Poster Presentations The future of learning New working practices emerging technologies dispersed locations and a multi generational workforce are directly influencing the design and delivery of learning with a 50 increase in the use of technology in learning and development over the last five years time for organisations to embrace and incorporate elearning into their learning and development strategies to provide a modern flexible and fully inclusive approach to learning and to meet the needs of an ever changing and evolving workforce Bibliography 1 2 3 4 Research shows top performing organisations are using technology to increase the effectiveness of formal learning this flexibility desired by 94 of learners today also realises real business benefits as they are G G G 3 x more likely to report an increase in job productivity 2 x more likely to improve staff retention 3 x more likely to improve organisational performance Blended learning defines the integration of both traditional face to face learning and online methods of learning deliver y Towards Maturity Staff 2018 transcending the limitations of a single method of learning delivery and providing learners with options to expand their knowledge at their own pace at a time suitable to them The prevalence of e learning has grown rapidly with corporate e learning increasing by 900 in the past 16 years Elearning Industr y Staff 2017 which is unsurprising when considering the recognised benefits of 4 Flexibility of access from anywhere at anytime Ability to reach simultaneously an unlimited number of employees Consistency of delivery of training and learning Potential to achieve cost reductions cost effectiveness Ability to log or track learning activities E learning provides opportunities for all with multimedia methodologies to suit most learning preferences With online communities and discussion groups to fur ther suppor t a new generation of technically competent and self directed learners it is 72 Mattison K and Stewart E 2017 THE TIMEWISE FLEXIBLE JOBS INDEX 2016 An annual index of the proportion of UK jobs advertised with flexible working options Retrieved from https www xper thr co uk commentary and Department of Business and Skills Staff 2014 ARCHIVED CONTENT Flexible working rights extended to more than 20 million GOV UK Retrieved July 9 2018 from http webarchive nationalarchives gov uk Guidance on the Operation of the Animals Scientific Procedures Act 1986 https assets publishing ser vice gov uk government uploads system uploads attachment_data file 662364 Guidance_on_the_Operation_of_ASPA pdf Print ISBN 9781474100281Web ISBN 9781474100298 Elearning Industry Staff 2017 Online Learning Statistics and Trends eLearning Industry Retrieved January 3 2019 from https elearningindustry com online learning statistics and trends CIPD Staff 2014 L D New challenges new approaches CIPD Staff 2018 Digital Learning Factsheets CIPD Retrieved January 2 2019 from https www cipd co uk knowledge fundamentals people development digitallearning factsheet Dale E 1969 Audiovisual Methods in Testing NY Dryden Press iSpring Staff 2018 Top eLearning Trends for 2019 Retrieved February 6 2019 from https www ispring solutions com blog elearning trends 2019 utm_ source Email campaign utm_medium email utm_ term en utm_ campaign LMS Staff 2018 The Evolution and History of eLearning TalentLMS Retrieved January 2 2019 from https www talentlms com elearning history of elearning

April 2020 Animal Technology and Welfare A sweet change to the needle GEMMA FORREST 1 ABDUL SATTAR 2 PAUL EVENDEN 2 SYLVIE SORDELLO 2 PETER WARN 2 and LUCY WHITFIELD3 1 2 3 Agenda Life Sciences Alderley Park PO Box 24 Hull HU12 5YJ Evotec UK Ltd Block 23 Alderley Park Macclesfield Cheshire SK10 4TG Royal Veterinary College Royal College Street London NW1 0TU Correspondence gemma forrest agendalifesciences co uk Background Some of our rats undergo mini pump surgery This is a procedure in which a device is implanted under the skin of an animal and catheterised into a femoral artery for intravenous infusion This device or mini pump then provides a slow constant release of compound over a specific time and can be used to replicate human PK profiles The mini pump replaces the need for repeated Subcutaneous s c Intraperitoneal i p or Intravenous i v V injections In this instance it was replacing the need for multiple i v injections when needed we made up batches of non medicated jelly to try them with first We provided this nonmedicated jelly for three days before the medicated jelly was introduced The Royal Veterinary College provides a fantastic recipe that can be used to make as little or as much medicated jelly as needed The preoperative analgesia that the animals receive is an injection of Carprofen and an injection of local anaesthetic at the incision sites This analgesia is given when the animal is being prepared for surgery whilst under anaesthesia The post operative analgesia that they received was a s c injection of Carprofen once a day for three days after surgery However our Named Veterinary Surgeon NVS suggested providing the pain relief in flavoured jelly to avoid the use of needles Method To acclimatise our rats to the taste and texture of the jelly and to ensure they would happily consume the jelly Figure 1 Rats eating unmedicated jelly Figure 2 Recipe sheet for Carprofen jelly from the Royal Veterinary College 73

Poster Presentations As our animals were housed individually after surgery there were no issues with making sure each rat received the correct amount of jelly However if animals were multiply housed the animals would need to be separated whilst eating their jelly portions We carried out regular welfare checks to ensure the pain relief was just as effective as when given via an injection More jelly could also be provided if the animals appeared in any discomfort It was advised to provide an extra a tray if needed Fortunately none of our animals showed any signs of pain or distress and did not need a top up of analgesia The raspberry jelly was their favourite flavour Figure 3 Equipment required for feeding analgesic in jelly Benefits to using jelly instead of an injection G G G no painful needles no need to restrain animals reducing handling pain and stress levels can improve recovery time Figure 4 Jelly served in weighing boats Figure 6 On the first day the rats took a few moments before trying the unusual item in their cage Figure 5 Rat eating Carprofen medicated jelly 74 Figure 7 However once they discovered it was in fact a wonderful tasty treat there was no longer any hesitation when more appeared the next day

