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Live Animals (live + animals)
Selected AbstractsNew Alternative Methods to Teach Surgical Techniques for Veterinary Medicine Students despite the Absence of Living Animals.ANATOMIA, HISTOLOGIA, EMBRYOLOGIA, Issue 3 2007Is that an Academic Paradox? Summary Due to a raised ethical mentality, veterinary schools are pursuing methods to preserve animal corpses used for surgical technique classes in an attempt to reduce the use of living animals for teaching. Generally speaking, animal and human bodies are usually preserved with 10% aqueous formalin solution especially for descriptive anatomy classes. Other possibilities include the use of glycerol, alcohol and phenol. At present, new fixatives have been developed to allow a better and longer preservation of animal corpses in order to maintain organoleptic characteristics, i.e. colour, texture, as close as possible to what students will deal with living animals. From 2004, in our college, surgical technique classes no longer use living animals for students' training. Instead, canine corpses chemically preserved with modified Larssen (MLS) and Laskowski (LS) solutions are preferred. The purpose of this study was to investigate comparatively the biological quality of preservation of these two solutions and to evaluate students' learning and acceptance of this new teaching method. Although these fixatives maintain body flexibility, LS solution failed to keep an ordinary tissue colouration (cadavers were intensely red) and tissue preservation was not adequate. By contrast, MLS solution, however, did not alter the colouration of cadavers which was fairly similar to that normally found in living animals. A remarkable characteristic was a very strong and unpleasant sugary odour in LS-preserved animals and therefore the MLS solution was the elected method to preserve cadavers for surgical technique classes. The students' feedback to the use of Larssen-preserved cadavers was very satisfactory, i.e. 96.6% of students were in favour of the use of cadavers for surgical training and on average 91.8% (2002,2003) of students preferred the MLS solution as the chemical preserver, whereas only 8.2% elected LS solution for teaching purposes. From the students' point of view (95.1%) the ideal class would be an initial training in MLS cadavers followed by classes with animals admitted to the Veterinary Hospital. [source] The Anticipated Utility of Zoos for Developing Moral Concern in ChildrenCURATOR THE MUSEUM JOURNAL, Issue 4 2009John Fraser It proposes a new theory regarding the psychological value of such experiences for the development of identity. The study used a constructivist grounded theory approach to explore parenting perspectives on the value of zoo visits undertaken by eight families from three adjacent inner-city neighborhoods in a major American city. The results suggest that parents use zoo visits as tools for promoting family values. These parents felt that experiences with live animals were necessary to encourage holistic empathy, to extend children's sense of justice to include natural systems, and to model the importance of family relationships. The author concludes that parents find zoos useful as a tool for helping their children to develop skills with altruism, to transfer environmental values, to elevate children's self-esteem, and to inculcate social norms that they believe will aid in their children's social success in the future. [source] Intrinsic and spontaneous neurogenesis in the postnatal slice culture of rat hippocampusEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 10 2004Maki Kamada Abstract Organotypic slice culture preserves the morphological and physiological features of the hippocampus of live animals for a certain time. The hippocampus is one of exceptional regions where neurons are generated intrinsically and spontaneously throughout postnatal life. We investigated the possibility that neurons are generated continuously at the dentate granule cell layer (GCL) in slice culture of the rat hippocampus. Using 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) labelling and retrovirus vector transduction methods, the phenotypes of the newly generated cells were identified immunohistochemically. At 4 weeks after BrdU exposure, BrdU-labelled cells were found in the GCL and were immunoreactive with a neuronal marker, anti-NeuN. There were fibrils immunoreactive with anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), an astrocyte marker, in the layer covering the GCL and occasionally encapsulated BrdU-labelled nuclei. When the newly divided cells were marked with the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) using a retrovirus vector, these