ATW August 2016

IAT Journal

Animal Technology

and Welfare

Official Journal of the Institute of Animal Technology

and European Federation of Ani mal Technologists

Vol 15 No 2 August 2016

ISSN 1742-0385

 Positive Reinforceme nt Training for Dogs

 RSPCA focus on Severe Sufferi ng

 Talking about Culture of Care

 More Congress Posters

Editorial 82

Jas Barley, Chair of the Editorial Board

Implementing a successful positive reinforcement training protocol in laboratory-housed dogs 83

Laura E.M. Scullion Hall and Sally Robinson

The RSPCA focus on severe suffering project 89

Penny Hawkins

PAPER SUMMARY TRANSLATIONS 93

TECH-2-TECH

The evening of the sudden heart attack – a patient’s personal account of how the skills of doctors and medical 101

research, saved his life

Gary Martinic

Preparing a paper presentation for Congress 111

Institute of Animal Technology

Information and instructions for preparing a poster for Congress 115

Institute of Animal Technology

Let’s talk about ‘Culture of Care’ 117

Nikki Osborne

AS-ET SPECIAL TRAVEL BURSARY ESSAY ENTRIES

Do present United Kingdom regulations covering experiments using laboratory animals strike the right balance 119

between the interests of human health and laboratory animal welfare?

Jessica Wood

Do present United Kingdom regulations covering experiments using laboratory animals strike the right balance 123

between the interests of human health and laboratory animal welfare?

Everest Onwubiko

Do present United Kingdom regulations covering experiments using laboratory animals strike the right balance 126

between the interests of human health and laboratory animal welfare?

Jamie Barratt

POSTER PRESENTATIONS

More breeding for less surplus: the advantages of using B6CBA to supply F1 mice 129

Leila Thomas, Colin Travis, Claudia Watson, Terry Brown, Brendan Doe and Francesca Flack

Non-human primate housing facility at Newcastle University 131

Stevie O’Keefe

Do different strains prefer different enrichments? 133

Rhiannon Atkinson

Innovative enrichment for the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) 136

Matteo Battilocchi, Garr y Fulcher, Zoe Windsor, Aaron Smith, Ria Fisher and Claire Pearce

Evaluation of p-Chip (Pharmaseq) microchip as an identification method for Xenopus tropicalis Biological 138

Research Facility (BRF) The Crick

Lucy Fern

Refinement of rodent identification by implementation of an ear tagging system 141

Jacqui Swan, Matt Smith, Noelia Lopez-Salensansky, Richard Marais and Lisa Doar

Instructions to Authors 145

Index to Advertisers xv

CONTENTS

Vol 15 No 2 August 20 16

ATW PROFILE

Animal Technology and Welfare aims to be the medium for animal technologists and all those concerned with the care and welfare of animals used for research purposes to

communicate ‘best practice’. ATW especially aims to promote and develop the 3Rs particularly in respect of Refinement. More importantly, ATW promotes the generally accepted

‘4th R’, Responsibility. The responsibility that all animal technologists have in ensuring dissemination of ‘best practice’ to every institution using animals in research. ATW

enjoys a unique position as the scientific publication for the leading organisations (IAT and EFAT) for the welfare of animals in research.

Editor: Jas Barley atweditor@iat.org.uk

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IAT REPRESENTATIVES

OFFICERS

President

Dr Robin Lovell-Badge FRS

Immediate Past President

Professor Sir Richard Gardner MA PhD FSB HonFIAT FRS

Vice-Presidents

David Anderson MRCVS, Stephen Barnett BA MSc FIAT CBiol FSB

RAnTech, Brian Cass CBE, Miles Carroll PhD, Gerald Clough BSc

PhD EurBiol CBiol MSB SFZSL, Paul Flecknell MA Vet MB PhD DLAS

DipLECVA MRCVS, Sue Houlton BVSc MA DVR DVC MRCVS,

Wendy Jarrett MA, Judy MacArthur-Clark CBE BVMS DLAS FSB

DVMS (h.c.), DipECLAM FRAgS DipACLAM MRCVS,

Fiona McEwen BSc BVM&S MSc MRCVS, Tim Morris BVetMed PhD

DipACLAM DipECLAM CBiol FSB CertLAS MRCVS, Vicky Robinson,

José Orellana BVSc MSc, Clive Page PhD BSc,

Gail Thompson RLATG, Robert Weichbrod PhD RLATG,

Lord Robert Winston FMedSci DSc FRCOG FRCP FRCS Ed FSB

Life Members

Charlie Chambers MIAT RAnTech, Roger Francis MSC FIAT RAnTech,

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FIAT DipBA RAnTech, Robert Kemp FIAT (Hon) RAnTech,

Keith Millican FIAT CBiol MSB, Phil Ruddock MIAT RAnTech,

Ted Wills HonFIAT RAnTech, Dorothy Woodnott FIAT

Honorary Members

Andy Jackson MIAT, Brian Lowe MSc FIAT RAnTech, Sue McHugh

BSc FIAT, Terry Priest FIAT, RAnTech, Trevor Richards BEM MIAT,

David Spillane FIAT, Pete Willan DMS FInstLM MIAT

Members of Council

Ken Applebee OBE, Matthew Bilton, Charlie Chambers,

Steven Cubitt, Simon Cumming, Andy Cunningham, Haley Daniels,

Glyn Fisher, Nicky Gent, Cathy Godfrey, Alan Graham, Linda Horan,

Sam Jameson, Elaine Kirkum, Adele Kitching, Sarah Lane,

Theresa Langford, Norman Mortell, Steve Owen, Wendy Steel,

Allan Thornhill, Lynda Westall, Carole Wilson, Adrian Woodhouse

Council Officers

Chair: Ken Applebee OBE FIAT CBiol FSB RAnTech

Vice Chair: Norman Mortell BA (Hons) MIAT RAnTech

Honorary Secretary: Linda Horan BSc (Hons) MIAT RAnTech

Honorary Treasurer: Charlie Chambers MIAT RAnTech

Assistant Treasurer: Glyn Fisher FIAT RAnTech

Chair Board of Educational Policy: Glyn Fisher FIAT RAnTech

Chair Board of Moderators: Cathy Godfrey FIAT RAnTech

Chair Registration & Accreditation Board: Wendy Steel BSc (Hons)

FIAT RAnTech

Chair ATW Editorial Board: Jas Barley MSc FIAT RAnTech

Bulletin Editor: Sarah Lane MSc FIAT RAnTech

Assistant Bulletin Editor: Carole Wilson BSc MIAT

Branch Liaison Officer: Lynda Westall BSc (Hons) FIAT DMS RAnTech

EFAT Representative: Charlie Chambers MIAT RAnTech

Council Website Coordinator: Allan Thornhill FIAT RAnTech

Diversity Officer: Haley Daniels

IAT INFORMATION

Animal Welfare Officers and LABA Representatives:

Andy Cunningham, Matt Bilton, Simon Cumming, Nicky Gent

ATW/Bulletin Editorial Board: Jas Barley, Patrick Hayes,

Elaine Kirkum, Sarah Lane, Lynda Westall, Carole Wilson

Board of Educational Policy: Glyn Fisher (Chair), Steven Cubitt

(Secretary) Adele Kitching

Board of Moderators: Cathy Godfrey (Chair), Haley Daniels

(Secretary) Moderators: Gary Childs, Joanna Cruden, Nicky Gent,

Linda Horan, Anthony Iglesias, Sue McHugh

Communications Group: Norman Mortell (Chair), Elaine Kirkum,

Theresa Langford, Allan Thornhill, Lynda Westall, Adrian Woodhouse

Registration and Accreditation Board: Wendy Steel (Chair),

Sarah Lane (Secretary) Theresa Langford: Ken Applebee,

Charlie Chambers, John Gregory, Cathy Godfrey, Stuart Stevenson,

Carol Williams

Observers: Charles Gentry (Certificate Holders Forum),

Adrian Deeny (LASA), Ian Mason (Home Office), Ngaire Dennison

(LAVA)

Congress Committee: Alan Graham (Chair), Haley Daniels,

Linda Horan, Adele Kitching, Allan Thornhill

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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.

without permission from the publisher.

BRANCH SECRETARIES 2016

Aberdeen: Ms Donna Wallace aberdeenbranch@iat.org.uk

Cambridge: Ms Fran Flack cambridgebranch@iat.org.uk

Edinburgh: Ms Janice Young edinburghbranch@iat.org.uk

Hertfordshire & Essex: Ms Helena Box hertsessexbranch@iat.org.uk

Huntingdon, Suffolk & Norfolk: Ms Jo Martin hssbranch@iat.org.uk

Ireland: Mr Colin Travis irelandbranch@iat.org.uk

London: Ms Amanda Dickson londonbranch@iat.org.uk

Midlands: Mr Ian Fielding midlandsbranch@iat.org.uk

North East England: Ms Rachael Handisides and Ms Joanne Bland northeastbranch@iat.org.uk

North West: Ms Gail Morrisey cheshirebranch@iat.org.uk

Oxford: Mr Adrian Woodhouse oxfordbranch@iat.org.uk

Surrey, Hampshire & Sussex: Ms Lesley Hughes shsbranch@iat.org.uk

West Middlesex: Ms Wendy Steel westmiddxbranch@iat.org.uk

West of Scotland: Ms Linda Horan westscotlandbranch@iat.org.uk

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August 2016 Animal Technology and Welfare

Editorial

Jas Barley

Chair of the Editorial Board

Before I continue please accept my deepest apologies for the delay of this issue and the reduced content. Unfortunately

during our lifetimes all of us sooner or later will experience periods when our priorities will be dictated by events beyond

our control and my life took such a turn which has meant that all things other than absolute necessities had to be put

on hold. Now that life is returning to a more usual state (I hesitate to use the term normal), rather than delay further

whilst I prepare additional content I’ve decided to issue what I have in order to get back on schedule as soon as possible.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Institute’s Council for their forbearance and support during this difficult time

and also thank our advertisers together with Sue Ojakowa and Warwick Printing for their support and patience.

This issue takes no particular theme but makes a break from our normal type of content by including a very moving and

informative article on how one of our regular contributors, Gary Martinic, survived a heart attack thanks to modern

medicine. His doctors made use of knowledge and technology, much of which was developed due to research involving

animal use. If you have any doubts regarding the value of our work I’m sure Gary would be only too happy to reassure us

of its worth. Glad to have you still on board Gary and look forward to further contributions from you in the future.

Another new type of article is from Nikki Osborne’s blog. The included blog is on Culture of Care something that we all

need to consider and continually monitor in order to provide the best welfare for the animals in our charge and to prevent

the phrase just becoming lip service. There are other blogs on the web that discuss topics of interest to our members

and subscribers, so if you have a favourite that is relevant to our readership please let me know and I’ll see if anything

is available that others may benefit from. Although we assume that everyone these days has access to the internet this

is not the case, especially for those working in developing countries. It has also been brought to my attention that some

members are unable to use a computer due to medical conditions e.g. some forms of epilepsy.

A more ‘regular’ type of paper is provided by Laura Scullion Hall and Sally Robinson on implementing a successful positive

reinforcement training protocol in laboratory-housed dogs. Although, when compared to the numbers of rodents used,

dogs are one of the less used species in the UK, they make an important contribution in many fields of research both

within the UK and globally. Training of animals to participate willingly in procedures is one method of refining procedures.

Despite the acknowledged need for such training in the laboratory-housed dog and the availability of training protocols for

the pet or working dog, few published studies exist detailing the implementation of training protocols. This paper outlines

a positive reinforcement-based protocol and describes the implementation in a busy pharmaceutical industry

environment.

A further article from a regular contributor to Animal Technology and Welfare (ATW), namely Penny Hawkins of the

Research Animals Department at the RSPCA is also offered. This time the report concerns the focus by the RSPCA on

their Severe Suffering project, of which the Institute is a major supporter. I would commend readers to take time to read

the report and see what steps can be implemented in their own establishments.

Further posters from Congress 2016 are included in this issue and it is my intention to publish the remaining submissions

that have been made available to ATW in the December issue. You will have recently seen the call for Platform

presentations and Posters for Congress 2017. If you have already registered your interest in taking your first steps

towards speaking in public there is some useful guidance on both presenting and preparing a poster on the IAT website

within the Congress section. However, hard copy of this guidance is included in the Tech-2-Tech section of this issue.

THE INSTITUTE OF ANIMAL TECHNOLOGY

ETHICAL STATEMENT

Our purpose is to advance knowledge and promote excellence in the care and welfare of

animals in science and to enhance the standards and status of those professionally

engaged in the care, welfare and use of animals in science.

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August 2016 Animal Technology and Welfare

Implementing a successful positive

reinforcement training protocol in

laboratory-housed dogs

LAURA E.M. SCULLION HALL

and SALLY ROBINSON

Behaviour and Evolution Research Group, Psychology, School of Natural Sciences,

University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA

Drug Safety and Metabolism, AstraZeneca, Alderley Park, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK10 4TF

Correspondence: laura.hall@stir.ac.uk

Summary

Training is recognised as important for laboratory

animals, both to improve welfare and increase the

efficiency of conducting husbandry and regulated

procedures. Despite the acknowledged need for such

training in the laboratory-housed dog and the

availability of training protocols for the pet or working

dog, few published studies exist detailing the

implementation of training protocols. Refinement of

restraint for procedures and husbandry can improve

welfare. This paper outlines a positive reinforcement-

based protocol and describes the implementation in a

busy pharmaceutical industry environment. Sixty-six

naive dogs held as stock were trained in brief, once-

weekly training sessions for four weeks. Data were

recorded on behaviour and progress in training. The

results support the implementation of brief, structured

training to increase welfare and compliance. The

scoring tools used also identified a small number of

dogs which failed to respond to training, providing a

means for staff to allocate dogs best suited to short-

or long-term studies.

Keywords

Laboratory-housed dog, training, Positive Reinforcement

Training (PRT), 3Rs, refinement, welfare

Work carried out at Drug Safety and Metabolism,

AstraZeneca, Alderley Park, Macclesfield, Cheshire.

Introduction

The use of dogs in laboratories

Dogs are a commonly-used second species in the

safety testing of new medicines with over 3,500 used

in the UK in 2013

and over 100,000 used globally

each year.

Dogs are given additional protection under

the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act, 1986 (ASPA)

and there is an ethical and scientific imperative to

maximise the benefits while minimising the harms

associated with their use in scientific testing.

