Animal welfare and colony management in cancer research

The use of animals in cancer research continues to be important for the study of tumor biology, the development and testing of new therapies, and risk assessment. The new knowledge generated from this research contributes to the health and welfare not only of human beings, but also of animals which develop cancer. However, the use of animals for cancer research is a privilege which carries with it scientific, professional, and moral obligations. The three tenets of a sound animal research program include good science, humane care, and regulatory compliance. Recognizing the complex interactions in the tumor-animal model, the investigator needs to address a wide range of issues during experimental design and implementation including animal welfare concerns, complicating factors in colony management, and compliance with laws, regulations, and policies. Therefore, both practical and philosophical considerations enjoin researchers to maintain the highest standards of animal care.     

Antivivisection: Questions of logic, consistency, and conceptualization.

Questions of animal welfare and animal rights have captured a growing amount of public and political attention. Antivivisectionists have become increasingly critical of all animal research and behavioral research has been targeted as an issue of particular concern (e.g., Friends of Animals, 1984). Indeed, McArdle (1984), who until recently was a ranking official of the Humane Society of the United States, advocates the 'complete elimination" of all psychological experimentation on animals (p. 3). Are animal welfare and animal rights activists conscientiously concerned with the genuine well being of animals? Are they focusing their efforts where they can do the most good? Have they developed an internally consistent and logical stand on these issues? Are they innocent of selective perception and compartmentalization when it comes to questions of pain and suffering in animals? In this paper we critically examine some of the arguments against the use of animals in psychological research and show that many of the positions held by antivivisectionists are untenable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Immunological monitoring of dry-cleaning shop workers--exposure to tetrachloroethylene

That asthmatics benefit not only from physical exercise but that they can even reach performance levels comparable to that of non asthmatics is becoming increasingly clear. To reach such a level, asthmatics need to use drugs to prevent effort-related asthma attacks in addition to taking appropriate therapeutic measures. beta 2 agonists are drugs that potentially produce a certain amount of "anabolic" effect, depending on the dose and permanence in tissues, in laboratory and farm animals as well as in humans. We must conclude that the dose needed to obtain this effect is higher than that used for therapeutic purposes in asthma or respiratory diseases. Bearing in mind that oral treatments are considerably less effective than inhaled drugs in exercise-related asthma attacks, that the doses of the latter are lower and that the ergogenic effects of the substances studied are nil or below detection levels, it seems logical to allow individuals with asthma who use such substances to engage in physical exercise. Moreover, the asthmatic whose disease is so severe as to require the use of orally administered beta 2 agonists will in all likelihood be too ill to participate in a sport while that status persists.     

Use of laboratory animals in the teaching of emergency procedures

The Division of Emergency Medicine, University of Chicago Hospitals and Clinics uses animal laboratory sessions to train emergency medicine residents in manipulative skills. Certain animals realistically represent the human for these purposes and are delineated for various procedures. On the other hand, animal tissue characteristics and anatomical landmarks generally differ from those of humans. How procedures such as cricothyreotomy; tracheostomy, tube thoracostomy, thoractomy, cardiac repair, aortic cross clamping, venous cutdown, peritoneal lavage, abdominal stab wound exploration and laparotomy can be performed and must be modified is discussed. A rational procedural sequence is required to maintain the animal's vitality through the end of the session.     

Muscle power and shoulder joint function after removal of the latissimus dorsi muscle

Understanding the functional dynamics of the oral cavity helps researchers design methods to predict clinical outcomes. Most information about the oral cavities of companion animals must be drawn from animal studies designed to understand human oral disease and from human studies. Based upon functional criteria for any animal or experimental research study, supragingival plaque and calculus can be assessed within four to six weeks. Although longer studies may be more appealing, such study designs may compromise the oral soft tissue health of the animals and are complicated by oral cavity dynamics. Thus, they are less sensitive and predictive of longer term clinical outcomes. Additional research is necessary to relate tooth surface accumulation phenomena with oral soft tissue health.     

Allergic sensitization is associated with increased bronchial responsiveness: a prospective study of allergy to laboratory animals

The purpose of this prospective study was to investigate the extent of change in bronchial responsiveness and the prognostic value of methacholine provocation in early sensitization to laboratory animals. Thirty eight laboratory technicians were studied during training (before first exposure) and after having been exposed to laboratory animals for a median 18 (range 5-33) months. On both occasions they were subjected to spirometry, bronchial methacholine challenge, skin-prick tests and blood sampling, and responded to questionnaires. Nine (24%) developed laboratory animal allergy (LAA), defined as animal work-related symptoms (n = 8), or specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) (n = 7) or both. In the LAA group, bronchial responsiveness was normal before employment, but had increased significantly at follow-up compared to technicians who had not developed LAA. Six of the nine LAA subjects had a more than threefold increase in bronchial responsiveness, and three of these reported chest symptoms. Spirometric values were not different between the groups prior to exposure or at follow-up, and had no prognostic value. However, a pre-employment level of total IgE > 100 kU.L-1 predicted the development of LAA (relative risk 2.8). Thus, early LAA was associated with increased bronchial responsiveness in most subjects. In contrast to total IgE, the level of pre-employment bronchial responsiveness or lung function did not influence the magnitude of change in responsiveness, nor predict sensitization.     