cells had proliferative abilities throughout the following 4-week cultivation period. Four weeks after the inoculation, the EGFP-expressing cells consisted of various phenotypes of both early and late stages of differentiation; some were NeuN-positive cells with appearances of neurons in the GCL and some were immunoreactive with anti-Tuj1, a marker of immature neurons. Some EGFP-expressing cells were immunoreactive with anti-GFAP or anti-nestin, a marker of neural progenitors. The present study suggests that slice cultures intrinsically retain spontaneous neurogenic abilities for their cultivation period. The combination of slice culture and retrovirus transduction methods enable the newly divided cells to be followed up for a long period. [source] Multivariate analyses of carcass traits for Angus cattle fitting reduced rank and factor analytic modelsJOURNAL OF ANIMAL BREEDING AND GENETICS, Issue 2 2007K. Meyer Summary Multivariate analyses of carcass traits for Angus cattle, consisting of six traits recorded on the carcass and eight auxiliary traits measured by ultrasound scanning of live animals, are reported. Analyses were carried out by restricted maximum likelihood, fitting a number of reduced rank and factor analytic models for the genetic covariance matrix. Estimates of eigenvalues and eigenvectors for different orders of fit are contrasted and implications for the estimates of genetic variances and correlations are examined. Results indicate that at most eight principal components (PCs) are required to model the genetic covariance structure among the 14 traits. Selection index calculations suggest that the first seven of these PCs are sufficient to obtain estimates of breeding values for the carcass traits without loss in the expected accuracy of evaluation. This implied that the number of effects fitted in genetic evaluation for carcass traits can be halved by estimating breeding values for the leading PCs directly. [source] Using pedigree information to monitor genetic variability of endangered populations: the Xalda sheep breed of Asturias as an exampleJOURNAL OF ANIMAL BREEDING AND GENETICS, Issue 2 2003F. Goyache Summary The aim of this work is to highlight the need of monitoring small populations to conserve their genetic variability by using a set of parameters to characterize both the structure of populations and management practices. As a representative example we analyse the pedigree information of the endangered Xalda sheep breed of Asturias. The herdbook of Xalda sheep included a total of 805 animals and 62 herds. The number of founders was 329. Nowadays, there are 562 live animals and 26 active herds. The breed is in risk of losing genetic diversity because of the abusive use of certain individuals as parents. The effective number of founder animals is 81.1. The effective number of founder herds is 9.9. The average value of inbreeding in the whole Xalda population was 1.5%. The average relatedness (AR) coefficient reached 1.8% in the whole pedigree. The genetic representation of the lines of founders is unbalanced. Inbreeding trends and effective size do not provide realistic information concerning the risk of loss of diversity as a result of the shallowness of the genealogical information. We suggest the monitoring of the breed using AR to unbalance the genetic contributions of specific individuals, equalizing the genetic representation of the founders and lines in the population. In addition, AR can suggest the introduction of new, under-represented animals in herds showing high average AR values relative to the population. Our results can be useful to improve the development of conservation initiatives involving open herdbooks to avoid the risk of loss of genetic diversity caused by incorrect management practices. Zusammenfassung Verwendung von Pedigree Informationen zur Konservierung genetischer Variabilität in gefährdeten Populationen: Das asturische Xalda Schaf als Beispiel Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, die Notwendigkeit hervorzuheben, Pedigree Informationen in kleinen Populationen durch Verwendung bestimmter Parameter zu analysieren, um sowohl die Struktur der Populationen als auch Managementmaßnahmen zu charakterisieren. Als repräsentatives Beispiel analysieren wir Pedigree Informationen des gefährdeten Xalda Schafes in Asturien. Das Herdbuch des Xalda Schafes umfasst 805 Tiere in 62 Herden. Die Population ging aus 329 Tieren hervor. Zur Zeit beträgt die Population 562 lebende Tiere und 26 aktive Herden. Die Rasse ist aufgrund der starken Nutzung weniger Individuen als Elterntiere in Gefahr, genetische Variabilität zu verlieren. Die effektive Zahl an Gründertieren ist 81,1, die an Herden 9,9. Der durchschnittliche Inzuchtkoeffizient