Welfare, or the ability of an individual to cope with its

environment,

is acknowledged to influence the quality

of the data obtained from the use of animals in

scientific procedures. Refinement, one of the guiding

3Rs

principles of humane experimental practice, is

defined as

‘Any approach which avoids or minimises the actual

or potential pain, distress and other adverse effects

experienced at any time during the life of the

animals involved and which enhances their

wellbeing.’

Refinement, therefore, must apply to all aspects of the

lifetime of a laboratory-housed dog, not only the time

during which it is on-study. Improving welfare must

begin while dogs are held at stock, during which time

acclimatisation and basic habituation are normally

conducted, although this varies across industry.

A multi-faceted Welfare Assessment Framework was

developed for the laboratory-housed dog,

incorporating

measures of affect, behaviour, mechanical pressure

threshold and cardiac output. It was found that dogs

with negative welfare had a negative affective state, a

lower tolerance for mechanical pressure, higher blood

pressure and more negative welfare indicating

behaviours in the home pen and greater cardiac and

behavioural changes when exposed to positive and

negative behavioural challenges. In particular, the

response of the dogs to restraint

suggested that

refinements to the technique were necessary.

Positive Reinforcement Training

(PRT)

Training of laboratory-housed dogs, in particular table

ATW Aug 28Oct.e$S:Animal Technology and Welfare 7/11/16 12:50 Page 83

training, is common although techniques and frequency

of training vary considerably. Habituation (repeated

exposure to an aversive event) is common practice for

regulated procedures in the laboratory setting and may

result in a decreased behavioural response to the

aversive stimulus or event.

However this may not

represent actual habituation but rather a “freezing”

response and cooperation, while internally, arousal has

not decreased.

It is commonly recommended that

some form of “habituation” take place before a study,

however the interpretation of its use varies and there is

currently no standardisation in the use of

desensitisation within the laboratory environment for

the dog.

This may be due to a lack of understanding of

the distinction between habituation and desensitisation

and lack of a structured programme to implement

desensitisation. As such, negative reinforcement (NRT)

training is often more commonly used than positive

reinforcement. NRT may involve the use of an

unpleasant stimulus and as such encourages fear,

resistance and avoidance, all of which are undesirable

states in an in vivo model of a healthy human.

Positive Reinforcement Training (PRT) is a form of

operant training, in which the subject (dog) has to

perform an active behaviour in order to receive

feedback. The addition of an appetitive stimulus to

increase the occurrence of a behaviour.

The use of PRT rather than classical conditioning (e.g.

habituation or desensitisation) has the benefit of

increasing the choice and control

7,10

of the subject, both

of which are known to be important to good welfare.

Requiring the subject to make an active choice to

express a behaviour allows it a sense of control, while

also increasing the predictability of an event. PRT is

favoured over NRT for its effectiveness and the use of

only appetitive stimuli, rather than aversive stimuli, is

considered more ethically acceptable.

PRT is well-described as an effective technique in the

pet dog

or working dog,

12,13

as well as in other

laboratory species,

yet there are few experimental

accounts of the benefits in the case of the laboratory-

housed dog. A study of refinements to the protocol

used in dosing by oral gavage

found that amongst

other refinements, PRT mitigated the negative changes

in welfare associated with restraint and oral gavage.

Habituation, which occurs by NRT, was found to result

in decreased welfare and increased time to dose.

Increased positive staff contact

While operant learning is the focus of this study, social

learning in dogs must also be accounted for when

developing a training plan, given dogs’ affinity for

understanding our intention,

emotions,

gaze,

gestures

and vocal communication.

Dogs also utilise

social referencing to interpret unfamiliar situations.

Positive human contact is known to benefit dogs in a

number of behavioural,

physical

and physiological

ways. Specifically in the laboratory-housed dog, periods

of positive staff contact can increase overall welfare in

the home pen.

6,24

For these reasons, this training

protocol was designed to not only achieve a specific

training goal but to use the contact between dogs and

staff to improve dog welfare.

Aims

The aims of the present study were (1) to investigate the

efficacy of a training protocol for laboratory-housed dogs

and (2) to evaluate the benefits of the training protocol

in relation to the feasibility of its implementation. It was

hypothesised that behaviour on the table, and the stage

of training demonstrated by each dog would improve

from Week 1 to Week 4. It was also hypothesised that

the design of the training protocol and the tools used to

measure progress would prove useful to staff and

increase overall ease of interaction with the dogs.

Methods

Animals and housing

A total of 66 AZ strain beagle dogs (27 male, 39

female) took part in the training protocol. At the start

of training, dogs were aged between 12-24 months. All

dogs were naive to regulated procedures and received

no training other than handling during weekly health

checks.

Dogs were housed in same-sex groups of up to 10 dogs

in two interconnecting pens of approximately 15m

each. A variety of chew toys were provided as

enrichment and there were raised platforms of varying

heights within the home pens. Dogs were allowed

access to outdoor exercise areas containing climbing

frames at least once per week.

Training protocol

No structured training protocol had previously been in

place. Before the delivery of the training protocol

began, staff received training in the welfare

assessment and training of laboratory-housed dogs

including both theory and practical learning.

The overall goal of training was for dogs to exhibit the

behaviour ‘calm sitting while restrained’ when placed

on the table. A combination of luring, shaping and

stationing was used in the training protocol. All

behaviour offered by the dogs was voluntary, with staff

instructed to avoid physical manipulation of the dogs.

Stages of training were devised and are shown in

Table 1. It was necessary for a dog to have met the

criteria of all previous stages of training before

progressing to the next. Staff were also provided with

photographic guides to the behaviours exhibited at

each stage of training and troubleshooting for

unexpected behaviours.

Implementing a successful positive reinforcement training protocol in laboratory-housed dogs

ATW Aug 28Oct.e$S:Animal Technology and Welfare 7/11/16 12:50 Page 84

Implementing a successful positive reinforcement training protocol in laborator y-housed dogs

The training protocol was delivered to each dog once

weekly for four weeks. Each training session was

between 2-5 minutes with the time decreasing as staff

proficiency in training increased. Four members of staff

were chosen as trainers and in addition to usual

husbandry duties they undertook training during

weekday afternoons. Staff worked in pairs with one

conducting the training and the other recording

behaviour and stage of training data on the record

sheet. Typically, one room each of male and female

dogs would be trained per day.

Data collection

Trainers recorded both the stage of training achieved

each week (A-G; Table 1) and behaviours exhibited

(range -18 to +6; Table 2). All behaviours were scored

as occurring not at all, some of the time or all of the

time.

Ethics

This design and implementation of this study was

overseen by scientific and veterinary staff. No

regulated procedures were conducted and therefore no

additional approval was required under ASPA.

Results

Change in behaviour on the table

Figure 1 shows the increase in scores across the four

weeks of training. Training scores for all dogs

significantly improved from a mean score of -3.41 in

Week 1 to +3.64 in Week 4 (Wilcoxon signed ranks test

Z=6.483, p<.001). Male and female dogs only differed

significantly in behaviour score in Week 3 (Mann

Whitney U test, U=347.5, p=.015), see Figure 2.

Stage Description

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

A Does not accept treats (nervous or excited).

B Accepts treats from handler.

C Calm and relaxed on table.

D Attempts sitting behaviour.

E Shows brief sits.

F Can maintain a longer sit.

G Sits well and tolerates gentle restraint.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Table 1. Stages of training

Figure 1. Behaviour scores over four weeks of training

for all dogs.

Figure 2. Behaviour scores over four weeks of training

by sex.

Figure 3. Training stage reached over four weeks of

training for all dogs.

Stage of training reached

Stage of training also significantly improved from Week

1 to Week 4 (Wilcoxon signed ranks test, Z=-6.722,

p<.001). In Week 1, 46 dogs were at Stage A or B of

training (mean = Stage B). Only four dogs were at Stage

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Implementing a successful positive reinforcement training protocol in laboratory-housed dogs

E or F. After the final training session in Week 4, four

dogs were at Stage A and 10 were at Stage B. In Week

4, the mean stage of training was E with 48 dogs (73%)

at Stages E-G of training (Figure 3). Male and female

dogs did not differ in stage achieved during Weeks 1-3,

however in Week 4, females had a higher mean stage

than males (Mann Whitney U test, U=367.5, p=.032),

see Figure 4.

Suitability of the table training tool

Three male dogs and four female dogs had consistently

negative behaviour scores across the four weeks of

training with scores in Week 4 ranging from -15 to -3.

These dogs also did not progress beyond Stage B of

training. It was decided that training would continue for

as long as feasible in order to determine if additional

sessions would be beneficial.

These dogs were given additional training over the

following six weeks by the end of which all dogs had a

minimum behaviour score of 0, however they remained

at training Stage A or B. From these results, it appears

that the response of dogs to training in the first four

weeks predicts the success of training. Those dogs

which had a negative behaviour score in Week 4 did not

respond well to additional training.

These results support two important findings. Firstly,

that four weeks of brief training sessions is sufficient

to improve the behaviour and training of most dogs with

73% achieving Stages E–F of training. Secondly, the

table training tool is a sensitive measure of

responsiveness to training, with dogs which had

consistently negative behavioural scores failing to

respond to an additional six weeks of training. This

means that using the table training tool, dogs which are

unlikely to adapt to regulated protocols and other

aspects of being on-study, can be identified. It is

accepted that dogs which fail to adapt and therefore

have negative welfare should not be assigned to long-

term studies for ethical and scientific reasons. This

table training tool should therefore be useful to

technical and veterinary staff in assessing the

suitability of dogs for long-term studies.

Discussion

Results of training protocol

The results of the training protocol showed a significant

improvement in both behaviour and stage of training

over the four weeks of training. Other than in Week 3

male and female dogs did not differ significantly in

behaviour score. However, female dogs were at a

higher mean stage of training in Week 4. This suggests

that females dogs may respond better to training. The

mean stage of training in Week 4 was E (shows brief

sits) which means that most dogs were exhibiting calm

behaviour and volunteering the desired behaviour.

Behavioural indicators of welfare also improved

significantly from Week 1 to Week 4, with a mean score

of +3.64 of a maximum +6. This indicates that the

protocol has been successful in improving the welfare

of the dogs while being handled on the table. Our

previous research e.g.

2,14

suggests that brief restraint

can have a negative welfare impact on dogs but also

that positive reinforcement training can mitigate this

impact.

Many of the dogs used in this study were later

transferred to a contract research organisation where

they were used in long-term colonies. Staff noted that

these dogs were easier to handle and better adapted to

regulated procedures than dogs from other sources

(personal communication April 2015), although this

was not quantified using the tools in this study. This

lasting effect suggests that the investment in training

resulted in long-term benefits to dogs and staff.

Ease of implementation

Staff reported the training protocol to be easy to

implement and the results to be readily observable.

Assigning four dedicated staff to training was

determined to be a contributing factor to the overall

success of the protocol. This allowed staff to quickly

become proficient in the techniques and to maintain

consistency between training sessions. The length of

training sessions decreased as staff became more

proficient and as dogs’ training progressed, with many

dogs needing no more than two minutes of training per

week. This was determined to be an acceptable

increase in duties for staff.

Use of scoring tools

The tools used to score behaviours and stages of

training sessions were developed from those used in.

Figure 4. Training stage reached over four weeks of

training by sex.

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Implementing a successful positive reinforcement training protocol in laborator y-housed dogs

These tools proved to be easy-to-use for staff and

sensitive to changing behaviour in the dogs. Further,

the behavioural scoring proved to be useful in

identifying dogs which did not respond well to training

(7/66). The majority of dogs responded well to four

weeks of training. However those that did not failed to

respond to additional training.

It is recognised that dogs which fail to adapt to the

events associated with being on-study should not be

assigned to long-term studies or re-use colonies,

however, there has been no evidence-based method of

doing this. Anecdotally, technical staff who work with

dogs have expressed a desire to identify such dogs in

order to assign them to appropriate studies of shorter

duration, or terminal studies. The use of the

behavioural scoring tool described here should assist

staff in decision making.

Conclusions

The results of this study show a clear improvement in

both behaviour and training across four weeks. The

majority of dogs had reached a satisfactory level of

training by the fourth week, while the use of positive

reinforcement training also improved the welfare of the

dogs while on the table. Dogs which failed to respond

to four weeks of training also failed to respond

sufficiently to additional training, meaning that the

behavioural scoring tool can be used to identify these

dogs and assign them to appropriate studies. Staff

were able to incorporate the protocol into regular duties

and quickly became proficient in the training

techniques, which increased the success of the study.

Given the benefits of implementing positive

reinforcement training and the ease of implementation,

it is recommended that a protocol such as this is

implemented in dog units.

Acknowledgements

The authors are indebted to LB for her assistance and

enthusiasm in implementing the preceding study and

over-seeing the collection of data and to CD, KH and

EW for carrying out training.

References

Home Office. (2013). Statistics of Scientific Procedures

on Living Animals in Great Britain 2012. Crown Copyright.

Hall, L.E. (2014). A practical framework for harmonising

welfare and quality of data output in the laboratory-

housed dog. PhD Thesis, University of Stirling, Stirling,

UK.

Broom, D. (1986). Indicators of poor welfare. British

Veterinary Journal; Vol 142 No 6, 524-526.

Russell, W. and Burch, R. (1959). The Principles of

Humane Experimental Technique. Universities Federation

for Animal Welfare, Wheathampstead, UK.

Buchanan-Smith, H.M., Rennie, A. and Vitale, A. et al.

(2005). Harmonising the definition of refinement. Animal

Welfare Vol 14 No 4, 379-384.

Hall, L.E., Robinson, S. and Buchanan-Smith, H.M. (in

prep) A welfare assessment framework for the laboratory-

housed dog: linking welfare and data output.

Laule, G. (2010). Positive Reinforcement Training for

Laboratory Animals. In: The UFAW handbook on the care

and management of laboratory and other research

animals. Universities Federation for Animal Welfare,

Wheathampstead UK.

Ruys, J., Mendoza, S., Capitanio, J. et al. (2004).

Behavioral and physiological adaptation to repeated chair

restraint in rhesus macaques. Physiology and Behavior;

Vol 82 No 2-3, 205-213.

Prescott, M.J., Morton, D., Anderson, D. et al. (2004).

Refining dog husbandry and care: Eighth report of the

BVAAWF/FRAME/RSPCA/UFAW Joint Working Group on

refinement. Laborator y Animals; Vol 38 (SUPPL. 1), S1:1-

S1:94.