Respiratory allergy in laboratory animal workers: a retrospective cohort study using pre-employment screening data

OBJECTIVES: To study the role of exposure, atopy, and smoking in the development of laboratory animal allergy (LAA) in a retrospective cohort study. METHODS: Between 1977 and 1993, 225 people received a pre-employment screening when they started a job at a Dutch research institute where they were going to work with laboratory animals. After active follow up 136 of them (60.4%) could be traced and were sent a questionnaire with extensive questions on allergic symptoms, smoking habits, and job history. 122 people (89.7%) sent back a completed questionnaire. Those who were accepted for a job at the institute and did not have allergic symptoms at the start of the job were selected as cohort members. After selecting people with complete data on start and end date of jobs, exposure intensity, atopy, and smoking, the cohort consisted of 99 people with an average time of follow up of 9.7 years. LAA was defined as a positive response to a set of questions in the questionnaire. The mean number of hours a week a person was exposed to laboratory animals at entry of the cohort was used as a surrogate for exposure, and was divided into four categories. RESULTS: 19 cohort members (19.2%) reported LAA. More people with asthmatic symptoms were found in the high exposure categories. More atopic than non-atopic people reported asthmatic symptoms (13% v 6%). The mean time until development of symptoms of LAA was about 109 months in non-atopic people (n = 9), and 45 months in atopic people (n = 10) (t test; P < 0.05). Time until development of symptoms of LAA was shorter at a higher intensity of exposure, except for those exposed for less than two hours a week. A proportional hazard regression analysis showed that exposure and atopy were significant determinants of LAA. An increased relative risk (RR) was found for non-atopic people exposed to laboratory animal allergens for more than two hours a week. Atopic people had an even higher risk when exposed to laboratory animals for more than two hours a week (RR above 7.3). Sex, smoking, and age were not risk factors. More atopic than non-atopic people were absent from work or transferred because of allergies. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that exposure and atopy are significant predictors of LAA and that the risk of developing LAA remained present for a much longer period (> 3 y) than considered before.     

The separate world of animal research.

Comments on the articles of S. Plous (see records 84-20622 and 84-09797) on attitudes toward the use of animals in psychological research and education by noting that what makes this issue so controversial and perplexing concerns whether psychologists support animal research that involves pain or death. It is also questioned whether psychologists view the use of animals in psychological research as beneficial, noting that Plous found that 92.2% of psychologists who were mental health workers indicated they they rarely, never, or only occasionally used findings from psychological research on animals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Strategies for replacing animals in biomedical research

In 1959, Russell and Burch published their recommendations for applying the Three Rs (reduction, refinement and replacement alternatives) to the use of animals in scientific experimentation. At this time, they could not have predicted the effect of this fundamental concept on academic and industrial animal experimentation and in biomedical education. Although more than 30 years have passed, their ideas are gaining respectability and wide acceptance. This article reviews the recent advances in the use of non-animal methods in biomedical research, and discusses the outlook for the further implementation of 'alternatives'.     

Use of an ultrasonic echolocation prosthesis by early visually deprived cats.

Designed an animal model of sensory substitution in the case of blindness. Six kittens were binocularly enucleated; as adults, they were fitted with an ultrasonic echolocation prosthesis. This device provided the animals with auditory signals that coded distance and direction of obstacles. Animals were trained by operant conditioning to use the prosthesis in various behavioral situations. Results showed that visually deprived animals tried to solve the task using natural information and that they only used artificial information provided by the prosthesis when they were unable to succeed with natural cues. Under these conditions, it was asserted that in a jumping test these animals evaluated depth by means of the prosthesis; in a locomotion task in a maze, it was also demonstrated that they could use the prosthesis for avoiding obstacles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Animal models of human psychology: Critique of science, ethics, and policy.

Reviews the book, Animal models of human psychology: Critique of science, ethics, and policy by Kenneth J. Shapiro (see record 1998-06437-000). The principle focus of most of this text is on the present-day use of animals in psychological research. In particular, Shapiro examines contemporary animal models of eating disorders, showing how psychology came to rely so heavily on animal models in the first place and how prevalent scientific attitudes about the use of animals in the laboratory have taken shape over the past several decades. In addition, he traces the recent rise of the animal rights movement and highlights the several philosophies upon which it is based. Drawing upon certain historical and empirical analyses, as well as certain themes in contemporary sociology of knowledge, Shapiro attempts to navigate his reader through the twin minefields of impassioned rhetoric and insufficiently examined conceptual commitment to a better understanding of the core issues surrounding the role of animals in scientific psychological investigation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Biomedical research.