Poster Presentations Less stressful as restraining an animal and giving a painful injection can increase levels of stress Incisions are less likely to become damaged as restraining an animal could cause pulling and or tightening on the incision site which can be painful for the animal Jelly is a delicious treat for rats and is a nice positive experience for the animals Technologists who administer the analgesia much prefer giving a tray of jelly instead of having to restrain and inject an animal Figure 8 The raspberry jelly was their favourite flavour 75

Animal Technology and Welfare April 2020 Alternative handling techniques to reduce anxiety in laboratory mice EMILY THORPE University of Liverpool Biomedical Services Unit 2nd Floor Ronald Ross Building 8 West Derby Street Liverpool L69 7BE Correspondence emilyt liverpool ac uk Introduction and aims Animal Technologists routinely handle and restrain mice as part of their daily duties but the effects of this interaction are often not taken into consideration when designing experimental programmes The most common and widely used method to capture and transfer mice from cage to cage is to pick up and restrain the mouse by its tail Recent studies at Liverpool University however have indicated that handling mice by their tails during routine cleaning and procedures induced aversion and high anxiety in many commonly used strains 1 The evidence from the Liverpool study suggests that habituating the mice to use a clear plastic tube enables the technologist to move the mice from cage to cage via the tube reducing the need to handle them which in turn lowers anxious behaviours A clear tube is preferred to allow essential health monitoring of each animal and colour has been found to not be a factor Light dark box test 7 no explorations into light area 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Graph 1 Light dark box test results 76 Figures 1 and 2 Mouse tubing technique mouse entering tube We decided to trial this new method to see how long it would take the mice to habituate to the tube and

Poster Presentations whether there was any visible reduction in anxiety compared to our normal tail handling method We were also wanted to assess the time impact that using this alternative method of handling would have on the duties of the animal technician 45 Comparison of reduction in anxiety in groups 40 reduction in anxiety 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 Figures 3 and 4 Mouse being removed in tube to clean cage 0 Tail Methods Behavioural testing All mice underwent light dark box exploratory test to evaluate anxiety levels at the beginning of the experiment and 6 weeks later at the end and values compared 2 3 Animals All mice were aged 12 to 16 weeks old adult and sexually mature and were group housed on a 12 12 light dark cycle with access to food and water ad libitum relative humidity 40 55 Day one 12 transgenic male mice on a mixed background were individually placed in a dark box at day 1 and left to acclimatise for two minutes Once acclimatised the mice were left for another 5 minutes and allowed to explore freely outside the box which was illuminated with a bright light Tunnel Graph 2 Comparison of reduction in anxiety in groups Results Although the results from the light dark test comparing each group for anxiety at day one compared to 6 weeks later after the different handling techniques were not statistically significant after analysis see Graph 1 there is a significant reduction in anxiety 40 in the group using the tube method Graph 2 During this short trial it was noted the mice using the tube method after a few weeks were willing to enter the tube on their own accord and would quite comfortably sit in the tube whilst being transferred We also observed consistent with the original publication that After the light dark test had been carried out 6 mice were given the clear plastic tubes plus standard enrichment in their cage and the other 6 had just standard enrichment Once a week at the weekly cleaning the tube method was used on the six mice that had tubes in their cage and the other 6 mice were cleaned by the normal tailing method After the six weeks of using both types of handling the light dark test was repeated but this time blind so the results were without bias Statistical analysis Differences between means were analysed using the Students paired t test and were considered different when probability values were less than 0 05 Graph 3 Time taken by mouse to enter tube 77

Poster Presentations they preferred their own home cage tube as opposed to a clean one We also observed that the mice being picked up by the tail remained evasive and resisted capture During the trial we timed how long it took to clean cages using both methods Although using the tunnel technique whilst cleaning took longer than handling mice by the tail by the 12th week the time taken was reduced by 50 Graph 3 shows the difference in cleaning times for each handling method on week one and week 12 WEEK 12 THE TAIL METHOD average 10 10 seconds WEEK 12 THE TUBE METHOD average 12 5 seconds Conclusions The tube group showed a much greater reduction in levels of anxiety after the 6 week period in comparison to the tail handled group However this was not statistically significant upon analysis but may well be if the study was longer or involved more animals It should also be noted that only males were tested and it would be important to test both sexes since it is well documented that they exhibit different behaviours and response to certain stress factors There was a slight decrease in anxiety observed in the tail handled group from day one compared with 6 weeks later this could possibly be down to memory retention of pre exposure to the light dark box In summary the overall reduction in observed anxiety in the tube group combined with the bio containment benefits it offers makes this method worth considering or exploring further given that we found the difference in time taken for each method was negligible when cleaning out mice References 1 2 3 78 Hurst J L and West R S 2010 Taming anxiety in laboratory mice Nature Methods Oct 7 10 825 6 Crawley J and Goodwin K 1980 Preliminary report of a simple animal behavior model for the anxiolytic effects of benzodiazepines Pharmacology Biochemistr y and Behavior Vol 13 Issue 2 Aug 1980 pp 167 170 Mathis C Paul S M and Crawley J N 1994 Characterization of benzodiazepine sensitive behaviors in the A J and the C57BL 6J inbred strains of mice Behavior Genetics 24 171 180