Overmier, J., Patterson, J. and Wielkiewicz, R. (1980).

Environmental contingencies as sources of stress in

animals. New York: Plenum Press.

Hiby, E., Rooney. N. and Bradshaw, J. (2004). Dog

training methods: Their use, effectiveness and interaction

with behaviour and welfare. Animal Welfare; 13 No 1, 63-

69.

Fjellanger, R., Andersen, E. and McLean, I. (2002). A

training program for filter-search mine detection dogs.

International Journal of Comparative Psychology; Vol 15

No 4, 278-287.

McKinley, J., Buchanan-Smith, H.M., Bassett, L. et al.

(2003). Training common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus)

to cooperate during routine laboratory procedures: Ease

of training and time investment. Journal of Applied Animal

Welfare Science; Vol 6 No 3, 209-220.

Hall, L.E., Robinson, S. and Buchanan-Smith, H.M.

(2015). Refining dosing by oral gavage in the dog: A

protocol to harmonise welfare. Journal of Pharmacological

and Toxicological Methods; Vol 72, 35-4

Téglás, E., Gergely. A., Kupán, K.E., Gergely, A., Kupán,

K. et al. (2012). Dogs’ gaze following is tuned to human

communicative signals. Current Biology; Vol 22 No 3,

209-212.

Müller, C.A., Schmitt, K., Barber, A.L. et al. (2015). Dogs

can discriminate emotional expressions of human faces.

Current Biology; Vol 25 No 5, 601-605.

Gácsi, M., Miklósi, Á., Varga, O. et al. (2004). Are

readers of our face readers of our minds? Dogs (Canis

familiaris) show situation-dependent recognition of

humans attention. Animal cognition; Vol 7 No 3, 144-153.

Riedel, J., Schumann, K., Kaminski J. et al. (2008). The

early ontogeny of human-dog communication. Animal

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direction referentially. Proceedings of the Royal Society B:

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Merola, I., Prato-Previde, E. and Marshall-Pescini, S.

(2012). Dogs’ social referencing towards owners and

strangers. PloS One; 7(10): e47653.

Hennessy, M., Voith, V., Hawke, J. et al. (2002). Effects

of a program of human interaction and alterations in diet

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adrenal axis in dogs housed in a public animal shelter.

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221(1): 65-71.

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Bergamasco, L., Osella, M.C., Savarino. P. et al. (2010).

Heart rate variability and saliva cortisol assessment in

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Animal Behaviour Science; Vol 125 No 1, 56-68.

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345-361.

ATW Aug 28Oct.e$S:Animal Technology and Welfare 7/11/16 12:50 Page 88

August 2016 Animal Technology and Welfare

The RSPCA focus on severe suffering

project

PENNY HAWKINS

Research Animal Department, RSPCA, Wilberforce Way, Southwater, West Sussex RH13 9RS

Correspondence: penny.hawkins@rspca.org.uk

Summary

The RSPCA Research Animals Department has an

ongoing project that focuses on reducing and avoiding

‘severe’ suffering which has been well supported by

the Institute of Animal Technology (IAT). This short

article describes two current initiatives; an online

information resource and a ‘Road map’ pack designed

to help establishments act on severe suffering at a

local level.

The web-based resource, ‘Focus on severe suffering’,

is endorsed by the IAT, Laboratory Animal Science

Association (LASA) and the Laboratory Animal

Veterinary Association (LAVA). It sets out the factors

that can contribute towards making a procedure

severe, explains how these can be addressed and links

to other websites and resources for further information

and practical guidance. The ‘Road map’ pack is linked

to Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body (AWERB)

tasks and comprises short presentations with notes

and workshop materials that can be used to help

establishments audit their procedures and focus on

refining any that can cause severe suffering.

Keywords

Severe suffering, ethics, refinement, practical

guidance

Introduction

All levels of severity in animal research and testing are

a concern to the RSPCA and the scientific community

alike but severe suffering is obviously the greatest

concern of all and is a top priority for us. Tackling

severe suffering has been a theme throughout the

RSPCA’s work for some years, particularly since our

project on pain assessment

(which progressed into our

work on welfare assessment)

began in the late 1990s

and the severe suffering project has been ongoing

since 2012.

Ensuring that we are working effectively on the issue

has required a great deal of research, liaison and

collaboration with individuals working in science, the

Home Office and bodies such as the IAT, LASA and

LAVA. The RSPCA is extremely grateful for the support

we have received from all of these people and

organisations which has enabled us to produce

resources that will help to reduce and avoid severe

suffering, as well as getting the issue on the agenda at

scientific meetings in the UK and overseas.

Background to the severe

resources

In addressing severe suffering, we are advocating

parallel approaches that are essentially a very

focussed application of the 3Rs. Ideally, procedures

involving severe suffering would be replaced or avoided

altogether – the RSPCA’s principal goal. Wherever this

is not currently possible, it is clearly essential to

reduce the numbers of animals experiencing severe

suffering and to refine procedures so that suffering is

no longer severe or at least less severe. Finding

innovative and practical ways to refine severe

procedures is the main emphasis of the project, as

refinement is a key area of expertise for the RSPCA and

is an immediately achievable ‘R’.

To identify the best way to work on the issue, we

needed information on the actual severity of

procedures – the level and nature of harms caused to

animals. Although this is now published in the annual

Home Office Statistics

(Figure 1, Table 1) and this

information is very welcome with respect to

88038

23202

11647

344

Regulatory

Basic research

Translational/applied

research

Protection of the natural

environment

Figure 1. Procedures reported as ‘severe’ actual

severity by purpose in Great Britain for 2015.

ATW Aug 28Oct.e$S:Animal Technology and Welfare 7/11/16 12:50 Page 89

The RSPCA focus on severe suffering project

transparency about animal use, it is at quite a basic

level and more detail is necessary on the types of

‘models’, tests and procedures that have the potential

to cause severe suffering.

Source: Home Office Statistics, Table 3.2.

Mice are

currently the most likely species to experience severe

suffering; a total of 101,494 experimental procedures

on mice were reported as ‘severe’ actual severity for

2015.

Thanks to the high level of constructive liaison that we

have with the scientific community and the regulator

and a great deal of literature searching, we have been

able to produce a list of procedures that are especially

likely to cause severe suffering, which has enabled us

to identify procedures and models that require more

specific guidance and to formulate a more generic

approach to addressing the issue.

Two work streams

The RSPCA’s work to produce guidance on refining

specific procedures or ‘models’ that may cause severe

suffering involves setting up Expert Working Groups to

consider the necessity and justification for animal use,

identify potential harms throughout the animals’ lives

and recommend ways of alleviating these based on the

scientific literature and current good practice. Group

members include animal technologists, vets, scientists

from industry and academia and a Home Office

Inspector.

These Expert Working Groups are a natural follow-on

from the BVAAWF/FRAME/RSPCA/UFAW* Joint Working

Group on Refinement (JWGR), which had a similar

approach and membership and produced its first report

on blood sampling back in 1993. Throughout the 23

years of the JWGR and more recently with the Expert

Working Groups, animal technologists and the IAT have

provided strong support, input and advice, helping us

to provide practical guidance that has had real impact.

So far, we have produced four reports on refining

procedures involving the Experimental Autoimmune

Encephalomyelitis (EAE) mouse model,

seizures,

convulsions and epilepsy,

sepsis

and rheumatoid

arthritis.

A fifth Expert Working Group is currently

working on spinal cord injury. Although the RSPCA and

other bodies such as LASA and the NC3Rs are also

addressing these specific procedures, this is a long

term collective project so the RSPCA has created more

generic guidance in the form of our ‘Focus on severe

suffering’ web pages.

The web pages

The web-based resource, ‘Focus on Severe Suffering’

(rspca.org.uk/severesuffering) was developed with and

is endorsed by the IAT, LASA and LAVA (Figure 2). The

aim is to help relevant staff and committees or groups

within establishments to address severe suffering

locally. It became obvious to us at an early stage that

different audiences required different information, so

we defined three target groups; animal technologists

and Named Veterinary Surgeons (NVSs), researchers

and Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body (AWERB)

members. Each of these has a separate ‘pathway’ to

follow within the web pages which includes the most

Purpose Number of procedures

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Batch potency testing 144,957

Immune system 4,389

LD50 and LC50 3,952

Multisystemic research 2,918

Human infectious disorders 2,869

Oncology 2,060

Cardiovascular blood and 1,928

lymphatic system

Nervous system 1,804

Other type of toxicity or 1,230

safety test

Human cancer 920

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Table 1. Top ten purposes of severe experimental

procedures involving mice in Great Britain, 2015.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

* British Veterinary Association Animal Welfare Foundation, Fund for

the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments, Universities

Federation for Animal Welfare

Figure 2. The RSPCA Focus on severe suffering web

pages.

ATW Aug 28Oct.e$S:Animal Technology and Welfare 7/11/16 12:50 Page 90

The RSPCA focus on severe suffering project

appropriate materials to help them fulfil their roles in

tackling severe suffering, although any visitor can

access each of the pathways.

For each one, the page begins by considering what

makes a procedure ‘severe’, breaking this down into

three main causes:

G some procedures or ‘models’ are more likely to be

severe

G a combination of factors can increase the level of

suffering to severe; i.e. the cumulative severity

effect or mortality may involve severe suffering

We have set out the factors that can contribute towards

making a procedure severe, explaining how these can

be addressed and linking to other websites and

resources for further information and practical

guidance. Further content focuses strongly on welfare

assessment, applying refinements and humane

endpoints, as these are all fundamental to avoiding

and reducing severe suffering. Each of these key areas

is addressed from a different angle for animal

technologists/NVSs, scientists and AWERB members.

For example, information relating to refinement is

presented from a different aspect within each of the

three pathways. The route for animal technologists and

NVSs focuses on useful information sources, the

importance of evaluating refinement to ensure that it is

improving welfare and the value of the AWERB as a

forum for identifying and discussing refinements and

their evaluation throughout the project and at mid- or

end-term reviews. For scientists, the pages begin with

a definition of refinement and explain the legal

requirement to implement this, before setting out the

sources of information. It also acknowledges the

importance of ensuring that refinement is compatible

with the science and highlights how useful advice can

be from both the Named Information Officer (NIO) and

the AWERB when seeking to avoid or reduce severe

suffering. The refinement pages for AWERB members

also begin with a definition, moving on to list which of

the AWERB’s tasks are relevant to addressing severe

suffering and include the essential role of the NIO.

The pathways for welfare assessment and humane

endpoints take a similar approach, in which we have

aimed to present both information and approaches in

such a way that they will be meaningful and relevant to

the different target audiences.

The road map

One of the resources that can be downloaded from the

web pages is a Road map resource pack, which is

intended for use by internal bodies such as the AWERB,

a 3Rs Group or other animal care and use or ethics

committees, although it has also proved useful as a

training aid and for use by individual scientists.

The ‘Road map’ is a series of practical steps that will

enable establishments to identify ways to reduce, avoid

and ultimately end severe suffering, which we

developed following consultation with a number of

research establishments. This approach is strongly

linked to relevant AWERB tasks and uses current

guidance from both the Home Office and the European

Commission. We have taken this approach because we

wanted to help ensure that current guidelines and

requirements were effectively implemented and

applied, without adding additional tasks.

A key principle of the Road map is an ‘audit’ of

procedures to establish how well current refinement

practices are working and to identify any areas where

further refinement can be applied. In order for this to

be achieved it is essential that researchers work with

their animal technologists and named persons

developing a team approach to the alleviation of

suffering. For further information, please see the

‘resources’ box within the severe suffering web pages

(rspca.org.uk/severesuffering).

Conclusion

We hope that you find the severe suffering resources

useful and we would also like to encourage you to bring

the resources to the attention of your establishments,

for example by making the AWERB or named persons

aware of them. Although they address severe suffering,

much of the content will help with refinement in

general.

The RSPCA regards the Focus on severe suffering

pages and the Road map resource very much as works

in progress, which will need regular updates to ensure

that they are user-friendly, current and feasible. We

plan to update the pages quarterly and would

especially welcome any feedback that you may have, to

help us develop and improve them – please email

research.animals@rspca.org.uk

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the IAT, LASA, LAVA, Home Office and the

scientific community for their support for this project

and to the IAT for the opportunity to speak at Congress

2016.

References

Hawkins, P. (2002). Recognising and assessing pain,

suffering and distress in laboratory animals: a survey of

current practice in the UK with recommendations.

Laboratory Animals, 36(4), 378-95.

Hawkins, P., Morton, D.B., Burman, O. et al. (2011). A

guide to defining and implementing protocols for the

welfare assessment of laboratory animals: eleventh

report of the BVAAWF/FRAME/RSPCA/UFAW Joint Working

Group on Refinement. Laboratory Animals, 45, 1-13.

Home Office. (2016). Annual Statistics of Scientific

ATW Aug 28Oct.e$S:Animal Technology and Welfare 7/11/16 12:50 Page 91

The RSPCA focus on severe suffering project

Procedures on Living Animals: Great Britain 2015.

London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.

Wolfensohn, S., Hawkins, P., Lilley, E. et al. (2013).

Reducing suffering in experimental autoimmune

encephalomyelitis (EAE). Journal of Pharmacological and

Toxicological Methods, 67(3), 169-176.

Wolfensohn, S., Hawkins, P., Lilley, E. et al. (2013).

Reducing suffering in animal models and procedures

involving seizures, convulsions and epilepsy. Journal of

Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods, 67(1), 9-15.

Lilley, E., Armstrong, R., Clark, N. et al. (2015).

Refinement of animal models of sepsis and septic shock.

Shock, 43(4), 304-316.

Hawkins, P., Armstrong, R., Boden, T. et al. (2015).

Applying refinement to the use of mice and rats in

rheumatoid arthritis research. Inflammopharmacology,

23(4), 131-150.