in der gesamten Xalda Population war 1,5%. Der durchschnittliche Verwandtschaftskoeffizient (AR) erreichte 1,8% im gesamten Pedigree. Die genetische Repräsentation der Ausgangslinien ist nicht ausgewogen. Der Inzuchtzuwachs und die effektive Größe bringen aufgrund unzureichender genealogischer Daten keine realistischen Informationen bezüglich Gefährdungsstatus. Wir empfehlen eine Untersuchung der Rasse unter Verwendung von AR, um die genetischen Anteile spezifischer Individuen auszugleichen und um die unausgewogene genetische Repräsentation der Gründer und Basislinien in der Population auszugleichen. Die Verwendung von AR legt die Nutzung neuer, unterrepräsentierter Tiere in den Herden nahe, die hohe durchschnittliche AR Werte im Vergleich zur Gesamtpopulation aufweisen. Unsere Ergebnisse können für die Weiterentwicklungen von Konservierungsmaßnahmen wie offene Herdbücher nützlich sein, um das Risiko eines Verlustes genetischer Diversität durch fehlerhafte Zuchtmaßnahmen zu vermeiden. [source] Early Detection of Bone Metastases in a Murine Model Using Fluorescent Human Breast Cancer Cells: Application to the Use of the Bisphosphonate Zoledronic Acid in the Treatment of Osteolytic LesionsJOURNAL OF BONE AND MINERAL RESEARCH, Issue 11 2001Olivier Peyruchaud Abstract A very common metastatic site for human breast cancer is bone. The traditional bone metastasis model requires human MDA-MB-231 breast carcinoma cell inoculation into the left heart ventricle of nude mice. MDA-MB-231 cells usually develop osteolytic lesions 3,4 weeks after intracardiac inoculation in these animals. Here, we report a new approach to study the formation of bone metastasis in animals using breast carcinoma cells expressing the bioluminescent jellyfish protein (green fluorescent protein [GFP]). We first established a subclone of MDA-MB-231 cells by repeated in vivo passages in bone using the heart injection model. On stable transfection of this subclone with an expression vector for GFP and subsequent inoculation of GFP-expressing tumor cells (B02/GFP.2) in the mouse tail vein, B02/GFP.2 cells displayed a unique predilection for dissemination to bone. Externally fluorescence imaging of live animals allowed the detection of fluorescent bone metastases approximately 1 week before the occurrence of radiologically distinctive osteolytic lesions. The number, size, and intensity of fluorescent bone metastases increased progressively with time and was indicative of breast cancer cell progression within bone. Histological examination of fluorescent long bones from B02/GFP.2-bearing mice revealed the occurrence of profound bone destruction. Treatment of B02/GFP.2-bearing mice with the bisphosphonate zoledronic acid markedly inhibited the progression of established osteolytic lesions and the expansion of breast cancer cells within bone. Overall, this new bone metastasis model of breast cancer combining both fluorescence imaging and radiography should provide an invaluable tool to study the effectiveness of pharmaceutical agents that could suppress cancer colonization in bone. [source] A reliable body condition scoring technique for estimating condition in African buffaloAFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 4 2009Vanessa O. Ezenwa Abstract Evaluating animal body condition is a necessary component of many ecological studies. Although many methods for assessing animal body condition have been developed, relatively few can be used for estimating condition on live animals. Noninvasive body condition scoring techniques have been developed for assessing condition in livestock and more recently such techniques have been applied to wild ungulates. In this study, we examined the reliability of a body condition scoring technique for assessing condition in African buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer). We compared a body condition score (BCS) based on visual assessment and manual palpation of an animal's body to two standard metrics of condition widely used in mammals: kidney fat index (KFI) and haematocrit (HCT). Across all buffalo, BCS was significantly and positively correlated with both KFI and HCT. For HCT, this pattern was observed among adults, juveniles, males and females; and in the wet season but not in the dry season. For KFI, BCS was significantly and positively correlated with KFI among adults, juveniles and males, but not in females. Overall, our results suggest that the BCS technique can serve as a useful method for estimating body condition in buffalo. Résumé L'évaluation de la condition corporelle d'un animal est une composante nécessaire de nombreuses études écologiques. Bien que l'on ait mis au point de nombreuses méthodes pour réaliser cette évaluation, relativement