April 2020 Animal Technology and Welfare A technician s guide to ferret enrichment SARAH HOLMES Biological Services Unit Royal Veterinary College 4 Royal College Street London NW1 0TU Correspondence saholmes rvc ac uk Introduction At the Royal Veterinary College RVC we have a colony of ferrets that are used in research and also for training students and delegates Ferrets are highly intelligent social animals which we house in groups As they age Ferret behaviour changes as well as with new experiences In the wild they will spend the majority of their time sleeping and are crespuscular that is more active at dusk and dawn Even though they are considered small animals in research their behaviours are comparable with cats and dogs It is therefore extremely important that ferrets in captivity are provided with environments and experiences that allow them to exhibit their natural behaviours As Animal Technologists we have the responsibility of not only providing basic husbandry requirements such as food water shelter and veterinary care but also solutions for their mental wellbeing An important aspect of good animal welfare is to provide our animals with appropriate enrichment to allow them to fulfil their natural behaviours G G G G G G overgrooming repetitive behaviours such as bar licking lack of interaction with environment sitting in the corner of a cage no interest in interaction with the cage mates or technician aggression towards pen mates These abnormal behaviours may be due to boredom but we must also consider behaviours of ferrets in pain or distress and any procedures they may have had For example if an animal has had a surgical procedure then we may expect to see some of the behaviours above Behavioural enrichment is a fundamental animal husbandry principle that seeks to enhance the quality of animals in our care by identifying and providing the environmental stimuli necessar y for optimal psychological and physiological wellbeing Enrichment comes in many forms from interactions with fellow animals and technologists to novel interactive toys As Animal Technologists we are constantly looking for new ways to improve the welfare of ferrets in our care Signs of behavioural problems in ferrets If ferrets are not provided with the appropriate environment they may develop behavioural problems Stereotypic behaviour is one indicator of behavioural issues in your animals A stereotypy is normally a repetitive or ritualistic movement or posture In ferret s abnormal behaviours include G cage circling Figure 1 Ferret in pen showing examples of enrichment Enrichment recommendations At the Royal Veterinary College we have carried out an investigation to look at various types of enrichment for our ferrets Below are some examples of successful enrichment ideas Enrichment does not have to be expensive and we have found even providing a brown paper bag or cardboard box allows the ferrets to interact by chewing and tearing the item Tunnels are a great way to encourage them to 79

Poster Presentations Figure 2 Ferrets interacting with pen mates exercise but also provides a place to hide and explore At the RVC we have tunnels which are mounted to the walls to introduce different heights and levels for extra exploration Sandpits encourage them to dig and forage Paddling pools have been introduced to allow the ferrets to swim and splash Hammocks provide a cosy place for them to sleep and or relax and provides a safe place to hide Ladders are popular allowing the ferrets to climb around the caging and creates different levels and viewpoints for the animals Socialisation is very important and at the RVC we have a programme that involves animal animal play time and also human animal interaction and handling This not only provides enrichment but is a valuable training tool for research and teaching purposes Play pen socialisation animals are removed from their home cages and placed in a floor pen with toys and interaction with technicians Novel edible treats to experience new textures and tastes Figure 4 View of ferret in tunnel from below Group housing when they are in groups they create a sense based hierarchy and learn how to socialise with other ferrets This is important as not all ferrets get along Usually when a ferret is very excited or in a playful mood they communicate with one another using their dook noise It sounds like they are laughing to one another For example with some noises being quite low in pitch while if they are running around chasing each other it seems to be quite high pitched Cage interlink tubes these have proved extremely popular with our ferrets and gives them the ability to choose their environment or cage We can hide treats in the tubes to encourage natural foraging behaviour Now and the future Figure 3 Cages linked using tunnels so that ferrets can move between cages 80 Studies at the RVC have shown that regular interactions with technicians are vitally important to decrease stress levels in the laboratory setting This not only improves animal welfare but also health and safety when handling for both the animal and the handler

Poster Presentations Animals that are handled regularly and habituated to the laborator y environment provide much better scientific data When providing enrichment for our ferrets it is also important to ensure that we do not over stimulate the animals or even cause distress by introducing too many novel environments or experiences in a short period of time or quantity Our next project aims to answer the question How much enrichment is too much Fun ferret facts An entire female is known as Jill while a spayed female is called Sprite A new born ferret is so small it can fit on a teaspoon A group of ferrets is called a Business Ferrets are the third popular pet in the USA The word ferret is from the Latin meaning little thief When ferrets are excited they perform what is called a weasel war dance Baby ferrets are born both deaf and blind and begin to hear and see at around 34 days old Figure 5 Human animal interaction and handling Figure 6 Group housed ferrets 81