ATW Aug 28Oct.e$S:Animal Technology and Welfare 7/11/16 12:50 Page 92

PAPER SUMMARY

TRANSLATIONS

INHALTVERZEICHNIS

Umsetzung eines erfolgreichen, auf positiver

Verstärkung beruhenden Trainingsprotokolls für im

Labor untergebrachte Hunde

LAURA E.M. SCULLION HALL

und SALLY ROBINSON

Behaviour and Evolution Research Group, Psychology (Verhaltens- und

Entwicklungsforschungs-Gruppe, Psychologie), School of Natural Sciences, University of

Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA

Drug Safety and Metabolism (Arzneimittelsicherheit und Stoffwechsel), AstraZeneca,

Alderley Park, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK10 4TF

Korrespondenz: laura.hall@stir.ac.uk

Abstract

Training für Versuchstiere gilt als wichtiger Beitrag zur Verbesserung des Tierwohls und zur Effizienzsteigerung bei der

Durchführung von Tierhaltungs- und vorgeschriebenen Versuchsverfahren. Trotz der anerkannten Notwendigkeit

solchen Trainings von im Labor untergebrachten Hunden und der Verfügbarkeit von Trainingsprotokollen für den Haus-

oder Arbeitshund wurden bisher nur wenige Studien veröffentlicht, die sich mit der Umsetzung von

Trainingsprotokollen beschäftigen. Durch die Senkung der Belastung bei Versuchsverfahren und Tierhaltung kann

eine Verbesserung des Tierwohls erreicht werden. Dieser Artikel umreißt ein auf positiver Verstärkung beruhendes

Protokoll und beschreibt seine Umsetzung in einem arbeitsintensiven pharmazeutischen Produktionsumfeld.

Sechsundsechzig untrainierte, als Bestand gehaltene Hunde erhielten über vier Wochen hinweg einmal wöchentlich

kurzes Training. Daten zum Trainingsverhalten und -fortschritt wurden erfasst. Die Ergebnisse unterstützen die

Durchführung kurzen, strukturierten Trainings als Mittel zur Verbesserung von Tierwohl und Compliance. Mit den

verwendeten Scoring-Tools konnte auch eine geringe Anzahl von Hunden identifiziert werden, die nicht auf Training

ansprachen, womit das Personal die Möglichkeit erhielt, die jeweils für Kurz- bzw. Langzeitstudien optimal geeigneten

Hunde auszuwählen.

Schlagwörter: Im Labor gehaltener Hund, Training, positives Verstärkungstraining, 3R-Prinzip, Refinement, Tierwohl

August 2016 Animal Technology and Welfare

ATW Aug 28Oct.e$S:Animal Technology and Welfare 7/11/16 12:50 Page 93

Paper Summar y Translations

Das RSPCA-Projekt „Focus on Severe Suffering“

(Beurteilung schwerer Belastung durch

Tierversuche)

PENNY HAWKINS

Research Animals Department, RSPCA, Wilberforce Way, Southwater, West Sussex RH13 9RS,

Großbritannien

Korrespondenz: penny.hawkins@rspca.org.uk

Abstract

Ein laufendes Projekt der Abteilung „Versuchstiere“ der britischen Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to

Animals (RSPCA) beschäftigt sich schwerpunktmäßig mit der Minimierung der Belastung und der Vermeidung von

„schwerem“ Leiden und genießt große Unterstützung des Institute of Animal Technology (IAT). Dieser kurze Artikel

beschreibt zwei aktuelle diesbezügliche Initiativen. Dabei handelt es sich erstens um eine Online-Informationsquelle

und zweitens um eine „Roadmap“, die Einrichtungen dabei unterstützen sollen, auf lokaler Ebene im Hinblick auf

schwere Belastungen zu handeln.

Die webbasierte Informationsquelle „Focus on Severe Suffering“ wird vom IAT, der Laboratory Animal Science

Association (LASA) und der Laboratory Animal Veterinary Association (LAVA) unterstützt. Sie legt die Faktoren dar, die

Verfahren zu einer schweren Belastung für das Versuchstier machen können, und erläutert deren mögliche

Bewältigung. Sie ist verlinkt mit anderen Websites und Ressourcen mit weiterführenden Informationen und

praktischer Anleitung. Die „Roadmap“ nimmt Bezug auf die Aufgaben des Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body

(Gremium für Tierschutz und ethische Überprüfung, AWERB). Sie enthält Kurzpräsentationen mit Anmerkungen sowie

Workshop-Materialien, die Forschungseinrichtungen zur Auditierung und zur Verbesserung ihrer Verfahren nutzen

können, die potenziell eine schwere Belastung verursachen.

Schlagwörter: Schwere Belastung, Leiden, Ethik, Refinement/Verminderung der Belastung, Roadmap

ATW Aug 28Oct.e$S:Animal Technology and Welfare 7/11/16 12:50 Page 94

August 2016 Animal Technology and Welfare

CONTENU DE LA REVUE

Mise en œuvre d’un protocole de dressage des

chiens de laboratoire basé sur un renforcement

positif efficace

LAURA E.M. SCULLION HALL

et SALLY ROBINSON

Groupe de recherche sur le comportement et l’évolution, Psychologie, École des Sciences

naturelles, Université de Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA

Innocuité des médicaments et métabolisme, AstraZeneca, Alderley Park, Macclesfield,

Cheshire SK10 4TF

Correspondance: laura.hall@stir.ac.uk

Résumé

Le dressage est reconnu comme étant important pour les animaux de laboratoire, tant pour améliorer leur bien-être

que pour augmenter l’efficacité de l’élevage et le respect des procédures réglementaires. Bien qu’il soit reconnu

nécessaire de procéder au dressage des chiens de laboratoire et malgré les protocoles de dressage actuellement

en vigueur pour les animaux domestiques et les chiens d’utilité, il n’existe que quelques études publiées décrivant

en détail la mise en œuvre de ces protocoles de dressage. La réduction des contraintes liées aux procédures et à

l’élevage peut améliorer le bien-être des animaux. Cet article présente un protocole basé sur le renforcement positif

et décrit sa mise en œuvre dans un milieu pharmaceutique industriel très actif. Pendant quatre semaines, soixante-

six chiens innocents faisant partie d’un élevage ont été dressés dans le cadre de brèves séances de dressage

organisées une fois par semaine. Des données ont été enregistrées afin d’évaluer leur comportement et les progrès

observés lors du dressage. Les résultats de cette étude soutiennent la mise en œuvre de séances de dressage

rapides structurées afin d’améliorer le bien-être et l’obéissance des animaux. Les outils d’évaluation utilisés ont

également permis d’identifier un petit nombre de chiens qui n’ont pas répondu positivement au dressage, offrant

ainsi au personnel de laboratoire un moyen de sélectionner les chiens les mieux adaptés aux études à court ou à

long terme.

Mots-clés: chien de laboratoire, dressage, dressage basé sur le renforcement positif, 3Rs (Trois R), amélioration,

bien-être

ATW Aug 28Oct.e$S:Animal Technology and Welfare 7/11/16 12:50 Page 95

Paper Summar y Translations

Étude de la RSPCA sur le projet lié aux graves

souffrances

PENNY HAWKINS

Service des animaux de laboratoire, RSPCA, Wilberforce Way, Southwater, West Sussex

RH13 9RS

*Correspondance: penny.hawkins@rspca.org.uk

Résumé

Le service des animaux de laboratoire de la RSPCA développe actuellement un projet étudiant les moyens qui

permettent de réduire et d’éviter les « graves » souffrances et bénéficiant du soutien de l’Institute of Animal

Technology (IAT). Ce court article décrit deux initiatives actuellement mises en œuvre : une ressource

informationnelle en ligne et un « programme détaillé » conçu pour aider les établissements à prendre des mesures

au niveau local dans le but de réduire les graves souffrances.

La ressource Web intitulée Focus on severe suffering (Étude sur les graves souffrances) a été approuvée par l’IAT,

l’Association des Sciences de l’Animal de Laboratoire (LASA ou Laboratory Animal Science Association) et

l’Association de Médecins vétérinaires pour les Animaux de Laboratoire (LAVA ou Laboratory Animal Veterinary

Association). Elle présente les facteurs pouvant contribuer à ce qu’une procédure entraîne de graves souffrances,

elle explique comment gérer ces facteurs et elle comprend des liens vers d’autres sites Internet et ressources offrant

des renseignements supplémentaires et des conseils pratiques. Le « programme détaillé » est lié aux missions de

l’Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body (AWERB) et inclut de courtes présentations contenant des notes, ainsi que

des documents de séminaire pouvant aider les établissements à vérifier leurs procédures et à améliorer celles qui

peuvent entraîner de graves souffrances.

Mots-clés: Graves souffrances, Éthique, Amélioration, Programme détaillé

ATW Aug 28Oct.e$S:Animal Technology and Welfare 7/11/16 12:50 Page 96

August 2016 Animal Technology and Welfare

INDICE DE LA REVISTA

INDICE D

E LA REVISTA

Implementación de un protocolo fructífero para un

entrenamiento con refuerzo positivo en perros de

laboratorio

LAURA E.M. SCULLION HALL

y SALLY ROBINSON

Grupo de investigación sobre evolución y comportamiento, Psicología, School of Natural

Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA

Seguridad de medicamentos y metabolismo, AstraZeneca, Alderley Park, Macclesfield,

Cheshire SK10 4TF

Correspondencia: laura.hall@stir.ac.uk

Resumen

El entrenamiento se considera una actividad importante para los animales de laboratorio, tanto para mejorar su

bienestar como para incrementar la eficiencia a la hora de realizar procedimientos de cría y pautados. A pesar de

reconocer la necesidad de dicho entrenamiento para perros de laboratorio y de existir protocolos de entrenamiento

para el animal de compañía o perro de trabajo, hay pocos estudios publicados al respecto que detallen la

implementación de protocolos de entrenamiento. Un replanteamiento de unos procedimientos y de unas actividades

de cría menos restrictivas puede mejorar el bienestar. Este estudio explica un protocolo basado en el refuerzo

positivo y describe la implementación en un entorno activo del sector farmacéutico. Se entrenó a 66 perros sin

preparación, que se conservaban como reserva, mediante sesiones cortas semanales durante cuatro semanas. Se

fueron registrando los datos sobre el comportamiento y los avances en el entrenamiento. Los resultados respaldan

la implementación de un entrenamiento breve y estructurado para incrementar el bienestar y el cumplimiento. Las

herramientas de evaluación utilizadas también sirvieron para identificar a un pequeño número de perros que no

respondió positivamente al entrenamiento, con lo que el personal pudo asignar los perros que mejor se adaptaban

a los estudios de corto y largo plazo.

Palabras clave: perros de laboratorio, entrenamiento, entrenamiento de refuerzo positivo, 3R, replanteamiento,

bienestar

ATW Aug 28Oct.e$S:Animal Technology and Welfare 7/11/16 12:50 Page 97

Paper Summar y Translations

El RSPCA se centra en el proyecto de sufrimiento

grave

PENNY HAWKINS

Research Animals Department, RSPCA, Wilberforce Way, Southwater, West Sussex RH13 9RS

Correspondencia: penny.hawkins@rspca.org.uk

Resumen

El Departamento de Investigación de Animales (Research Animals Department) del RSPCA lleva a cabo un proyecto,

centrado en reducir y evitar cualquier sufrimiento "grave", que cuenta con el total apoyo del Institute of Animal

Technology (IAT). Este breve artículo describe dos iniciativas actuales: una fuente de información en línea y una

documentación de “hoja de ruta” diseñada para ayudar a las distintas organizaciones a actuar en casos de

sufrimiento grave a escala local.

La fuente basada en la web, ‘Focus on severe suffering’, está respaldada por el IAT, Laboratory Animal Science

Association (LASA) y la Laboratory Animal Veterinary Association (LAVA). Establece los factores que pueden contribuir

a hacer que un procedimiento pueda ser grave; explica cómo solucionar esta situación y proporciona enlaces a otras

páginas web y fuentes para más información y guías prácticas. La documentación de “hoja de ruta” está vinculada

a las tareas del Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body (AWERB) y está compuesta de breves presentaciones, notas

y material de talleres, que pueden utilizarse para ayudar a las distintas organizaciones a evaluar sus procedimientos

y a centrarse en replantear cualquier procedimiento que pudiera causar un sufrimiento grave.

Palabras clave: Sufrimiento grave, ética, replanteamiento, hoja de ruta

ATW Aug 28Oct.e$S:Animal Technology and Welfare 7/11/16 12:50 Page 98

August 2016 Animal Technology and Welfare

INDICE DELLA REVISTA

INDICE D

ELLA REVISTA

Implementazione di un effettivo protocollo di

addestramento basato sul rinforzo positivo nei cani

da laboratorio

LAURA E.M. SCULLION HALL

e SALLY ROBINSON

Behaviour and Evolution Research Group, Psychology, School of Natural Sciences, University

of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA

Drug Safety and Metabolism, AstraZeneca, Alderley Park, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK10 4TF

Corrispondenza: laura.hall@stir.ac.uk

Abstract

L’addestramento ricopre un ruolo parimenti importante per gli animali da laboratorio, in quanto può risultare in un

benessere migliorato e accrescere l’efficienza delle procedure zootecniche e regolamentate. Nonostante si riconosca

la necessità di tale addestramento per i cani da laboratorio e della disponibilità di protocolli specifici per i cani

domestici o da lavoro, sono pochi gli studi in essere in cui viene approfondita l’applicazione di tali protocolli. Il

raffinamento dell’equilibrio tra procedure e allevamento può migliorare il benessere. Questo articolo delinea un

protocollo basato sul rinforzo positivo e ne descrive l’implementazione in un ambiente farmaceutico molto attivo. In

breve, sessantasei cani naïve tenuti come scorta sono stati ammaestrati una volta a settimana per un periodo di

quattro settimane. Quindi, sono stati rilevati i dati sul comportamento e i progressi conseguiti. I risultati confermano

l’uso di un addestramento breve ma strutturato mirato ad accrescere il benessere e l’obbedienza. Gli strumenti di

valutazione utilizzati hanno identificato, inoltre, un numero limitato di cani meno ricettivi all’addestramento,

consentendo allo staff di scegliere quelli più consoni a studi a breve o lungo termine.

Parole chiave: cane da laboratorio, addestramento, addestramento a rinforzo positivo, 3 R, Raffinamento, benessere

ATW Aug 28Oct.e$S:Animal Technology and Welfare 7/11/16 12:50 Page 99

100

Paper Summar y Translations

Focus della RSPCA sulla grave sofferenza

PENNY HAWKINS

Research Animals Department, RSPCA, Wilberforce Way, Southwater, West Sussex RH13 9RS,

Regno Unito

Corrispondenza: penny.hawkins@rspca.org.uk

Abstract

Il Research Animals Department della RSPCA sta conducendo un progetto incentrato sulla riduzione e l’eliminazione

di sofferenze ‘gravi’, che ha ricevuto ampio sostegno dall’Institute of Animal Technology (IAT). Questo breve articolo

descrive due iniziative attualmente in corso: una risorsa informativa online e una ‘roadmap’ elaborata per aiutare le

istituzioni ad agire sul problema della sofferenza grave a livello locale.