peu peuvent servir à estimer la condition d'animaux vivants. Des techniques noninvasives ont été développées pour évaluer la condition physique chez le bétail et, plus récemment, de telles techniques ont aussi été appliquées aux animaux sauvages. Dans cette étude, nous avons examiné la fiabilité d'une technique d'évaluation de la condition physique conçue pour étudier celle du buffle africain (Syncerus caffer caffer). Nous avons comparé un indice de condition corporelle (Body condition score , BCS) basé sur une évaluation visuelle et la palpation manuelle du corps d'un animal à deux indicateurs standards de condition largement utilisés chez les mammifères: l'indice graisseux des reins (Kidney fat index , KFI) et l'hématocrite (HTC). Chez tous les buffles, le BCS était significativement et positivement lié avec le KFI et le HTC. Pour le HTC, ce schéma tenait pour les adultes et les juvéniles, mâles et femelles; et en saison des pluies mais pas en saison sèche. En ce qui concerne le KFI, le BCS lui était significativement et positivement lié chez les adultes, les juvéniles et les mâles, mais pas les femelles. En général, nos résultats suggèrent que la technique de BCS peut être une méthode utile pour évaluer la condition corporelle des buffles. [source] The relationship between temperature and the size and age of larvae and peri-metamorphic stages of Pleuronectes flesusJOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2004S. Hutchinson Laboratory observations of live animals were used to describe the developmental sequence of the flounder Pleuronectes flesus. Developmental state was related to age and total length (LT) from hatching, through metamorphosis, to the juvenile form. By following animals at 7, 11 and 15° C it was found that, whilst the LT at metamorphosis was the same for all the temperature regimes and was not temperature-dependant, the time taken to reach this stage was related to rearing temperature. It was also observed that animals could be induced to metamorphose by transfer to reduced salinity but only if they were close to the critical length for metamorphosis. [source] Polymorphisms in the sequences of Marteilia internal transcribed spacer region of the ribosomal RNA genes (ITS-1) in Spain: genetic types are not related with bivalve hostsJOURNAL OF FISH DISEASES, Issue 6 2005B Novoa Abstract Marteilia refringens is a protozoan parasite causing a disease notifiable to the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) and its distribution has implications for the transfer of live animals. The internal transcribed spacer-1 (ITS-1) from Marteilia clones contains polymorphism. Digestion with HhaI reveals two different restriction profiles, previously referred as ,O' (Marteilia from oyster or Marteilia refringens) and ,M' (Marteilia from mussels or Marteilia maurini). The aim of the present work was to determine whether the two previously described Marteilia molecular types (O and M) exist in the Iberian Peninsula and the strictness of the association with their bivalve host species. The sequence variability in the ITS-1 of Marteilia species was studied in mussels, Mytilus galloprovincialis, and flat oysters, Ostrea edulis, from different geographical locations in Spain, to establish the existence and the distribution of different species or molecular types. Although there were two distinct evolutionary lineages that corresponded more or less strictly with the ,M' and ,O' types, it was evident from the estimated phylogeny that some ,O' types have switched to ,M' type, and vice versa. Moreover, ,O' types were found in mussels and ,M' types were found in oysters, which suggests that there have been several cross-species transmissions of Marteilia between mussels and oysters. [source] Surgical bone marrow aspiration in Aotus lemurinus griseimembraJOURNAL OF MEDICAL PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 3 2006Cesar Llanos Abstract Aotus lemurinus griseimembra are highly susceptible to infection by human malaria parasites and reproduce some of its clinical manifestations, including anemia. We developed a new surgical technique to obtain bone marrow samples from Aotus by surgical aspiration of the femur. First, we determined that the femur offered advantages over other bones, primarily due to lower fracture vulnerability. We tested a surgical technique using 20 G IV catheters in formaldehyde-preserved animals, then conducted the procedure on 27 live animals. This technique provided easy, quick surgical access to adequate volumes of bone marrow and was safe for almost all animals: only one died; another developed nervous impairment of the lower limb. Adequate cell samples were obtained in all animals and allowed cytological studies. This procedure