Addresses the issue of animal use in research. The increasing public debate between animal rights advocates and health research scientists over the past few years has changed the way all of us think about the use of animals in scientific tests. At one end of the spectrum is the viewpoint that humans may use animals in any way. At the other end is the view that animals have the right not to be used for any purpose that does not directly benefit them. The principle of humane treatment is common ground regardless of how the principle is interpreted and applied. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mazes, maps, and memory.

Reviews the literature on the history of maze testing, focusing on the issue of behavioral stereotypy vs behavioral flexibility. Early experiments were based on the "kinesthetic machine" hypothesis, which held that (a) stimuli arise in some sort of temporal sequence from the activity of the muscles as the animal traverses the maze pattern and (b) during the process of learning this temporal sequence becomes fixed. Subsequent experiments emphasized the variability of behavior and showed that in many situations animals chose not to repeat their previous choices. J. F. Dashiell (1930), W. S. Small (1900, 1901), and others demonstrated that rats tended to explore their spatial environments in exhaustive detail. The development of the radial-arm maze, a spatial analog of the operant delayed matching-to-sample procedure, provided a means for systematic investigation of working memory in animals. Cognitive maps are discussed in terms of the sunburst maze of E. C. Tolman et al (1946) and the successful use of maplike structures with chimpanzees shown by E. W. Menzel (1973, 1978). The question of how an animal decides to search for food and the extent to which this decision process in a natural habitat is related to that in a laboratory maze is addressed. The data reviewed show that in spatial tasks, rats and other animals have the ability to remember information and to use it appropriately in a flexible, adaptive manner. (73 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of respiratory mechanics in animals. 3. Methodical and physiologic aspects of the use of the impulse oscilloresistometry system (OIS)

The impulse oscillometry system (IOS) which was originally developed for human medicine was found to be suitable for analysing respiratory mechanics in spontaneously breathing animals. This technique is non-invasive. METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS: In order to use the IOS-technique in animals, a tightly fitting face mask is necessary. Furthermore, a flexible tube needs to be inserted into the measuring system. While the tube does not influence the measured results significantly, the face mask may affect the measurements. Therefore, its influence on the measured respiratory impedance must be taken into account. To prevent methodological errors, the head and body position of the animal should be standardised during the IOS-measurement. Since the methodological variability of the system is very small, the measuring results are highly reproducible. PHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS: In growing subjects, all parameters of respiratory mechanics depend on body weight. Since respiratory physiology is influenced by circadian rhythms, measurements of different days are only comparable when they have been done each day at the same hour. Comparing the respiratory impedance of different animals of similar age and body weight, a considerable inter-individual variability was observed. Due to the low level of physiological intra-individual variability, the method seems to be especially useful for studying influences on the respiratory system (i.e. pharmaceutics, therapeutics) in long-term studies using the same group of subjects.     

Endocrine disruption in wildlife: a critical review of the evidence

In recent years, a number of man-made chemicals have been shown to be able to mimic endogenous hormones, and it has been hypothesized that alterations in the normal pattern of reproductive development seen in some populations of wildlife are linked with exposure to these chemicals. Of particular importance are those compounds that mimic estrogens and androgens (and their antagonists), because of their central role in reproductive function. In fact, the evidence showing that such chemicals actually do mimic (or antagonize) the action of hormones in the intact animal is limited. In only a few cases have laboratory studies shown that chemicals that mimic hormones at the molecular level (in vitro) also cause reproductive dysfunction in vivo at environmentally relevant concentrations. In addition, the reported studies on wild populations of animals are limited to a very few animal species and they have often centered on localized 'hot-spots' of chemical discharges. Nevertheless, many of these xenobiotics are persistent and accumulate in the environment, and therefore a more widespread phenomenon of endocrine disruption in wildlife is possible. This article reviews the evidence, from both laboratory and field studies, that exposure to steroid hormone mimics may impair reproductive function and critically assesses the weight of evidence for endocrine disruption in wildlife.     

Methodological analysis in behavioral toxicology: an ethotoxicological approach

A constraint in the development of laboratory animal models of human disease conditions is their applicability to the natural environment in which a given animal species evolved. The range of behavioral patterns that can be carefully assessed and quantified in the laboratory is sometimes limited. Although field studies reflect behavioral responses in natural settings, they may also have methodological limitations. Laboratory techniques are not applicable to wild species since natural conditions cannot be brought into a laboratory in an inexpensive or reliable way. However, it is possible to create near-natural settings which may not fulfill all the criteria of the actual context of evolution, but which can be controlled by the experimenter. We recommend an integrative style of approach considering laboratory constraints and, at the same time, the ecological niche in which a given behavioral pattern evolved. This type of ethological assessment may be useful when carrying out toxicological studies on both wild and laboratory mammals.     