La risorsa presente sul web, ‘Focus on severe suffering’, è riconosciuta dall’IAT, dalla LASA (Laboratory Animal

Science Association) e dalla LAVA (Laboratory Animal Veterinary Association). Delinea i fattori che possono contribuire

all’inasprimento della sofferenza in una procedura, spiegando come affrontarli e fornendo link ad altri siti web e

risorse che mettono a disposizione ulteriori informazioni e guide pratiche. La tabella di marcia o ‘roadmap’ è

associata alle mansioni dell’Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body (AWERB) e racchiude brevi presentazioni

corredate di note, nonché materiale per workshop destinato alle istituzioni, che possono utilizzarlo per sottoporre ad

esame le loro procedure e concentrarsi sul miglioramento di quelle che potrebbero causare gravi sofferenze.

Parole chiave: Grave sofferenza, Etica, Raffinamento, Roadmap

ATW Aug 28Oct.e$S:Animal Technology and Welfare 7/11/16 12:50 Page 100

101

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.

The evening of the sudden heart attack –

a patient’s personal account of how the

skill of doctors and medical research saved

his life!

‘I will never forget the evening of the 4th

October 2010, when I clinically died twice’

GARY MARTINIC

Centre for Transplant & Renal Research, Westmead Institute for Medical Research,

Westmead, NSW 2145 Australia

Correspondence: gary.martinic@sydney.edu.au

Background

It was approximately 7pm on the 4th October 2010 and

I was driving home with my two daughters from a karate

training session that we had just completed. The dojo

was only a short 15 minute drive from home. Although I

had been regularly training in Karate for nearly 15 years

prior, this particular training session was my first night

back into the sport after a 3-4 year break (though I had

attended a few intermittent training sessions in

between). During the more than 1.5 hours of quite

intense training on that night, I have to admit that, as a

‘black belt’, I was pushing myself to train at the same

level of intensity as my colleagues, who had been

training regularly. At various stages of this training, I felt

that it was getting beyond my capabilities but I did not

feel any discomfort.

More than halfway into the training and afterwards, I

had to pause as I felt tired and found myself out of

breath. I did manage to complete the training session

but did not feel well afterwards. Within 5 minutes of the

drive home, I had to pull into a side street and I started

to vomit violently which was accompanied by profuse

sweating and the onset of strong chest pain. Once I

had vomited I felt a little better and continued driving.

After we arrived home, I quickly parked the car in our

driveway and explained to my wife, who was waiting at

the door that I have been feeling very, very ill and that

I just needed to sit in our terrace area for a few

minutes, to see if whatever I was feeling was going to

settle down. I managed to sit for no more than a few

minutes when I started to feel crushing, central chest

August 2016 Animal Technology and Welfare

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102

pain which felt ‘like an elephant was sitting on my

chest’. Immediately recognising these symptoms, I

grabbed the phone and called an ambulance describing

my symptoms to the person on the other side of the

phone.

Once done, I walked calmly to the room where my wife

was and explained to her that I WAS having a heart

attack and that I’ve called an ambulance already and it

was on its way. My wife, in disbelief, said that it was

unlikely to be a heart attack and that it was probably

only ‘over-exertion’, as she knew that I had a habit of

training at quite an intense level. I explained to her that

what I was feeling was ‘real’ and when she saw that I

was serious she quickly asked what she could do and

got our car ready to follow the ambulance to our local

hospital. I also told my wife to let my daughters know

that everything would be alright and that I just needed

a ‘check-up’. Luckily for me, it was the early evening

with little traffic on the roads and the ambulance

showed up in less than 10 minutes. Once they arrived,

they asked me what I was feeling and I explained to

them that I felt that I was having a heart attack. Even

the ambulance officers told me that it was probably

unlikely due to my age (45) and that I looked young and

fit but they did still take me into the ambulance and

administered an injection of morphine just in case, as

we hurriedly made our way to Liverpool Hospital

emergency ward. It’s comical to note that in all of this

time I was still dressed in my karate outfit!

What happened in emergency triage

As I arrived into the emergency room, I was lying on an

examination table with my wife standing beside me.

The nurse and the attending doctor asked me what I

was feeling and I started to explain my symptoms, just

as I did, I blacked out at that point. As I found out later,

this was my first heart attack (or in medical terms,

Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) caused by insufficient

blood flow to my heart due to an artery blockage.

Apparently at this point my heart stopped, so the

medical staff immediately jolted me with a 200 Joule

(J) electric shock using a transducer and then rushed

me into the Cardiac Catheter Laboratory (Cath Lab).

Upon arriving in the Cath Lab, I found myself lying on

the examination table semi-conscious and I could hear

and see one doctor working on my right femoral artery

(and being supervised by another more senior doctor

on the other side of the room) while a male nurse was

standing next to the stretcher to my left. After being

here for only a few short minutes, I heard the junior

doctor say to the senior one, ‘this one’s not working’

(referring to the long balloon catheter he had inserted

into my femoral artery) to which the senior doctor

replied, ‘try the larger size’. Shortly after this, I

apparently blacked out again (yes, my heart stopped

working again) but not completely, as I was still

conscious enough to know what was generally going on

around me. Before I knew it, I felt this sudden type of

electrical shock to my chest, it was the 200J electric

transducer being used again! But this time I certainly

felt it! Let no one tell you differently, as someone that

has experienced this, I can tell you that if you receive

this shock when you are semi-conscious, it is my

opinion, ‘one of the scariest things on earth’ to

experience. The analogy is similar to a ‘shotgun blast

to the chest at point-blank range’. However, the irony of

this is that without the transducer being used, I would

not be alive today.

Clinical presentation and follow-up

This section explains the course of the medical

treatment that I received. While there is some medical

terminology used, I have tried to present much of the

following in plain English language as much as was

possible at the time.

A 45 year old male patient presented to the rooms at

20:00 hrs on the 4/10/10 with onset of central

crushing chest pain with associated diaphoresis

(sweating) and vomiting. He was alert and orientated

with Blood Pressure (BP) of 110/60 and Heart Rate

(HR) at 80 beats per minute (bpm). Heparin infusion

was commenced at 21.10 hrs. Patient experienced a

Ventricular Fibrillation arrest at approximately 21:20

hrs, which was reverted with one 200J shock. He was

transferred to the Cardiac Cath Lab at 21:50 hrs. The

right posterolateral coronary artery was stented with

Bare Metal Stent (BMS) and an Intra-aortic Balloon

Pump was inserted during the procedure as BP was

low. Post-procedure the patient remained well with no

further chest pain. He was commenced on several

medications including; Aspirin 100mg daily, Clopidogrel

75mg daily, Crestor 10mg daily and Ramipril 1.25mg

daily and was referred for outpatient cardiac

rehabilitation. He was discharged well on 9/10/10 to

follow up with his cardiologist 2-4 weeks later. Patient

also had a Echocardiograph.

Intra-aortic Balloon Pump is a mechanical circulatory

assist device that increases myocardial oxygen

perfusion while at the same time increases cardiac

output. It increases cardiac output and increases

coronary blood flow and therefore myocardial oxygen

delivery (Source: Internet)

Clinical intervention details

Reason for admission: Chest pain.

Principal Diagnosis: Inferior STEMI complicated by VF

arrest.

Additional Diagnoses/Complications: PmHx; smoker,

denies IHD, DM, HTN Indication: acute myocardial

infarction – primary.

Procedure: coronary artery study going onto

percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTCA).

Current medications: nil.

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Anaesthetic: Lignocaine 10ml.

Procedural medications: Heparin sodium 4500 U.

Coronary artery study going onto PTCA was performed

percutaneously, using the right femoral artery under

local anaesthesia. The screening time was 10.4 min

and 150 ml of lopromide was used. The procedure was

complicated by ventricular tachycardia.

Haemodynamics: BSA: sq.m. Rhythm: Sinus rhythm

Aorta (s/d/m) 90/59/74 (pressures in mm Hg).

Angioplasty: 1 vessel attempted. Right posterolateral-

prox. Third: 15mm long type Bl lesion.

Equipment: Z2 JR 4.0 6F, Route wire, Export Aspiration

Cather AP 6 Fr, NC Sprinter 3.0 mm/12 mm, Micro-

Driver 2.75/18 mm.

Dilatation: 4 inflations were used with a maximum

pressure of 12 Atm for a maximum of 18 sec. No

dissection occurred. The lesion was stented. ST

segment changes occurred in the inferior & posterior

leads.

Outcome: Stenosis pre: 95%, post: 0%. The procedure

was successful.

Coronary angiography: the coronary anatomy was right

dominant.

Artery discreetly diseased left main: origin 40%

Discreetly diseased LAD: proximal third 30%.

Normal LCx diffusely diseased RCA: proximal third 30%

Discreetly diseased R postero/ateral: proximal third

95% feasible; graftable.

Comments: bare metal stent. IABP inserted.

Conclusions: Coronary artery disease; Successful

PTCA Recommendation: Angioplasty.

Physical recovery and progress

Following my AMI (Figure 1) my condition was

successfully treated and I was left to recover in hospital

for 6 days. During this time, I met my cardiologist, Dr

Con Arronis, who followed up my condition a number of

times while a barrage of electrocardiographs (Figure 2)

medical reports (Figure 3) and pathology tests were

conducted, and would continue to be. The initial ECG

showed infero-lateral ST elevation (lead Il, Ill and aVF

with ventricular fibrillation with reciprocal changes aVL

and VI-3 indicates transmural ischemia in the right

Figure 1. Coronary angiogram shows a narrowing

(black arrow) in right posterolateral coronary artery.

Figure 2. An example of one of my electrocardiographs.

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104

coronary artery region (ST elevations have been circled

on the ECG; see Figure 2). Consecutive pathology

showed my results to be within normal ranges for most

parameters, however apart from my ‘troublesome’

postolateral coronary artery, there were two other

arteries that were 40% and 30% occluded respectively

hence my cardiologist commenced statin therapy and a

few other drugs. I stayed on these drugs for the first 12

months, with the exception of Ramipril (125mg), which

made me very nauseous and so was discontinued.

Most people after an MI usually take 2-3 months to

completely recover before returning to work. I only took

6 weeks. I also did not take up the offer of cardiac

rehabilitation as I felt I did not need it. I was

determined to recover ASAP and the first positive thing

from the whole experience (if ever an MI can be

‘positive’) was that I stopped smoking.

In the end, I had an inferior infarct on the 4th Oct. 2010.

This relates to plaque rupture in the context of

vulnerable plaque and the above risk factors for

ischaemic heart disease (IHD). I was fully treated for

secondary prevention and have been well since that

time. According to my cardiologist report of the 10th

Mar 2011, my Ml was in fact undetectable on

transthoracic echocardiography and I had received a

stent to the culprit artery. The rest of my CAD disease

was minimal and my lipid profile was excellent. Hence,

if I adhered to the lifestyle changes suggested, i.e. quit

smoking, exercise regularly, eat sensibly, etc., and if I

ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY REPORT Name: MARTINIC, G.

Date: 1/12/2010 Address:

Lab. number: 31513 Sex: M

Rhythm: Sinus rhythm Age: 45

Image quality: good DOB:

Tape: DLP38-39/ Referrer: Doc

Indication: Post PTCA

M mode dimensions

Aortic root 29 mm (<38) RV diastole 23 mm (<30)

AV excursion 22 mm (>10) LV septum 9 mm (<12)

Left atrium 37 mm (<40) LV posterior wall 9 mm (<12)

MV EF slope mm/sec (>70) LV diastole 56 mm (35-56)

MV ESS mm (<7) LV systole 39 mm (20-40)

MV excursion mm (>20) LV fract short 30% (28-38)

M mode, 2D and Doppler

Normal left ventricular size and function

Normal right ventricular size and function

Normal left atrium

Normal right atrium

No pericardial effusion

Aortic valve: Morphologically normal

Doppler mapping: No regurgitation

Mitral valve: Thickened with mobile leaflets

Doppler mapping: Trivial regurgitation

LV diastolic parameters:

E/A velocity radio: 0.7

Normal pulmonary valve

Tricuspid valve: Morphologically normal

Doppler mapping: No regurgitation

Conclusions

1. Normal left ventricular size and systolic function

2. No significant valvular abnormalities

Cardiac sonographer: Final report Reporter:

Figure 3.

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105

maintained my lipid profile and blood pressure to within

the target range prescribed by my cardiologist, then a

recurrence of CAD was likely to remain low. I had already

returned to my normal duties and to my previous level

of exercise gradually. I was also prescribed Fenofibrate

40mg early on for a borderline/low HDL level (although

my LDL profile at 1.7 mmol/L was good), which my

cardiologist felt would be good to take as a target for

secondary prevention but in the end I have to confess

that I never really ended up picking up this prescription,

mostly because I did not want to be taking ‘too many’

different medications.

Results on ongoing lipid chemistry

profiles

Results are presented in Table 1 covering the period

September 2010 to August 2012, where lipid

chemistry was being routinely monitored over a 6-

month period and Table 2 covering the period April

2013 to August 2015, where lipid chemistry was being

routinely monitored over this period. As can be seen

from Table 1, my initial total cholesterol dated Sept

2010 was elevated at 5.5 mmoI/L (though not

excessively high). This was reduced quickly to 3.1

mmol/L by November 2010 due to the commencement

of statin therapy and it was generally maintained over

the period of the next nine months. My total cholesterol

reading increased to 4.0 mmoI/L in March 2012

though and generally stayed at that level over the next

12-13 months to April 2013. From June 2014 my total

cholesterol level dropped to 2.8mmoI/L and at the last

testing in Aug 2015 the results showed that it had

remained relatively stable at that level, albeit

increasing slightly to 2.9 mmoI/L. (Note: the acronym

‘N/T’ in the tables denotes a sample that was ‘not

tested)’.