offers a useful tool for bone marrow research in Aotus and helps overcome current limitations of such research in human where these studies are limited by ethical and technical issues. [source] The intraruminal papillation gradient in wild ruminants of different feeding types: Implications for rumen physiologyJOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY, Issue 8 2009Marcus Clauss Abstract Browsing and grazing ruminants are thought to differ in the degree their rumen contents are stratified,which may be due to different characteristics of their respective forages, to particular adaptations of the animals, or both. However, this stratification is difficult to measure in live animals. The papillation of the rumen has been suggested as an anatomical proxy for stratification,with even papillation indicating homogenous contents, and uneven papillation (with few and small dorsal and ventral papillae, and prominent papillae in the atrium ruminis) stratified contents. Using the surface enlargement factor (SEF, indicating how basal mucosa surface is increased by papillae) of over 55 ruminant species, we demonstrate that differences between the SEFdorsal or SEFventral and the SEFatrium are significantly related to the percentage of grass in the natural diet. The more a species is adapted to grass, the more distinct this difference, with extreme grazers having unpapillated dorsal and ventral mucosa. The relative SEFdorsal as anatomical proxy for stratification, and the difference in particle and fluid retention in the rumen as physiological proxy for stratification, are highly correlated in species (n = 9) for which both kind of data are available. The results support the concept that the stratification of rumen contents varies among ruminants, with more homogenous contents in the more browsing and more stratified contents in the more grazing species. J. Morphol., 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Bayesian incidence analysis of animal tumorigenicity dataJOURNAL OF THE ROYAL STATISTICAL SOCIETY: SERIES C (APPLIED STATISTICS), Issue 2 2001D. B. Dunson Statistical inference about tumorigenesis should focus on the tumour incidence rate. Unfortunately, in most animal carcinogenicity experiments, tumours are not observable in live animals and censoring of the tumour onset times is informative. In this paper, we propose a Bayesian method for analysing data from such studies. Our approach focuses on the incidence of tumours and accommodates occult tumours and censored onset times without restricting tumour lethality, relying on cause-of-death data, or requiring interim sacrifices. We represent the underlying state of nature by a multistate stochastic process and assume general probit models for the time-specific transition rates. These models allow the incorporation of covariates, historical control data and subjective prior information. The inherent flexibility of this approach facilitates the interpretation of results, particularly when the sample size is small or the data are sparse. We use a Gibbs sampler to estimate the relevant posterior distributions. The methods proposed are applied to data from a US National Toxicology Program carcinogenicity study. [source] High-resolution 1H NMR spectroscopy in rat liver using magic angle turning at a 1 Hz spinning rateMAGNETIC RESONANCE IN MEDICINE, Issue 5 2002Jian Zhi Hu Abstract It is demonstrated that a high-resolution 1H NMR spectrum of excised rat liver can be obtained using the technique of magic angle turning (MAT) at a sample spinning rate of 1 Hz. A variant of the phase-corrected MAT (PHORMAT) pulse sequence that includes a water suppression segment was developed for the investigation. The spectral resolution achieved with PHORMAT approaches that obtained from a standard magic angle spinning (MAS) experiment at a spinning rate of several kHz. With such ultra-slow spinning, tissue and cell damage associated with the standard MAS experiment is minimized or eliminated. The technique is potentially useful for obtaining high-resolution 1H spectra in live animals. Magn Reson Med 47:829,836, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Design of a new suture practice card for microsurgical trainingMICROSURGERY, Issue 8 2002Jesús Usón D.V.M., Ph.D. Suturing technique is of paramount importance in microsurgery. Basic training in this technique can be done using the practice card, a purpose-made polyurethane card. A practice card has been designed in the Minimally Invasive Surgery Centre to closely resemble microsurgical requirements in order to practice and learn correct microsuturing maneuvers. This practice card is a key part of microsurgical training. After many years of experience, and based on a survey we conducted, we can conclude that this practice card is essential for step-by-step microsurgical training. Using this card, the number of animals required to attain necessary microsurgical skills is reduced significantly. Furthermore, costs are also reduced, and the trainee can avoid mistakes during training with live animals, thus optimizing results. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. MICROSURGERY 22:324,328 2002 [source] Imaging the effects of castration on bone turnover and hormone-independent prostate cancer colonization of boneTHE PROSTATE, Issue 15 2008N.A. Cross Abstract INTRODUCTION Tumor populations may selectively colonize bone that is being actively remodeled. In prostate cancer patients, androgen deprivation directly inhibits tumor growth initially, whilst induced bone loss may facilitate tumor colonization of bone by androgen-insensitive cells. We have tested this hypothesis using a xenograft model of early growth of prostate cancer in bone. METHODS PC3 cells transfected with Green fluorescent protein (GFP) were injected into castrated and non-castrated athymic mice via intrabial and intracardiac routes. In vivo tumor growth was monitored daily and animals sacrificed 6,9 days following initial GFP-based detection of tumors. Tumor bearing and contra-lateral non-tumor bearing tibias were analyzed extensively by micro-CT and histology/immunohistochemistry for the presence of tumor cells and the effects of tumor and/or castration on bone cells and bone structure evaluated. RESULTS GFP-positive tumors in bone were visible from 12 days post-injection following intratibial injection, allowing tumors <1 mm diameter to be monitored in live animals. Castration did not affect tumor frequency, tumor volume, or time to initial appearance of tumors injected via intratibial or intracardiac routes. Castration decreased trabecular bone volume in all mice. Significant tumor-induced suppression of numbers of osteoblasts, coupled with increased numbers of activated osteoclasts, was evident in both intact animals and castrated animals. CONCLUSIONS In vivo GFP imaging allows the detection of early tumor growth at intra-osseous sites. Castration induces bone loss, but PC3-GFP cells are also capable of inducing bone remodeling in intact animals at early time points, independently of pre-existing castration-induced alterations to bone. Prostate 68: 1707,1714, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Quantitative trait loci associated with AutoFOM grading characteristics, carcass cuts and chemical body composition during growth of Sus scrofaANIMAL GENETICS, Issue 5 2006M. Mohrmann Summary A three-generation full-sib resource family was constructed by crossing two commercial pig lines. Genotypes for 37 molecular markers covering chromosomes SSC1, SSC6, SSC7 and SSC13 were obtained for 315 F2 animals of 49 families and their parents and grandparents. Phenotypic records of traits including carcass characteristics measured by the AutoFOM grading system, dissected carcass cuts and meat quality characteristics were recorded at 140 kg slaughter weight. Furthermore, phenotypic records on live animals were obtained for chemical composition of the empty body, protein and lipid accretion (determined by the deuterium dilution technique), daily gain and feed intake during the course of growth from 30 to 140 kg body weight. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) detection was conducted using least-squares regression interval mapping. Highest significance at the 0.1% chromosome-wise level was obtained for five QTL: AutoFOM belly weight on SSC1; ham lean-meat weight, percentage of fat of primal cuts and daily feed intake between 60 and 90 kg live weight on SSC6; and loin lean-meat weight on SSC13. QTL affecting daily gain and protein accretion were found on SSC1 in the same region. QTL for protein and lipid content of empty body at 60 kg liveweight were located close to the ryanodine receptor 1 (RYR1) locus on SSC6. On SSC13, significant QTL for protein accretion and feed conversion ratio were detected during growth from 60 to 90 kg. In general, additive genetic effects of alleles originating from the Piétrain line were associated with lower fatness and larger muscularity as well as lower daily gain and lower protein accretion rates. Most of the QTL for carcass characteristics were found on SSC6 and were estimated after adjustment for the RYR1 gene. QTL for carcass traits, fatness and growth on SSC7 reported in the literature, mainly detected in crosses of commercial lines × obese breeds, were not obtained in the present study using crosses of only commercial lines, suggesting that these QTL are not segregating in the analysed commercial lines. [source] | ||||||||||||||||