Animal Technology and Welfare April 2020 Ferret influenza work at The Francis Crick Institute CAROLINE ZVEREV The Francis Crick Institute 1 Brill Place London NW1 1BF Correspondence caroline zverev crick ac uk Abstract In conjunction with the World Health Organization WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza ferrets are used at The Francis Crick Institute for the purpose of studying the Influenza virus focussing on understanding the characteristics of circulating influenza in humans and animals for future vaccine development This poster looks at the processes in place starting with the arrival of the ferrets from the Schedule 2 supplier through the acclimatisation period and the infection procedure until reaching the end point of the study It also looks at the precautions in place to mitigate against risk of transmission to humans once the ferrets are infected influenza work under containment level 2 facilities but we do have a containment level 4 suite to use when it is required The Biological Research Facility BRF carries out all husbandry and procedural work for the Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza based at The Crick who then pass their results onto the World Health Organisation WHO Ferrets are intelligent lively and playful animals even though they can spend up to 75 of their time asleep They like to explore play and burrow so their housing and environmental enrichment should reflect this to allow them to express natural behaviours Figure 2 In and out the rabbit ball Pop goes the Ferret Environmental refinements Figure 1 Ferret and handler Introduction Influenza viruses continue to affect human and animal health each year seasonal influenza has a considerable impact on human health and influenza viruses also circulate widely in animal populations posing a zoonotic threat to humans as seen in the H5N1 avian influenza virus The Francis Crick Institute carries out the majority of 82 The ferret holding room is designated for ferret use only as they are classed as a predator species and strong scents will cause stress for the other animals housed within the unit Only designated trained staff members are allowed in the holding room and there is a strict workflow order Once work has been completed the Animal Technologist is required to have a full change of clothes before entering the holding rooms housing other species within the unit The ferrets are housed in individual pens to help minimise cross infection between virus strains which may otherwise be caused by sneezing

Poster Presentations The pens we use were designed by the BRF team so are unique to The Francis Crick Institute The 3Rs were considered in the design they were refined from the original pens to include a height difference greater floor space and additional enrichment products Enrichment Each pen has its own environmental enrichment Figure 5 Pen showing ferret utilising ramp and environmental enrichment Figure 3 Ferret pens at The Francis Crick Institute They have high clear transparent sides to allow the ferrets to see each other stand fully upright and jump The pen size exceeds current minimum standards set out in the Animals Scientific Procedures Act 1986 Code of Practice Code of Practice for the Housing and Care of Animals Bred Supplied or Used for Scientific for Scientific Purposes CoP The ramp gives the ferrets the opportunity to make dens by allowing them to hide when they want to but also gives them access to different height levels within the pens Figure 4 Ramp used by ferret for various activities Figures 6 8 Examples of the enrichment provided The pens are filled with dust free wood shavings to a depth that allows them to burrow and play They are given a large rabbit ball and tube that enables them to exhibit natural behaviours such burrowing and hiding They are also given a smaller ball that has a bell inside which they can move round the cage The enrichment balls are rotated on a weekly basis to help keep the ferrets engaged Figure 9 Ferret enrichment pen showing environmental 83

Poster Presentations Before infection the ferrets have playtime outside of their pens On a rotating system the ferrets are let out individually to explore the holding room and interact with the staff This is good exercise for them and it can help with the up take of the virus and can assist in a quicker terminal bleed bleed out time A radio is also on timer during the day to provide background noise for the ferrets Procedures Day one ferret arrival Figure 10 Ferret exploring during play time Ferrets are intelligent lively and playful animals even though they can spend up to 75 of their time asleep They like to explore play and burrow so their housing and environmental enrichment should reflect this to allow them to express natural behaviours Diet Ferrets are carnivores so they are fed LabDiet 5L7D high density Irradiated pellets ad libitum This is high protein high fat food as required for the ferrets to function effectively After infection diet supplements may be given if ferrets are observed as being lethargic or show loss of appetite Ferretone supplement Wet cat food Egg custard Figure 11 Ferret diet supplements 84 Each ferret s weight is recorded and they are then placed into their pens where they are allowed to acclimatise for 1 week Day 7 infection day 1 Food is removed at least 3 hours prior to the procedure to avoid the ferrets vomiting when anaesthetised 2 The ferrets are then re weighed pre infection in order to monitor weight 3 Technologist 1 will remove the ferret from the pen and place into the anaesthetic chamber where they are given an isoflurane oxygen mix for 6 minutes and monitored to make sure they are slowly going to sleep 4 They are anaesthetised as otherwise we would have to restrain the ferret this in turn would cause more stress and the ferret is more likely to sneeze This way a smaller volume of virus can be administered 5 Technologist 2 prepares the viruses each ferret is given the total of 1ml administered by the intranasal route 6 The ferret is removed from the chamber and placed onto the bench top on its back Technologist 1 will administer the virus whilst person 2 holds the ferret and monitors breathing and uptake of the virus 7 Once the procedure is complete the ferrets are monitored for their righting reflex before being taken back to the pen The ferrets recover very quickly from the procedure and will be back to their lively selves within a few minutes 8 After each infection the bench is wiped down with a sodium hyperchlorite dilution and the disposable apron over sleeves and gloves are disposed of appropriately