Both tables also show that Low Density Lipoprotein

(LDL; or the ‘bad cholesterol’) over the period of five

years in which this parameter was tested, showed a

‘rollercoaster’ effect where LDL was initially recorded

within normal range with a reading or 1.7 mmol/L

between 2010 to 2011 but then increased to 2.6

mmol/L in 2012, staying at this same level at the

beginning of 2013 before dropping significantly in June

2014. It then increased again slightly in August 2015.

By comparison, High Density Lipoprotein (HDL; or the

‘good cholesterol’) generally remained quite stable

varying from 0.9 mmol/L (from 2010), peaking slightly

Lipid 27 Sept 10 23 Nov 10 15 Feb 11 15 Aug 11 14 Mar 12 20 Aug 12

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Total cholestrol 5.1 3.1 3.1 3.3 4.0 4.1

LDL N/T 1.7 1.7 1.7 N/T 2.6

HDL N/T 0.9 0.9 0.9 N/T 1.0

Triglycerides 2.2 1.2 1.2 1.29 1.12 1.15

Cholestrol/HDL N/T 3.4 3.4 3.3 N/T 4.1

Ratio

Table 1. A summary of half-yearly lipid chemistry results September 2010 – August 2012.

Lipid 15 Apr 13 17 Jun 14 4 Aug 15

Total cholestrol 4.1 2.8 2.9

LDL 2.6 1.2 1.4

HDL 1.0 0.93 0.93

Triglycerides 1.02 1.36 1.27

Cholestrol/HDL ratio 4.1 3.0 3.1

Table 2. A summary of annual lipid chemistry results April 2013 – August 2015.

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106

higher at 1.0 mmol/L between 2012 and early 2013

before returning to their almost previous level of 0.93

mmoI/L as of August 2015. My triglyceride profile

initially showed a level of 2.2 mmoI/L in September

2010 which was slightly above normal range (< 2.00

mmoI/L) however this parameter dropped to 1.2

mmoI/L, almost half of the previous level when tested

in November 2010 (after commencement of statin

therapy) and this level was essentially maintained over

the next three years rising to its highest reading of 1.36

mmol/L in June 2014 before falling to 1.27 mmoI/L in

August 2015, almost a year later. My cholesterol to

HDL Ratio profile initially showed a level of 3.4 mmoI/L

in November 2010 which remained stable till August

2012 when it rose to 4.1 mmol/L, remaining at that

level until June 2014 when it fell to 3.0 mmol/L, and

essentially staying stable at 3.1mmol/L in August

2015. All of these pathology results reflect that fact

that medical management of my condition by my

cardiologist was essentially achieving its target aims. It

will be interesting to see how my lipids fare in the next

round of pathology testing which is scheduled for

August 2016. Despite that fact that the above

pathology results tend to fall within normal ranges for

all parameters tested, it needs to be pointed out that I

initially commenced taking

‘Crestor’ statin therapy on 10mg and continued at this

dose rate for the first 12 months. This was increased

to 20mg in the 2011 and continued until 2012, before

my dose rate was again increased to 40mg

approximately at the beginning of 2013. I have

remained on this dose rate until the present day.

The damage that smoking nicotine

does to your heart

Even though I was not a heavy smoker per se, I was a

regular ‘social’ smoker and had been for over 25 years

as I enjoyed it, particularly together with an alcoholic

drink and often in a social gathering of friends or a

night ‘out on the town’. Knowing that smoking was bad

for me, I had tried many times to give up without

sustained success. However, after my MI, I quickly (and

completely) gave up smoking ‘cold turkey’. Of course I

knew that smoking was damaging to one’s health but I

did not know just how damaging it was from a

‘mechanism of action’ point of view. My cardiologist

explained to me that after years of smoking a plaque

becomes ‘brittle’ and small fragments of it (similarly as

with a blood clot) can break off from the main diseased

plaque. When this happens the fragments (or clots)

travel in the blood circulation and where they lodge

becomes a potentially Ife-threatening problem. For

example, if the plague fragment lodges in the blood

vessels of the heart, this often leads to an MI and if it

lodges in the blood vessels inside the head, this often

leads to a stroke (see Figure 4).

Figure 4. A series of images which show how atherosclerosis essentially develops in three stages. The first image

shows a normal artery. The second image shows an artery with significant damage and a significant degree of blood

flow restriction. Blood products and connective tissue continue to build up and begin to bulge into the artery

channel. In the third image all three layers of the artery wall are affected, and some of the area has begun to calcify,

forming a mass of dead tissue, which when either a blood clot, or a fragment of travelling ruptured plaque almost

completely blocks off the artery channel leading to death of tissue. (Source: Heart Research Institute, Sydney,

Australia).

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107

What do the statistics say about

heart disease in Australia and in

the UK?

According to figures provided by the Heart Research

Institute, based in Sydney, Australia (and closely

affiliated with the Heart Foundation of Australia) around

55,000 Australians suffer an Ml annually and 9,000

Australians die of the same annually. It is estimated

that 90% of Australians have one modifiable risk factor

for heart disease. Poor diet, low physical activity,

smoking, drinking excess alcohol, carrying excess

weight and high blood pressure all contribute to

cardiovascular disease – the leading cause of death in

Australia. From a prevention point of view, one can

improve one’s heart health by quitting smoking,

drinking less and excercising regularly. Smokers are

about 4 times more likely to die from heart disease

than non-smokers and passive-smoking is linked to an

increased risk of dying from heart disease. Australian

government health guidelines recommend that healthy

men and women drink no more than two standard

drinks of alcohol on any day, that they eat 375g of

vegetables and 300g of fruit per day, and that they do

2.5 hrs of exercise each week. Comparatively, based

on National Health Service information

more than

73,000 deaths occur from Ml annually and about 1 in

6 men and 1 in 10 women die from Coronary Heart

Disease (CHD). There are an estimated 2.3 million

people living with CHD and around 2 million people

affected by angina pectoris (the most common

symptom of CHD).

Advances in medical research and

the increased skill-sets of doctors

In comparison to earlier times in our history, we have

much to be thankful for regards the advanced state of

medicine today. Although I was fortunate that good

timing played a factor regarding how quickly emergency

medical help arrived for me, I am certain that had I

suffered this AMI say 50 years ago, I would more than

likely have died. I was also fortunate in that the small

medical team of doctors, nurses and para-medics who

had attended to my ‘medical emergency’ were highly

competent, skilled and experienced in the medical

procedures that they routinely performed, such as the

PTCA that I had performed on me. The fact that this life-

saving medical technique was available, is thanks to

medical research.

Medical research over many decades and more than

any other factor, has been responsible for the high level

of medical care that we receive today. As someone who

has worked in the field of medical research ever since

I left school, firstly as a technician, then later as a

scientist and laboratory administrator, it is re-assuring

and satisfying to know that the work we do in the labs

is, as I found, really life-saving and sometimes even

life-changing, as it was for me. It is interesting how life

works sometimes. The irony of it all was that I had

previously worked at the Heart Research Institute, one

of the leading medical research institutes in the

country, which was solely dedicated to researching

heart disease. I even obtained my higher degree (MSc

Hons) in the medical area of atherosclerosis research

which was the very subject of all my research

investigations in the lab, however little did I know at the

time that this insidious disease was to potentially

threaten my life ‘down the track’.

With regards to life saving cardiovascular medical

techniques, it was Andreas Gruntzig

in 1977, who first

performed the PTCA or put simply, dilatation of a

stenotic artery, which is in current times a commonly

used non-surgical method for the treatment of arteries

obstructed by atherosclerotic plaques. Perhaps

ironically again, I have carried out research work myself

on the testing of various surgical techniques, one of

them describing the aortic balloon injury

approach

(which was published in this same journal in 2004) for

the purposes of surgical refinement and potential

future application in treating dangerous atherosclerotic

plaques.

The views of other patients about

their heart attack

In doing this research, I quickly became interested in

what other survivors of a life threatening heart attack

felt about their experiences. I began to searching out

articles on their experiences, firstly, to see if their

physical and psychological experiences were similar to

mine, and secondly, to understand how they now felt

about their lives post-event? I found that the physical

symptoms which most described were similar to mine,

for example, feeling suddenly very unwell, hot and

sweaty and overwhelmed by incredible and agonising

pain which continued to get worse.

Despite a variation

of causes which lead to their heart attacks, for

example, some patients suffered a tear in their artery

wall, others suffered an atherosclerotic plaque rupture

and yet others had a spontaneous coronary artery

dissection (a very rare medical condition), all however

described a generally similar symptom picture.

But how were they now living day-to-day and what were

their emotional and psychological views on their illness

post-event? More specifically, what were their attitudes

and beliefs now about their cardiovascular disease?

Again, I found similarities in the views of most patients

towards their disease, in that immediately following the

heart attack most felt scared about what they had been

through and, about the possibility of suffering another

one which may have had the potential to kill them. They

were also grieving the loss of their health saying that it

was a huge knock to their confidence.

However, within

a few short months post-event, many patients

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expressed surprisingly positive attitudes about their

day-to-day lives. Some examples include the inspiring

story of the 22 year old medical student from Austin,

Texas who suffered a life threatening heart attack while

cycling, who survived and then in April 2015 had

participated in athletic research which attempted to

answer the question of how far young, athletic heart

attack survivors could push their own physical

endurance limits on high-intensity stationary bike

exercises.

Another example was the 51 year old man,

who being neither young at the time of his heart attack

now remotely athletic, did manage to lose 70 pounds

and train well enough to complete a full marathon on

the 26th anniversary of his heart attack.

Another

example was that of a gentleman who at the age of 39

years had triple bypass surgery due to severe coronary

artery blockages. At the time he weighed 195 pounds,

and confessed to minimal physical activity, a bad diet

and long working hours. After his major surgery he

decided to turn his life around. He began to eat better

and rest more and took up cycling four times per week.

Within a short period he dropped in weight to 145

pounds, as he spent his weekends cycling between 80-

145 kilometres. As a result, his cholesterol levels

dropped significantly, his energy levels and general

‘zest for life’ have massively improved. He concluded

that he felt better now at 46 years of age, than he did

at 39.

There are many such similar examples where Ml

survivors had positively ‘taken their lives back’.

The above examples should hopefully inspire those that

may have a fear of recurrent attacks that they can

completely recover and prove that it is possible for

heart attack survivors to return to a highly physical and

active lifestyle, if they were willing to take responsibility

for their own health.

Previous work by behavioural

researchers has shown that health and illness-related

cognitions can be segmented into those that; concern

the condition itself, concern the treatments for the

condition and those that concern the patient’s

attempts to manage or resolve their illness (and the

circumstances it provokes).

Their conclusions is that

the behaviours of individuals are affected by the

attitudes and beliefs they hold. If individuals think

something is appropriate for them they may do it; it not,

they don’t.

Personal reflections

While I have never been a regular church-goer, I have

always believed in ‘God’. This whole experience has

taught me that life is very ‘fragile’ and that you will never

really know ‘when your number is up’ until you face that

very moment and it is interesting how lots of emotions

and sad feelings go through your head immediately post-

event. For example, following an Ml I found myself

overwhelmed by the sad thoughts about those closest

to me, my children, my wife and my other family

members and how I came so close to never seeing any

of them again and what I should have said to them but

did not get time to. I also experienced thoughts like,

“why have I suffered this life threatening disease so

young?” And, “I must not have much time left, as it is

only a matter of time before my next Ml?”. Some cardiac

patients can actually develop depression after the event

(according to nursing and cardiac rehabilitation staff).

Other common thoughts that I had early on were, “why

am I here?, why am I sharing this cardiac ward with all

these ‘old people’?”. “At 45 years of age I am much too

young to be here, I should not be here yet.” Of course,

most people that experience a severe Ml (and that

survive it) may express different thoughts, feelings and

emotions, these are just mine.

Where to from here?

At the time of writing this article for ATW, I noted that

more than five years had passed since my MI and I am

more than happy to report that I am still feeling ‘fighting

fit’ as I continue to work at my full time medical research

job, my secondary appointment as an Officer and

instructor in the Australian Air Force Cadets, to continue

teaching young and underprivileged children the sport of

Karate, to write (something I have always enjoyed doing)

and most importantly of course, to spend quality time

with my family. Despite the feelings I felt immediately

post-event (and for quite a few months afterwards), I

have learned that the fact that one has suffered a severe

MI does not necessarily mean that one is ‘doomed’ to

suffer another one automatically. Over time, I have

gradually come to the realisation that it is really all about

how you look after yourself post-event, that can strongly

influence the chances of a recurrence. It is maintaining

sensible lifestyle choices, keeping fit, keeping stress to

a minimum, spending more time doing the things that

are important to you (ie. more time with family, and

pursuing your interests ‘which you never made time for

previously’), and of course keeping a positive attitude

and a ‘healthy outlook on life’. I have no idea how much

‘time I have left’, not too many people generally do but I

remain grateful for every day that I get and believe that

if I continue on the sensible path of following my

cardiologist’s lifestyle advice and continue to think

positively, I should still have a few years left to enjoy on

this earth! However, having strong faith, I also like to

believe that ‘the Almighty’ was looking over me that very

night as well.

Acknowledgements

I would sincerely like to thank the team of Doctors,

Nurses and Paramedics from the Emergency

Department of Liverpool Hospital who provided me with

excellent acute care. I would particularly like to express

my deepest gratitude to Dr K. Kadappu and Dr R.

Rajaratnam of the Liverpool Hospital Cardiac

Catheterisation Laboratory, who performed the

successful cardiac intervention which saved my life on

the evening of the 4th October 2010.

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I would also like to sincerely thank my cardiologist, Dr.

Con Arronis, MBBS(Syd), FRACP, DDU, FCSANZ, FASE,

for his excellent ongoing clinical care and advice that

he has provided over the last six years. I also express

my appreciation to him for his interpretation of these

clinical findings, as well as his guidance and support in

the writing of this article, which will I hope, educate

other sufferers of this insidious disease and give them

renewed hope that they can completely recover and

once again lead a fit and active lifestyle, provided they

also take some measure of responsibility for their own

health. I wish all of the medical staff above continued

success, health, happiness and prosperity, for the

tremendous work they do on a day-to-day basis.

References

Heart Research Institute website:

see http://www.hri.org.au/about-heart-disease/prevention

accessed 09 Feb 2016

National Health Service (UK) website:

see http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Coronary-heart-disease/

Pages/lntroduction.aspx accessed 09 Feb 2016

Gruntzig, A. (1976). Percutaneous dilatation of

experimental coronary artery stenosis – description of a

new catheter system. Klin Wochenschr (German), June 1:

54 (11): pp. 543-5

Martinic, G. (2004). Surgical methodology for the

procedure of Aortic Balloon Injury in rabbits (Oryctolagus

cuniculus) – a technical guide for untrained research

workers. Animal Technology & Welfare, April issue, pp. 21-

28.