Attitudes to xenotransplantation: scientific enthusiasm, assumptions and evidence

The use of xenografts could relieve the chronically inadequate supply of human organs for transplantation, but doubts have been expressed about the general acceptability of transplanting animal organs into human. Some researchers and clinicians have chosen to ignore negative attitudes towards clinical xenotransplantation, assuming that people will automatically embrace this new technology when it becomes available. A review of eight studies of attitudes to xenotransplantation did not reveal overwhelming support for it. Particularly negative views were expressed by acute care nurses. Primates have been the donors of choice in clinical xenotransplantation to date, but their continued use is a highly contentious option; the preferred animal donor is now clearly the pig. Animal farming for xenotransplantation is generally regarded as acceptable since animals provide food for man and are an accepted source of items for human use such as heart valves and insulin. Open debate about xenotransplantation must now take place, and present attitudes may change as a result of this. However, it remains to be seen whether xenografts will be widely accepted and used, and the extent to which the chronic shortage of organs for transplantation will thereby be alleviated.     

Animal welfare methodology and criteria

The concepts of welfare and comfort are relatively new to the veterinary field. For a long time, it was thought that these concepts were equivalent to the absence of pain, stress and suffering, but such a comparison is imprecise. In addition, the application of objective and quantitative criteria to pain and stress has not been as easy as was initially thought. The concept of stress has evolved considerably since the term was coined by H. Selye in the 1950s to denote the non-specific response of an organism to any excessive demand. It is now well established that neurohormonal stress responses do not depend on the physical nature of the stressor, but on the way in which this is perceived and presented to the animal which is exposed to such a situation. The study of stress reactions therefore provides an insight into the subjective world of the animal. Suffering cannot be confined to physical suffering alone, as animals are capable of undergoing mental suffering. Research into the welfare and comfort of animals implies a study of the ability of an animal to express basic species-specific behaviour in the environment in which it is placed. Any discomfort produced by husbandry conditions may be detected through anomalies in the expression of this behaviour, or by examining preferences expressed by animals offered a free choice. All of these elements provide an objective and quantifiable approach to welfare and suffering in animals. But society must determine what is acceptable or not on the basis of these criteria.     

Do domestic animals have minds and the ability to think? A provisional sample of opinions on the question

Faculty, staff, and graduate students in a number of departments, students in an undergraduate course, and some groups outside the university were polled to obtain their perceptions about whether domestic animals have minds, the ability to think, and differing degrees of intelligence (the surveys focused only on horses, cows, sheep, dogs, chickens, pigs, cats, and turkeys). A clear majority of all groups surveyed (except the Department of Zoology) said yes, they believe animals have minds, but a substantial number of those in animal sciences and zoology (17 to 25%) said no. A number of others in animal sciences, zoology, and philosophy (11 to 37%) refused to answer the question because the concept of mind was not defined. From 80 to 100% of respondents in other groups said yes to the question of minds. From 67 to 100% of all participants said yes, they perceive that animals have the ability to think, but a substantial number of animal scientists, zoologists, veterinarians, and English faculty said no, animals don't think (6 to 33%). On the question Do domestic animals differ in relative intelligence?, the responses varied from 88% in animal sciences to 100%. Surprisingly, when asked to rank different animal species by intelligence, there was a remarkable degree of similarity across all groups regardless of background; the overall ranking from highest intelligence to lowest was dog, cat, pig, horse, cow, sheep, chicken, and turkey. Most of the respondents believed that the possession of minds, thought, and intelligence were relevant factors in how animals should be treated and the prevalent concept was that we should not be cruel to animals, but should treat them humanely.     

Animal rights: A rejoinder.

Responds to the comments by A. N. Rowan (see record 2009-05603-006) on the current author's original discussion regarding animal rights (see record 2009-05603-005). In his original paper, Gallup maintains that there are no inherent rights; they are inventions of the human mind. Thus, animals only have rights if we say the do. Rowan, however, asserts there is more universal agreement as to why some beings have certain rights (e.g. the right to life, or the weaker right not to be caused unnecessary suffering) than Gallup credits. Here, Gallup suggests that Rowan has sidestepped the issue. If rights (be they human or otherwise) are something other than an invention of the human mind, then what are they, what form do they take, from whence do they come, and how are we to identify them? Contrary to what Rowan implies, Gallup says his intention was not to take a stand on whether or not animals have rights. To reiterate, says Gallup, animals only have rights to the extent that we say they do. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)