Poster Presentations The process can then be repeated for each ferret each time changing disposable PPE to avoid cross infection with the virus strains Day 7 21 monitor The ferrets are monitored twice daily post infection for the onset of influenza clinical signs can include bouts of sneezing mucous nasal discharge lethargy conjunctivitis and photophobia Clinical signs normally appear 48 hours post infection If any unexpected signs are noted the Named Veterinary Surgeon NVS will be called for advice Day 21 terminal bleed The ferrets are weighed in the holding room prior to bleed out so that the anaesthetic dose volume can be calculated The bleed out will be performed in a designated procedure room The anaesthetic is then mixed ready for injection 6 Once heartbeat has completely stopped the cadaver is placed into a clinical waste bag and stored in the freezer ready for removal 7 The ferret holding room can then be thoroughly cleaned the pens are emptied and all the equipment is washed down with sodium hypochlorite 8 The waste is removed and autoclaved out of the unit at 121 C The holding room door is then sealed and fumigated using formaldehyde Once completed the process can start again when required Acknowledgements Clare Brazil Adams Helen Bailey Alan Palmer Jamie Barrett Jamie Delicata Professor John McCauley and Matt Butt Equipment is prepared in the procedure room for each ferret the following equipment is required G G syringe pre filled with pentobarbital clinical waste bag Figure 12 Equipment required for terminal bleed Technologist 1 will retrieve the ferret from the holding room and bring to the procedure room 1 The ferret will then be placed on the work bench and restrained whilst Technologist 2 will perform an IM injection of anaesthetic 2 Once the ferret is asleep it will be placed onto its back 3 Technologist 1 will then palpate around the heart feeling for the strongest heartbeat once found the needle can be inserted into the heart 4 Technologist 2 will be holding the syringe when it starts to fill with blood they will draw back slowly until the required amount is obtained Sometimes the needle may need repositioning as the heart moves during the procedure and the blood flow may also slow down or stop momentarily whilst the heart re fills with blood 5 When the required amount is achieved no less than 50ml the syringe will be removed from the needle and replaced with the pentobarbital filled syringe to administer an overdose of anaesthetic 85

Animal Technology and Welfare April 2020 A study into viable wooden enrichment objects for Syrian Hamsters HANNAH WATSON Animal House Operations Covance Laboratories Ltd Otley Road Harrogate North Yorkshire HG3 1PY Correspondence hannah watson covance com Introduction Trial objects The need to continually explore the methods in which enrichment can be provided to our animals is a high welfare priority and part of the Refinement section of the 3Rs It is known that due to the continual growth of their teeth hamsters require a means by which to wear down their teeth and satisfy their natural desire to chew Due to their foraging behaviour hamsters use their cheek pouches to store and carry movable items This can cause health problems if wooden enrichment objects produce splinters which can become lodged in the cheek pouches However failing to provide a method to wear down the teeth can lead to detrimental behaviour such as bar chewing and health issues for example overgrown teeth and tooth loss The aim of this study was to take a comparison of wooden products available on the market and determine a safe and effective object to be provided for hamster enrichment G G G large aspen chew brick Figure 2 medium aspen chew brick Figure 2 aspen balls Figure 3 The study was conducted in an AAALAC accredited research establishment licenced under the UK Animals Scientific Procedures Act 1986 ASPA 2 Figure 2 The 3 sizes of aspen bricks currently available large medium and small Figure 1 Standard hamster cage setup with aspen balls available Polysulphone cage 60 5 x 40 6 x 20 5 cm floor area 2017 cm2 Suitable for group housed hamsters under the Home Office Code of Practice 1 Methods and materials animals The animals used in this study were Syrian hamsters Figure 1 housed in groups of up to 3 per cage 86 Figure 3 Aspen balls

Poster Presentations The animals on the enrichment trial were part of a Safety Assessment study which was licensed under ASPA however the trial did not involve the conduct of any additional regulated procedures Animals were housed in accordance with UK Code of Practice for the Housing and Care of Animals Bred Supplied or Used for Scientific Purposes 1 When selecting trial objects for the study only GLP certified products were considered also noted that after the aspen ball had been chewed the remains when gently pulled away came apart in soft and short curls Trials Some preliminary work was conducted on the large aspen bricks but due to the high amount of surface soiling and minimal surface damage these were deemed unsuitable for future use Medium Bricks versus Balls For two weeks medium bricks were provided to 32 cages and balls were provided to 12 cages Only 1 trial object per cage was provided due to a limited supply of aspen balls Data recorded Daily observations G location of trial object each morning by dividing the cage into quadrants Figure 4 G surface damage and soiling G weight reduction of trial object Figure 5 Average percentage loss in weight of trial objects The quadrant system provided some indication of how the hamsters were interacting with the trial object during the night time hours There was an increase in the average number of cage quadrant movements when comparing the balls to the bricks Figure 6 Figure 6 Average movements Results Medium Bricks G fewer recorded movements around cage quadrants G less surface damage and soiling G higher remaining weight Balls higher recorded movements between quadrants G more surface damage and soiling G lower remaining weight of cage quadrant Conclusions Figure 4 Example of cage quadrants G number These results confirm that a ball shape object is a more interactive and stimulating design for hamster and the ball is thereby more frequently chewed by the hamsters Figure 7 cage The average percentage loss in weight of the trial objects over two weeks was significantly higher in the aspen balls than it was in the bricks Figure 5 It was Figure 7 Hamster chewing on aspen ball 87