Bee, S. (2013). How to get your life back after a heart

attack at age 36: Sally Bee knows how tough it is to battle

long-term illness. Her insights can help you get the best

treatment. Daily Mail Australia, July 2nd edition.

American Heart Association News (2015). Young heart

attack survivor pushes limits in new research. American

Heart Association, April 3rd edition.

Thompson, J. (2015). Uncategorized Blogs. American

Heart Association, April 3rd.

Papanikolaou, G. (2015). Uncategorized Blogs. American

Heart Association, April 7th.

Hirani, S.P. and Stanton P. Newman (2005). Patient’s

beliefs about their cardiovascular disease. Hear t Journal,

Vol. 91 (9): pp. 1235-1239.

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Preparing a paper presentation for

Congress

INSTITUTE OF ANIMAL TECHNOLOGY

5 South Parade, Summertown, Oxford OX2 7JL

Correspondence: congress@iat.org.uk

Introduction

Having completed your research work you may wish to

present it to colleagues within the industry. Presenting

a paper at the IAT Congress may seem daunting but it

is good experience and may help your career path.

When presenting, you have a limited time in which to

get your ideas across. Your aim is to ensure your work

is understood, giving the audience a clear message to

take away and think about. So deciding on the content

of your presentation, how you want to deliver it and its

visual representation, all need careful consideration.

Planning is the secret of success. This applies to most

things and certainly to preparing a paper. It is

important to start with clear objectives, know what you

want to achieve and what you are trying to convey. The

following sections discuss the major areas you should

consider when preparing your presentation.

Your audience

The IAT Congress is open to everyone from Trainee

Animal Technicians to Senior Facility Directors, Trade

Representatives and Research Workers. This means

that your audience will have a broad range of

experiences and knowledge. This will have an impact

on how you structure your presentation and its content.

Make your paper too technical and Trainee Animal

Technicians will fall asleep, make it too basic and the

more knowledgeable audience member will switch off.

A good introduction and background, together with a

good summary will ensure that you cater for everyone.

The technical content should then only form perhaps

30% of the paper. When preparing an introduction try to

make it imaginative and succinct, as this will help to

engage your audience.

Always allow time for a summary. This is an important

part of your presentation because although the

audience’s attention may wander during the main body

of the seminar – the 30% bit – when they hear the

words “Finally, in summary…” their attention will be

drawn back to you.

Content

The content of your presentation will be discipline

dependent. Some guidelines on the standard structure

of a scientific based project are listed below. You do not

have to adhere to these headings but they are listed

here in a logical order:

1. Introduction

State why you did the work.

2. Materials and methods

State how you did the work and describe

experimental procedures used.

3. Results

Outline what you discovered.

4. Discussion

Discuss whether your results are what you

expected; do they agree or disagree with those of

others?

5. Conclusions

Summarise the key points of your presentation.

6. Future work

What next? Outline your plans for the follow up to

this work or any new projects you are considering.

7. Acknowledgements

Briefly acknowledge your supervisor and anyone

who may have helped you with your work.

8. Questions

It is common for the Chair of the session to invite

questions from the audience at the end of your

presentation.

Visual aids

There are many factors that contribute to a good

presentation and visual aids are definitely one.

However, although good slides do not necessarily make

a good presentation, bad slides can ruin one.

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Microsoft PowerPoint, 35mm slides and video clips can

be used for presentations at Congress. It is up to you

to decide which method is best for your purposes.

Please note that Overhead Projectors (OHP) are not an

option at IAT Congress.

Length

It is good practice to keep to the time you are allocated

for your presentation.

Here are some tips to help you achieve this:

– Any topic can be presented in any amount of time.

– It’s better to narrow down rather than widen the

scope of your talk.

– As a general rule use a maximum of one slide per

minute.

– This also depends on the slide content and the

length of the talk – 30 slides in 30 minutes, for

example, is not recommended.

– Allow more time for text slides than for images

– If images are used you need to allow time to explain

the image if it is not clear.

– When presenting graphs, allow time to explain what

the x-axis and y-axis are, before describing the

details of the result.

– If your talk is too long, redesign it:

decide what can be removed and what impact

the remaining content will have

condense two slides into one, without

compromising their legibility

don’t use too many slides as you will find

yourself flashing through them during the

presentation.

Practising your presentation

Giving yourself the opportunity to run through your

presentation beforehand is an essential part of your

preparation. It can highlight omissions or mistakes and

also increase your confidence when you come to

present on the day.

Rehearsing in front of colleagues or friends is

particularly useful for your first few presentations, until

you start to gain more confidence. You can either run

through your talk as you would on the day or ask them

to interrupt with tips as you go along.

Thinking through your talk is not sufficient. You need to

practise so you can both duplicate the stress felt in

front of an audience and judge how long your

presentation will be. As you stand in front of an

audience, you will find you talk more quickly, so the

presentation might be shorter than you expect. Speak

loudly and clearly – this will prevent you from speaking

too fast if you are nervous.

Learn the order of your slides as this will prevent you

from looking surprised as the next slide is displayed.

Tips for the preparation of your slides

Regardless of the methods you use to produce and

project your slides, the key thing is to make them

as legible as possible to everyone in the

auditorium. Use the following guidelines when

producing your presentation:

G Text

– Do not use full sentences… but Do not over

abbreviate either.

– DO NOT USE CAPITALS FOR THE WHOLE

SLIDE … but DO USE CAPITALS for

emphasis.

– Use a maximum of six words in the title,

seven lines of text per slide and seven

words across the slide.

– Do not use too many colours or a

complicated background.

G Tables

– Use no more than 4 columns and no more

than 7 rows.

– In general, most tables produced for

journals should be redesigned and

simplified for use in a presentation.

G Graphs and Charts

– Use horizontal labels on graphs, even for

the y-axis.

– Minimise the number of tick marks and

number labels.

– All legends, captions and axis labels should

have an adequate font size. Use the 1/50th

Rule for the minimum font size i.e. if the

long axis of the graph is 20cm when printed,

the smallest letter should be 4mm (or 20 pt).

– If there are multiple lines on a graph, ensure

they are clearly labelled and easily

distinguishable.

– Do not use 3D if 2D will do.

– Histograms or pie charts are better than

tables.

– Use colour to highlight parts of a complex

diagram.

G Animation and Illustrations in PowerPoint

– Animation can be useful for emphasis.

– Do not use it too much as this can be

distracting and confusing.

G Duplicate material

– If you need to refer to the same slide more

than once, in different contexts throughout

your presentation, it is better to duplicate

the material. This will prevent you from

having to search through the slides you

have already shown.

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Practise answering questions from your colleagues; think

in advance about the questions you may get asked.

A rehearsal on your own in the room where you are

going to give your presentation is also useful. It helps

you to familiarise yourself with the acoustics and

technical aspects ahead of time. During the rehearsal

check your slides for timing, legibility and correct order

and orientation. Ask the Congress Committee member

responsible for presentations if you would like to

rehearse before your big day. Audio Visual Technicians

will also be on hand to help you with your slides or your

PowerPoint presentation.

Presenting your paper

There is a lot to think about when presenting,

particularly remembering what you are going to say at

a time when you will be feeling nervous. Here are a few

things to consider to ensure that the presentation runs

as smoothly as possible.

Controlling nerves

– Even the most experienced presenters get nervous

before talking to conference audiences, so you are

not alone.

– Being nervous is a natural response and one that

actually works to improve performance.

– It is simply a part of delivering a good presentation

and can help to keep you on your toes.

– Try not to worry too much about nerves you may feel

before you start.

– The benefits of being well prepared and well

practised cannot be underestimated and will help

reduce nerves on the day.

– Use positive self-talk.

– Take a deep breath before you start and

concentrate on the key message that you want your

audience to take away.

– Some people find that memorising their opening

sentence is a useful way to get the talk started.

– Think about your body language: if you have a

tendency to gesticulate, think about what you are

going to do with your hands.

– Try not to panic, speak slowly, keeping your head up.

– Dress appropriately so you feel comfortable and

confident when you stand up to speak.

Before your presentation

Prior to giving your presentation it is useful to:

– Familiarise yourself with the control buttons, light

switches, slide controls, and microphone.

– Find and familiarise yourself with the pointer. Avoid

using a laser pointer if your hands shake.

– Think about where to stand.

– Test the light levels for slides.

An Audio Visual Technician will be on hand to help you

with all of this.

Delivering your presentation

Here are some tips you could follow when delivering

your presentation:

DO: 

 Take a few deep breaths before walking to the

podium to calm your nerves

 Face the audience

 Smile at the audience and the person

introducing you when you start your

presentation

 Speak slowly and clearly

 Project your voice

 Be calm and in control

 Use slides as your notes

 Talk through graphs and images

 Establish eye contact with a few friendly faces

 Plant a mentor in the front row for visual

support

 Make use of positive and negative feedback

from the audience

 Keep the audience awake by:

interleaving images or diagrams with text

handing round hard copies or brochures

showing small pieces of equipment

inviting audience participation

 Carry on talking if the computer or slide

projector fails

DON’T:

 Panic

 Mumble

 Avoid eye contact

 Scowl

 Appear nervous

 Read from written text

 Pace up and down

 Fidget with the microphone

 Jangle keys or change in your pocket

 Tell jokes that could fall flat

 Ignore your audience

 Stare into space above your audience

 Focus on: Your slides/the floor/your shoes or a

particular person

 Give out copies of your slides before your talk:

this will distract the audience from what you

are saying

 Go out drinking heavily the night before your

presentation

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Answering questions

It is common to allow time at the end of your talk to

answer questions from the audience. During your

preparation it is always useful to anticipate the

questions that may arise and what your answers might

be.

Tips for using PowerPoint

G Control the slideshow yourself:

– You can set the programme to scroll through

the slideshow itself using a timer but it is

best to switch this option off. If you take a

bit longer to do one slide or are interrupted,

you will lose the thread of your talk.

G Use a pointer where appropriate

– Do not wave the pointer around the lecture

room.

– The computer mouse could also be used

and may make it easier to maintain eye

contact with your audience.

G Try to prevent a shaky pointer

– Rest your arm on the podium.

– Support your pointer hand with the other

hand.

– Switch the pointer off when not in use.

Tips for using 35mm slides

G Make sure your slides are in the correct order

and orientation

– This will need to be done when you load the

projector, before you start your talk.

– A red dot is usually placed at the bottom left

hand corner of the slide mount. When slides

are placed in the carousel the slide is

rotated through 180 degrees so that all the

red dots can be seen and this confirms that

the orientation of the projected slide is

correct.

– Make use of the facilities and the Audio

Visual Technicians at the venue.

G Use a pointer where appropriate

Tips for answering questions

G Listen carefully

G Do not interrupt the questioner in mid

sentence

G Be prepared to rephrase their question:

– This gives you time to think of your answer

and a chance for people at the back to hear

the question.

G Keep your answers short

G Confess your ignorance, if you do not know

the answer

– Do not try to bluff your way through an

answer, remember you may be talking to

people who have more knowledge of the

subject than you.

– Refer the question to your supervisor or

another colleague if they are present, but

make sure you agree this with them first.

G Deflect hostile questions

– These rarely occur, but if the questioner

appears to be hostile, do not rise to the bait

and have an argument in public.

– Suggest politely that you continue the

discussion after the presentation.

– The session Chair is there to control the

questioning.

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August 2016 Animal Technology and Welfare

Information and instructions for preparing

a poster for Congress

INSTITUTE OF ANIMAL TECHNOLOGY

5 South Parade, Summertown, Oxford OX2 7JL

Correspondence: congress@iat.org.uk

Introduction

Preparing and presenting a Poster at IAT Congress can

be just as effective and as rewarding as an oral

presentation but without the nerves associated with

talking in front of hundreds of industry colleagues. The

following guidelines will help you to prepare a good

poster ready for Congress – and it may even win the

Poster Prize!

Preparation

1. Before you start you need to remember that your

poster is presenting highlights of your work.

2. Always read through the information that the

Congress Committee provide, including the

submission form.

3. Here you will find specific requirements of the

meeting and the size and orientation of the poster

boards.

4. It may be useful to mark out this area when you are

planning, to get an idea of the space available.

5. Think about how you want to present your poster.

For example, it could be a series of A4 sheets

(often mounted on card or laminated) or a printed,

glossy poster.

6. Talk to people at work about the facilities available

to you and the time and costs involved.

7. You then need to work out the content. Read the

study that you have done or the plan of the study

that you are about to undertake and ask yourself:

G are the statements or plan of work accurate?

G what data do you need to illustrate your findings?

G what are the key points you want to communicate?

Guidelines on technical content

– Posters from within the UK that describe

experimental procedures must clearly state that the

work was performed under the prevailing principles

and authority of the Animals (Scientific Procedures)

Act, 1986.

– Posters submitted from outside the UK must

explicitly state what legislation and/or ethical

approval the work has been carried out under.

– Posters describing surgical techniques with

recovery should include details of post-operative

care and any analgesic therapy.

– Posters that describe experimental procedures

should be explicit in defining any benefits to animal

welfare.

– Papers and posters must include any adverse

effects to the animals and the steps taken to

mitigate and minimise such effects, including when

applicable analgesic therapy or humane end points.

Remember, your poster should be a stand-

alone, self explanatory representation of

your work that is relatively simple and easy

to follow.

Structure and design

G posters are a visual communication of your

research so try to keep text to a minimum

G use graphics, such as photos, figures and tables to

‘tell your story’

G avoid over complicated images

G your findings need to be clear and also visible from

a short distance away

G try to guide your audience through the research by

presenting information in a logical sequence

G use arrows or numbers to direct them

A typical content and layout for a poster are shown

below but you do not have to follow this exactly.

Figure 1. Typical poster layout

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Title

G the title should be short and attention grabbing if

possible

G it should be clear from a distance of three metres

G use bold, black typeface (about 24 font size)

G author names should be slightly smaller

G include your facility name and logo if you wish

Abstract and introduction

G display a brief abstract exactly as it was submitted

to the Congress Committee

G include a brief introduction to your poster or work if

you think it adds something

Methods

G depending on your work, this could be called

‘materials and methods’ or ‘study detail’ for

example

G keep this brief and include photos and graphics if

necessary

Results

G the results of your work should form the major part

of your poster

G ensure that graphs and charts are self-explanatory

and keep additional text to a minimum

Discussion/conclusion

G keep this brief

G present as a numbered or bulleted list

G suppliers of products can be acknowledged in this

section however the poster should contain no

obvious company branding logos

Remember, at least one author should be

available during the display session to talk

about the work in more detail.