Poster Presentations This is a more effective method of ensuring good dental health while at the same time protecting the unique structure of the hamster s cheek pouch due to the softer curly nature of the ball s remains The hamsters were also observed carrying the balls around the cage when they were awake which is possible due to their smaller size and weight this increases the objects appeal as it is able to be manipulated and moved around the cage Figure 8 Figure 8 Hamster carrying aspen ball around home cage This appeal and interest is reflected in the data by the decrease in the weight of the balls and the higher number of quadrant movements It was decided that a minimum of 2 aspen balls per cage should be provided to group housed hamsters to ensure equal opportunity for interaction and to reduce the chances of aggressive and dominant behaviour over a single enrichment object Aspen balls have proven themselves a viable and effective enrichment object for hamsters in a clinical environment References 1 2 88 Code of Practice for the Housing and Care of Animals Bred Supplied or Used for Scientific Purposes https assets publishing service gov uk government up loads system uploads attachment_data file 388535 C oPanimalsWeb pdf Print ISBN 9781474112390 Web ISBN 9781474112406 Animals Scientific Procedures Act 1986 http www legislation gov uk ukpga 1986 14 contents

April 2020 Animal Technology and Welfare Confronting crunching a refinement for the care of mice with the desire to crunch TOLGA ORALMAN Biological Services Unit Kings College London New Hunts House Guy s Campus London SE1 1UL Correspondence tolga oralman kcl ac uk Introduction Crunching is the term often used to describe the abnormal behaviour of mice that habitually crunch their pelleted diet causing substrate levels to rise as the crumbs settle on the cage floor ultimately burying the nest Figure 1 As the science demands more and more mice to be housed in Individually Ventilated Cages IVCs and diets presented as compression pellets increase the incidence of crunching is likely to rise When it comes to the crunch the welfare and subsequent cost implications of such adverse behaviour have been difficult to tackle due to the limited options available However the innovative use of an inexpensive pulp paper shelf as a cruncher barrier Figure 2 not only diminishes the negative effects of crunching but also promotes nesting behaviour without completely inhibiting a mouse s desire to crunch Background Figure 1 Substrate levels rising and burying the nest The nature of crunching and the influence of environmental enrichment is a disputed topic Fiala et al 1977 established that crunching may be a stereotypic or compulsive behaviour because of a lack of environmental enrichment 1 Cameron and Speakman 2010 opposed this and suggested the contrary signifying that adding enrichment to cages as a strategy to reduce crunching behaviour in mice is unlikely to be successful 2 Furthering the dispute crunching has been reported in wild rodents and believed to be a means by which rodents discard less nutritionally valuable resources in search of a richer source 3 5 Koteja et al 2003 found that crunching could potentially be a heritable trait and reported a strong correlation between siblings proposing a genetic influence 6 Objectives Figure 2 Conventional use of pulp paper shelf and its application as a cruncher barrier The Cruncher Barrier aims to Replace destructive behaviour with a constructive one Reduce diet crunching and the cost implications associated with it Refine husbandry and enrichments techniques for mice with the desire to crunch 89

Poster Presentations Methods Average Food Usage Via Hopper Per Mouse 1 To evaluate the effectiveness of the cruncher barrier and garner the valued opinions of other Animal Technologists 40 cruncher cages containing 135 mice were used to assess frequency of food top ups base changes and nest scores Nest scores were rated 0 3 depending on their complexity and dimension All mice were maintained on the same diet and provided with the same environmental enrichment subjected to daily health checks and necessary clean outs during the one week without and one week with a cruncher barrier 2 Fur ther investigation was conducted on 12 cruncher cages of the same genetic background containing 31 mice by measuring the daily reduction of food from the hopper for 5 nights without and 5 nights with the cruncher barrier As a control 12 non cruncher cages of the same social housing structure and same genetic background were studied for 5 nights without a cruncher barrier Results Nest scores Consensus between Animal Technologists strongly indicated the cruncher barrier is beneficial in reducing crunching As a result animals were not disturbed as frequently due to the reduction of food top ups and base changes required Figure 4 The preliminary results indicate that the cruncher barrier has a significant impact on crunching behaviour For eight cages crunching had significantly reduced per mouse statistical analysis Paired t test SigmaPlot confirmed with a P value of 0 031 However four cages had shown a significant increase in crunching per mouse P 0 0372 Unpaired t test confirmed there is a significant difference between non crunchers and crunchers pre cruncher barrier P 0 0252 validating our controls Interestingly when comparing non crunchers to crunchers post cruncher barrier there was no significant difference P 0 250 suggesting crunching had been reduced to a level considered normal For a greater representation of the wider overall population of cruncher mice and the effect of a cruncher barrier a new experimental design is in development Conclusions of implementation of the cruncher barrier Maintains food provisions in the hopper by reducing waste Takes up minimal space in the hopper without hindering ad libitum feeding Improves and increases environmental enrichment for cruncher mice by providing an alternative source of nesting material Figure 3 Fluctuation in average nest score was observed during the first three days of the week indicated by the green dots This is believed to have occurred due to the provision of fresh bedding and nesting materials during routine base changes carried out on these days Nest integrity and complexity gradually declines from day 3 as crunching continues In support of our hypothesis the application of a cruncher barrier can be seen to improve average nest scores from day 10 onwards allowing an extended cage base change period of the cages housing cruncher mice 90 Enhances longevity of housing conditions providing a more sustainable lifestyle and a refinement in the care of cruncher mice Economic to implement both in materials and labour Acknowledgements My thanks go to all the Animal Technologists at NHH BSU for assisting in the collection of data and their valued opinions Many thanks also to Lawrence Moon for help with statistical analysis

Poster Presentations References 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fiala B Snow F M and Greenough W T 1977 Impoverished rats weigh more than enriched rats because they eat more Dev Psychobiol 1977 10 537 41 Cameron K M and Speakman J R 2010 The extent and function of food grinding in the laboratory mouse Mus musculus Laboratory Animals 2010 Oct 44 4 298304 doi 10 1258 la 2010 010002 Epub2010 May 10 Owl M Y and Batzli G O 1998 The integrated processing response of voles to fibre content of natural diets Funct Ecol 12 4 13 Kerley G I H and Erasmus T 1991 What do mice select for in seeds Oecologia 1991 86 261 7 Felicetti L A Shipley L A Witmer G W and Robbins C T 2000 Digestibility nitrogen excretion and mean retention time by Nor th American porcupines Erethizondorsatum consuming natural forages PhysiolBiochemZool 2000 73 772 80 Koteja P S Carter P A Swallow J G and Garland T Jr 2003 Food wasting by house mice variation among individuals families and genetic lines PhysiolBehav 80 375 83 91

Animal Technology and Welfare April 2020 The cotton rat a new challenge ALISTAIR BALLANTINE D RODGERS CAROLYN WATTS and SAMANTHA McBRIDE Envigo Woolley Road Alconbury Huntingdon Cambridgeshire PE28 4HS Correspondence alistair ballantine covance com Introduction The Pharmacology department at Envigo were engaged to perform an infective study in the Cotton Rat This presented our technologists with a whole new range of challenges in handling husbandry and procedures This poster explains how we learnt to adapt our current practices and procedures to suit the Cotton rat Background Respiratory viral infection in humans is a great health concern which can result in disease death and economic losses Cotton rats Sigmodon hispidus have been particularly useful in the study of the pathogenesis of human respiratory virus infections including the development and testing of antiviral compounds and vaccine NIH in 1937 for polio research and since used to develop typhus vaccine and dental caries research Research applications Primarily used in infectious disease and immunology research although currently not very common in the UK they have been used with the recent Zika virus outbreak They have also been used in research on infectious disease such as Polio Typhus Measles and Tuberculosis TB Vaccine research includes Respiratory Syncytial Virus Genital herpes infection HIV SARS Influenza Zika virus History Scientific name of the Cotton Rat is Sigmodon hispidus In the wild cotton rats can be found over the Southern United States of America USA Mexico and Central America Historically they were utilised as animal models for various human and rodent pathogens Cotton rat biology Adults can weigh 100 225g Females sexually mature at 5 weeks The gestation period is about 27 days with a litter size of around five They were first used by the National Institute of Health Figure 1 Cotton Rat in clear Perspex handling tube 92 Figure 2 Cotton rat in cardboard fun tunnel used for nesting etc

Poster Presentations They have precocious young With an average life span in the wild of 6 months but have been known to live up to 23 months in captivity Behaviour Cotton Rats have retained many of their wild characteristics They tend to bite and not let go Ouch They have a large fight or flight zone and panic when handled They are predisposed to jumping 1 metre straight up from standing start is achievable They will de glove their tails to escape They are generally very timid and will play dead when scared Females are social animals whereas the males tend to fight Environmental enrichments Environmental enrichment was considered to be very important and we added a variety of items to their home cage these included woodflake bedding cardboard tunnels small plastic dog chews shredded paper a nesting material which we found they love to snuggle together in We also give as food supplements including a dietary gel boost a variety of sweet breakfast cereals moistened rodent diet grapes and apples a selection of each was offered daily in a small bowl and they loved it Housing husbandry and procedures at Envigo We Imported 33 Female Cotton Rats to Huntingdon from our Envigo RMS site USA Our animals were delivered at approximately 70g at 5 6 weeks of age and gained about 7g per week Figure 4 Food supplements Special husbandry conditions Due to their timid nature and difficulty in handling them we found it preferable if not the only way to move the animals for procedures was using a container rather than by hand The holding containers always have lids and holes for ventilation We very quickly realised that Figure 3 Cotton Rat housing at Envigo Husbandry and environment Being females we housed them together in standard P2000 Tecniplast rat caging Microchips were injected subcutaneously under anaesthesia for identification and body temperatures As with other laboratory rats a light cycle of 12 hours light 12 hours dark was provided with the temperature set at 22 degrees C 2 degrees C with humidity set at 40 70 Envigo 2014c pelleted rodent diet was given ad libitum along with ad libitum access to water Bedding and nesting material were changed twice weekly The animals because of their timid nature had to be weighed in pre weighed handling tubes Figure 5 Perspex handling tube and cardboard fun tunnel 93

Poster Presentations the home cages had to be opened inside a deep container allowing the animals to jump out and then be quietly coaxed them into cardboard or Perspex tubes Perspex tubes allowed for visual appraisal If we had to open the cage while it was in situ on the rack this needed to be done with great care as the startled cotton rat would very quickly jump through the gap resulting in an escaped animal which was then difficult to recapture Health Cotton Rats are a relatively problem free species we saw no clinical of illness signs but they will however show signs of illness similar to those of other rodents They can demonstrate stereotypical behaviour this was observed in just one of our animals and remedial action was taken to alleviate this by Introducing additional interest into the cage for example sweet treats such as breakfast cereal suspended from the cage lid on a plastic cable Figure 6 Ventilated handling chamber Figure 9 Cotton Rat enjoying a treat Figure 7 View of home cage Dosing blood sampling routes and anaesthesia Our animals were dosed by intramuscular injection into the thigh muscle under isoflurane anaesthesia The toxicokinetic blood sampling was performed using the Figure 8 Handling of Cotton Rats note depth of container required to avoid escapees 94 Figure 10 Home cage cleaned out and ready for house mates to be returned