Visual impact

1. Visual impact of the poster is important.

2. Avoid clutter – a clean, simple design is most

appealing.

3. Think carefully about the use of colour and how you

are going to arrange the information before you

commit to the design.

4. Background – try a single colour or two to three

related colours for different sections (muted shades

are often best).

5. Areas of white or empty space can be used to

differentiate elements of the poster.

6. Vary the size and spacing of sections to add

interest.

7. Outline or alter the background to graphics for

emphasis – dark images look good against pale

colours and vice versa.

Summary

G your poster should present the highlights of your

work

G make information clear and only as complex as it

needs to be

G keep text to a minimum

G make the design interesting and not too cluttered or

over the top – remember that in the end your

research is the most important thing

G give credit where it is due – contributors, co authors

and sponsors

G create an A4 handout – mini version of the poster,

collection of PowerPoint slides or brief summary

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August 2016 Animal Technology and Welfare

Let’s talk about ‘Culture of care’

NIKKI OSBORNE

Responsible Research in Practice

Correspondence: info@responsibleresearchinpractice.co.uk

Accessed from: http://www.responsibleresearchinpractice.co.uk/blog.html

Something that I’m being asked to talk about a lot

lately is ‘culture of care’ (CoC). So what is it – and how

can people set about ensuring that they have a good

one?

The first thing to say is that, in my opinion, CoC is a

meaningless phrase unless defined. There is also no

‘one size fits all’ CoC to aspire to. Instead, each

research organisation needs to consider what CoC

means to them, their students and staff. Having

defined CoC at a local level it then becomes something

meaningful and its true value can be realised.

So what might a CoC include? Anyone asked to talk

about CoC, particularly in the context of a research

setting, will probably mention one or more of the

following points:

– CoC can be used to express the duty of care,

responsibilities, expectations or ethical

considerations placed upon researchers whose

research involves living subjects. This may be

human or animal subjects or more broadly, research

that has an impact upon the world or the

environment within which we live – and that we rely

on to continuing living.

– CoC can also be used to describe the work ethic or

research practices within a given research

organisation. In this context, CoC is about how the

research framework and management practices

support its staff and students to do great research

(i.e. is ethical, useful and reproducible) but also

fulfil their potential to become the best researchers

that they can.

– CoC is sometimes also viewed in a much broader,

more holistic context, at which point it becomes

more about the stewardship and preservation of

scientific enterprise. This involves inspiring the next

generation, providing role models for researchers,

being open and honest about what research entails

and maintaining a reputation of science as being

responsible, trustworthy and for the greater good.

Now that you have some idea of what CoC could

encompass, we can to start thinking about how it can

be translated into practice.

For me, there are four key foundation stones upon

which a good CoC can be built: commitment, education

and training, communication and management.

1. Commitment

Having defined what CoC means in an organisation and

written it down, the process of taking collective

responsibility for achieving it can begin. There needs to

be widespread awareness of policies, procedures and

expectations that, together with a system of education

and training, support its fulfilment.

2. Education and training

Having education, training or mentoring opportunities

available to support lifelong learning is a must. This

helps every student or staff member to understand

what CoC means for them at each stage of their career,

what they are expected to contribute, why and how they

will be supported to fulfil this expectation.

3. Communication

Effective communication that reaches and is

understood by all, is essential to cut through the noise

Picture credit: RSPCA

Commitment

Supportive

Management

Training &

Education

Effective

Communication

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118

of day-to-day work pressures and challenges.

Researchers are often fighting to keep up to date with

published findings and protocols, so time is of a

premium. It is important therefore that organisations

support (and even reward) students and staff to have

an awareness of broader research integrity issues and

responsible conduct practices in order to inform their

own research conduct. This fits well with the ethos that

organisations have a critical role in developing

responsible researchers and supporting them to be the

best that they can.

4. Management

Strong, supportive and positive leadership is essential

if everyone is to share the sense of collective

responsibility for achieving a good CoC. Managers must

take responsibility for ensuring that appropriate

standards of integrity, responsible conduct and

behaviour are implemented. Good monitoring will help

alert them to problems and identify potential issues

early, so that assistance and support can be offered to

those who need it.

–––––––––––

Some of you at this point may just be looking for some

more reading around the concept of a ‘culture of care’

so for you I can recommend:

– The culture of scientific research in the UK (Dec

2014). The Nuffield Council of Bioethics conducted

a series of engagement activities during 2014 to

investigate the culture of scientific research in the

UK and this is the report of the findings.

– The concordat to support research integrity (July

2012). This concordat contains five commitments

that the signatory organisations believe everyone

engaged in research should be able to agree with

regardless of their field of research. The third

commitment (pg15-16) is the most relevant to this

blog, talking about embedding a culture of research

integrity.

– Reproducibility and reliability of biomedical

research: improving research practice (Oct 2015).

This symposium report discusses the relationship

between the culture and incentives embedded

within the scientific community and research

reproducibility (pg 52-54).

– Promoting a culture of care – pg 55-58 in the

LASA/RSPCA Guiding Principles on good practice

for Animal Welfare and Ethical Review

Bodies (Sept 2015). This chapter talks from an

AWERB perspective about how to go about defining

the culture of care, the structural and behavioural

elements that can be a feature of a culture of care

and suggests activities that can help in developing

an establishments’ culture.

– Identification and management of patterns of low-

level concerns at licensed establishments (Dec

2015). This Animals in Science Regulations Unit

advice note provides a definition of a good culture of

care for establishments with licenced authority to

use animals in research.

– Creating a culture of care (Aug 2014). This NC3Rs

blog post discusses culture of care from the

perspective of a contract research organisation.

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119

AS-ET SPECIAL TRAVEL BURSARY

ESSAY ENTRIES

Do present United Kingdom regulations

covering experiments using laboratory

animals strike the right balance between

the interests of human health and

laboratory animal welfare?

JESSICA WOOD

Oxford University Biomedical Services, The Old Observatory, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3RQ

Correspondence: jessica.wood@bms.ox.ac.uk

Winning entry from the AS-ET Fourth Special Travel Bursary 2016

Introduction

The objective of this essay is to discuss whether

current UK regulations governing animal research has

an appropriate balance between the interests of human

health and animal welfare. To achieve this, the current

legislation will be reviewed and case studies will be

examined, to explore the issue.

Legislation

The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act, 1986 (ASPA)

has been regarded as one of the strictest legislations

in the world.

The legislation has been in effect in the

UK since 1986 and amended in 2013, to meet the

standards of the European Directive.

The current ASPA

regulations ensure that the welfare of animals is

thoroughly considered with the use of an ethical

framework. The ethical framework which includes the

harm/benefit analysis, must be implemented into

research justification.

Severity bands/humane endpoints

The legislation also includes severity bands of non

recovery, mild, moderate and severe. The severity

limits ensure that animals under a specified severity

protocol do not experience unnecessary suffering

whilst allowing for research to be conducted. To ensure

these severity bands are not breached, humane

endpoints are established for procedures with the

potential to cause suffering. A number of non-invasive

observational methods including changes in physiology

(temperature and weight,

modified behaviour (reduced

movement,

increased thirst and drinking

and

measuring blood saturation,

are currently being

utilised as criteria to identify humane endpoints.

Humane endpoints establish clear criteria in which

scientific data is achievable at the earliest point of a

procedure, minimising unnecessary suffering caused

by advanced pathology and death. Developments such

as these have allowed for death to no longer be

recognised as an acceptable endpoint.

Including

humane endpoints ensures animals experience the

least amount of suffering, whilst preventing data from

being lost.

Harm/benefit assessment

The harm benefit analysis is required to be conducted

by project licence applicants, which is reviewed by the

Home Office prior to project licence approval, under

ASPA legislation. The analysis is a qualitative measure

to determine whether a project licence has balanced its

scientific enquiry with animal welfare. The analysis

determines the potential scientific gains to people,

August 2016 Animal Technology and Welfare

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animals or the environment, including the likely harms

caused to animals. The two main likely harms

experienced by animals are; project related harms and

contingent harms, accumulated throughout their

lifetime in the laboratory environment.

All sources of

harm are considered to ensure the licence implements

the 3Rs to aspects of the animals’ experience

including; transport, housing, husbandry, restraint,

procedure and humane killing. A decision is then made

by individuals with varying perspectives, to ensure the

decision is on a neutral and moral basis as to whether

the likely harms to the animals are justified by the

benefits. The assessment of harms and benefits are

judged on a case by case basis and must be an

evolving process, to accommodate continual

advancements in scientific understanding of animal

welfare, refined techniques and social opinion, which

develop over time.

Whilst the method of evaluating of

harm-benefit analysis is continually debated, it is clear

that the current process aims to use current knowledge

to balance the needs of scientific discovery and that of

animal welfare. If a licence is rejected, the proposed

project licence either cannot prove its value or justify

animal use. The rejection of licences ensures that only

studies able to justify animal use for research are

approved.

The 3Rs

The legislation’s key purpose is to regulate the use of

animals used in science, by enforcing strict

establishment, project and personal licences. These

licences ensure that the animals experience the

minimal adverse effects possible. The 3R guidance set

out by Russel and Burch

plays a pivotal role in

justification of the project licence, setting the

standards for the humane use of animals in scientific

research.

The 3Rs comprise of:

– Replacement – Developing alternative methods to

animal testing.

– Reduction – Minimising the number of animal

required with compromising the quality of research.

– Refinement – refining methods to maximise animal

welfare.

Replacement

The 3R principles consequently pressure the

development of alternative and refined scientific

methodologies. Stem cells,

cell culturing

and refined

methods

are just a few examples of techniques which

have been progressed, benefitting medical

advancement and reducing the requirement of animal

models in research. While the 3Rs encourage the

development of alternative methods, many are

currently unable to fully replace the use of animals;

therefore the implementation of the other two Rs is

more relevant to current laboratory animal welfare.

Reduction of Primates

Primates play a fundamental role within research and

as such their use requires strict regulation under the

ASPA legislation. In particular, great apes including

chimpanzees, gorillas and orang-utans are exempt from

being used in science, as it was deemed unethical due

to their high cognitive ability and complex social lives.

However, according to the European parliament

delegation, the vital role marmoset and macaques

have in furthering research into human medicines and

discoveries in neurological functions which cannot

currently be replicated by other means. Consequently,

the use of these primates is permitted if there is

scientific evidence that the aims cannot be reached

with other species.

Reduction

Genetically altered (GA) animals play a fundamental

role within research to directly determine the function

of genes within the human body, focusing on replicating

clinical symptoms similar to human diseases. GA

models have enabled research to refine methods and

reduce numbers of animals, to gain scientifically valid

results.

A research project that developed a mouse model to

study a protein disorder attributed as a feature of

Alzheimer’s and type II diabetes was previously

induced through chronic administration of

inflammatory agents under a moderate procedure

severity. The resulting models did not exhibit all

symptoms of the disease observed in humans and

variability between animals was high making the

research difficult to reproduce. A GA model was

consequently created to refine this method with only

one injection required to stimulate the production of

the protein of interest. As a result, the procedure has

a reduced severity rating of mild and study sample

sizes decreased from 12 to 8 animals. The study also

gained new insights into the disease as side effects of

the injections previously used to simulate the disorder

were diminished.

However, the benefits of using GA animals in research

must outweigh the potential welfare problems including

unknown phenotypes which are still being discovered.

Nonetheless, there has not been a clear distinction

between the welfare issues associated with creating

GA models and those caused by other disease

models.

Refinement

The humane treatment of laboratory animals is also

vital for ensuring reproducible scientific results.

Handling stress has been linked as a source of

variation between animal studies, the variation is

caused by stress affecting the behaviour and

physiology of experimental animals.

19,20

The

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consequences of handling stress induced variability

have the potential of masking/altering true results and

attributed to the large number of animals required for a

valid result.

21,22

A study compared willingness of mice

to approach their handler with three handling methods;

pickup by tail, by home cage tunnel or external tunnel.

Willingness to approach both tunnel methods was

greater and consequent stress response of the mice in

a test maze was lower compared to mice handled by

the tail.

Refining husbandry and care techniques can

lead to less variation in data and increase the validity

of the results. This study highlights the importance of

balancing scientific aim with animal welfare.

Conclusion

It is clear that the overall aim of the ASPA legislation is

to balance welfare and science. This is achieved by

regulating the use of animals in scientific procedures

which require licences and special justification with the

integrated consideration and implementation of the

3Rs. Key aspects of the legislation include the licences

which permit animal work and the harm/benefit

analysis which must justify that the likely scientific

benefits outweigh the likely suffering to animals. While

the legislation may seem restrictive and heavily

focused on animal welfare, it is reflective of our ethical

responsibility to manage the well-being of experimental

animals, ensuring they experience the least amount of

pain, suffering, distress and lasting harm.

The 3Rs are at the core of the legislation, playing a vital

role in developing refined methodologies which are

required to justify that the most suitable methods are

used in animal research. As a result, improved

techniques have advanced research animal welfare

through reduced numbers, refined husbandry and

replacement of harmful methods and higher species. It

has also been observed that the 3Rs are integral for

improving the integrity of the data gained from such

studies. The reduction and replacement of animal use

has also led to the development of novel techniques,

resulting in reduced welfare related variation, thus

improving the overall validity of associated animal

experiments.

Considering the points discussed above, the legislation

does appear to reflect the need to balance animal

welfare and human health objectives. Given the need to

balance interests of human health and laboratory

animal welfare, it is my opinion that these

requirements are interlinked and it is therefore in the

interest of scientific advancement to continue to

improve the welfare of animals in research.

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Do present United Kingdom regulations

covering experiments using laboratory

animals strike the right balance between

the interests of human health and

laboratory animal welfare?

EVAREST ONWUBIKO

Cancer Research UK – Beatson Institute, Switchback Road, Bearsden, Glasgow G61 1BD

Correspondence: evarest@research-series.com

Overview

The importance of and ground breaking evidence from

the utilisation of animal models in life science research

and development of new pharmaceuticals cannot be

over emphasised. Animal research can only be carried

when there are compelling benefits to health and

acceptable ethical and welfare standards are met. Over

the last decades the use of animals in pre-clinical

studies has witnessed considerable changes which

have further enhanced the standard of animal welfare

and the way scientific research is carried out.

The UK has one of the highest standards of