Poster Presentations sublingual blood vessel under Isoflurane anaesthesia however we did find that the animals salivated far more than we expected and we will be researching other anaesthetic agents for future use Terminal blood sampling was via cardiac puncture which was performed under anaesthesia with death being confirmed by permanent cessation of circulation Euthanasia can also be performed using a rising concentration of carbon dioxide CO2 or an overdose of anaesthetic Conclusion Having worked on this study we now feel that we have a much greater understanding of the Cotton Rat and how they need to be looked after and as such feel very confident that we could work with larger numbers and perform a wider range of techniques and procedures 95

April 2020 Animal Technology and Welfare Does relative humidity affect reproducibility of animal research K ANDERSON K PETERSEN and C ANDERSEN SCANBUR A S Silovej 16 DK 2690 Karlslunde Denmark Correspondence kba scanbur com Research collaborators Ma gorzata Major et al University of Turku Beate Oberm ller Medical University of Graz Stephen Woodley and Stuart Newman Kings College London Rebecca Towns University College London BVS University of Edinburgh Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Collaborators on these studies have no affiliation or financial links to SCANBUR A S Background Ongoing studies show interesting preliminary data on rodent welfare and physiology when relative humidity is locally accurately controlled at 55 with an accuracy of 3 compared to when relative humidity is controlled centrally and thus fluctuates with the variable weather conditions Observations At the University of Turku data collected in the calendar year 2018 on 246 breeding pairs 628 litters and 3970 born pups of genetically altered mouse strains showed a significant reduction in pre weaning mortality when relative humidity was controlled at 55 compared to building controlled building controlled Publication due to be released Q22019 A mouse facility in Canada that experiences low humidity levels during the cold winter months had challenges with scaly skin on the mouse tails These health issues quickly improved when the relative humidity was controlled at 55 Due to customer anecdotes suggesting improved results a study commenced in the UK to investigate the effect of relative humidity controlled at 55 on Embryo Transfer in mice This study commenced in November 2018 In a number of research collaborations we are documenting the impact of accurately controlled relative humidity on reproducibility breeding and animal welfare In a UK facility when tightly controlling relative humidity at different levels within the regulatory requirements the amount of water mice drank changed significantly in response to changes in relative humidity and was less variable compared to mice housed under room controlled relative humidity In a facility in the United Kingdom UK rat breeding pairs housed under controlled relative humidity of 55 produced much larger litters compared to when they were housed under conditions where humidity levels were controlled centrally and fluctuated Ongoing research In a test study in Austria aggression in male mice dropped when relative humidity was controlled at 55 Further studies are currently running A current study in a UK mouse facility is looking at the effects of improved control of environmental conditions on breeding parameters in mice The study is looking at controlled relative humidity of 55 compared to 97

Animal Technology and Welfare April 2020 Mirror mirror on the wall PAULINE READING 1 REECE READING2 and CALLUM BRANSTONE3 1 2 3 c o Institute of Animal Technology 5 South Parade Summertown Oxford OX2 7JL Agenda Life Sciences PO Box 24 Hull HU12 5YJ College of Life Sciences Division of Biomedical Services University of Leicester PO Box 138 Leicester LE1 9HB Correspondence pauline reading hotmail com Published by courtesy of the NC3Rs The problem The method Single housed male mice are a considerable problem in all facilities because as an industry we want to move away from keeping mice alone Step 1 Mice are a social species and as such we should be taking every opportunity we can to group house them but when males keep fighting each other that is easier said than done The mirror method hopes to encourage single housed male mice to be grouped with others without any fighting The perception When mice are grouped together for the first time it is a novel experience filled with new sights and smells which will stress the animal too much and may cause aggression Two single housed males of a similar age are selected It has been proven that mice can see a reflection of another mouse in the mirror so by adding a mirror prior to grouping they become accustomed to the sight of another mouse Scents cling to bedding and nesting material so swapping over both between mice being grouped also allows for them to be habituated to each other s smells By the time the mice are introduced they should be used to the sights and smells of another animal reducing stress and the likelihood of fighting 98 Step 2 A mirror is placed inside each cage hanging from the grid using a hook It should be in a central position

Poster Presentations Step 3 A handful of bedding and nesting material should be swapped over daily and placed by the mirror This should be repeated for 2 3 days The mice should now live with each other co existing without any signs of aggression The results Step 4 On the final day the mice should be placed together in a clean cage with no mirror Their cage should be left off of the rack and observed regularly on the first day Result Hints and tips Though this method is successful it is not guaranteed Observation skills are critical during the start of the pairing Any signs of fighting should lead to mice being split This method can be re tried on them at a later date The cage should not be cleaned during the first week 99

Poster Presentations This method currently has a 78 success rate and has been used across a variety of different strains including different strain pairing The mirror has been proven to be a vital part of the strategy as only 16 of non mirror pairings were successful It is also shown that the age of the mice does not make a difference so this method can be used on virtually any single mouse Using this method can refine animal research allowing more animals to be grouped and reduce the number of mice that are culled for being singlehoused More work will be done to refine this method but if adopted it may help make a reduction in this industry s single housed male problem 100