Laboratory rats and mice are the most used animal species in scientific research, but still having a lot of information available about them, there are many places in Latin America where there is a clear need to reinforce concepts and to update work methodologies used to work with these animals, always prioritizing the animal welfare, good and valid results in research and personnel safety.This presentation will review the biological characteristics and current recommendations regarding the treatment and proper management of these animal species in the animal facilities.

Informatics and internet are widely accepted tools in education and research. In the past decades new teaching and learning strategies have been developed and implemented. E-learning was defined as the production, distribution and use of electronic content for educational purposes. Many institutions and organizations in Europe and USA offer Laboratory Animal Science (LAS) training including computer assisted learning (CAL) or online tools in their teaching curriculum and as educational resources, for example the AALAS Learning Library and NC3Rs web. While these programs are very useful to introduce necessary theoretical background and skills, most of them are in English and based only in audiovisual materials. The aim of this presentation is to show the contribution of this methodology in the harmonization of the humane treatment of experimental animals mainly in Latin America countries, where there is still a strong need of animals in research and education. By other hand, one of the most important requisite worldwide is that personnel who work with laboratory animals are well trained with special emphasis in the 3Rs principles. Moreover, there is a lack of harmonized training guidelines and poor offer of training. We are going to show why and how a well-planned e-learning program is a valuable tool to mediate knowledge in LAS training between participants from mainly Latin America and developing countries. Our experience shows that replacement and reduce of animals in a first approach is possible with this education strategy.

Intravascular catheterization access for injection and sampling is one of the most common experimental surgical procedures.Catheters and ports have been designed to reduce the problems of occlusion, venous thrombosis, and infection. Key issues involve the use of meticulous aseptic technique for implantation of the devices and a "locking" solution that prevents clotting and retention of residues within the catheter.

perioperative analgesia aims to minimize, or even eliminate pain during a surgical procedure. Currently this approach is rarely performed using a single analgesic drug and more commonly different types of analgesic drugs, such as opioids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), are combined. This approach is known as multimodal or polymodal analgesia and also includes other analgesic drugs and techniques such as alpha-2 adrenergic receptor agonists, ketamine, or loco-regional analgesic techniques. Another approach is the anticipation to perioperative pain by administering analgesic drugs before surgical injury occurs and thus preventing the animal suffering from pain. This approach is known as preemptive analgesia and may reduce pain not only intraoperatively but also postoperatively. Other relevant aspects include the expected pain intensity, which allows us to select the appropriate drugs or drug combinations. The duration of analgesic therapy should also conform to the expected duration of pain so as to provide the necessary coverage postoperatively. Fortunately, there are on the market analgesic formulations with an effect typically lasting 24 hours with some of them providing analgesia up to 4 days following a single drug administration. Despite these advances, a good postoperative analgesia can only be obtained with an appropriate pain assessment system that would allow changes to the analgesic regimen in order to limit or prevent pain effectively.

The zebrafish, Danio rerio, is an ideal model organism to address a broad array of biomedical questions, and is now widely employed to answer questions about aging, behavior, cancer, growth, immunity, infection, metabolism and toxicology, using adult fish as well as embryos. However, the rapid expansion of the zebrafish as a model organism has outpaced the design and implementation of sentinel health monitoring programs in zebrafish colonies. Unlike rodent facilities, relatively few zebrafish facilities have health monitoring programs in place. Several studies now document the confounding effects of subclinical disease in zebrafish, and extensive evidence from other animal models demonstrates that both clinical and subclinical naturally-occurring infections can result in invalid or confounded experimental results. Improvement in the health monitoring of zebrafish colonies is therefore an important objective in zebrafish facility management. Health monitoring for zebrafish colonies historically relied on traditional methods, such as histopathology and wet mounts. Recently, however, molecular diagnostic assays have been developed for multiple pathogens, including five parasites, Pseudoloma neurophilia, Pseudocapillaria tomentosa, Piscinoodinium pillulare, Pleistophora hyphessobryconis, and Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, four bacterial pathogens, Edwardsiella ictaluri, Mycobacterium chelonae, Mycobacterium haemophilum, and Mycobacterium marinum, and one emerging virus with a broad host range, Infectious spleen and kidney necrosis virus (ISKNV). Clinical validation studies comparing the molecular assay results with traditional diagnostic methods demonstrated that molecular diagnostic assays were more sensitive than traditional methods. The availability of sensitive molecular diagnostic assays enables laboratory animal veterinarians, facility managers, and investigators to design health monitoring programs which prospectively utilize both diagnostic modalities to improve health monitoring for zebrafish colonies.

All trainers are people but not all people are trainers. Several factors beyond the trainer influence the effectiveness of a safety training programs. This program will discuss the critical steps for developing, delivering, and evaluating safety training programs. Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to: discuss behavioral-based safety training, the three levels of learners, develop measurable learning objectives, evaluate standard operating procedures, describe creative solutions for e-based training development, describe the need for continued personal/professional development (behavioral evolution) and discuss the importance of program evaluation.

Oftentimes, by the time that laboratory animal facility personnel learn about a facility construction project, the project has been underway for quiet some time without their knowledge but most importantly without their input. Construction projects consist of many phases involving numerous professional disciplines, which can make the process cumbersome and unclear. This presentation is targeted to anyone involved with an animal facility, from upper management, such as directors, researchers to supervisors and lab animal technicians. The role of physical plant personnel providing preventive maintenance to building systems will also be discussed as these are frequently overlooked and not considered. We will review each main phase of a construction project and explore our roles and participation throughout all of these phases. After all, the functionality of the spaces and how the program operates mainly lies on its users and those involved with the daily operation and care of the animals and facilities. This is known as the human factor, which we correlate to animal health, positive research outcomes and to a successful animal research program.

Biofilms, are defined as communities of microorganisms that grow embedded in a self-generated matrix of exopolysaccharides and adhered to an inert surface or a live tissue. They are formed 95% of water, the rest are microbial cells and their derivatives.In the first works on the biofilm structure, one of the questions that arose was how bacteria within the biofilm could have access to nutrients and oxygen. Studies demonstrated that the architecture of the biofilm matrix is not solid and has channels that allow the flow of water, nutrients and oxygen, even in the deeper layers of the biofilm. The existence of these channels does not avoid, however, that inside the biofilm can be found different environments in which the concentrations of nutrients, pH, or oxygen are different. This increases the heterogeneity of the physiological state in which the bacterium is found within the biofilm and makes difficult its study for it gives it a higher resistance. The stages for biofilm formation are: 1. Adhesion; 2. Extracellular matrix synthesis: grouping by chemical self-inducing signals (quorum sensing) and secretion of exopolysacharides to form the biofilm matrix; 3. Maturation and dispersion is the way of colonizing new sites. which can be transferred by water, environmental contamination, or fomites. The bacterial growth on the walls of the pipes is a very common habitat for potentially pathogenic bacteria. The presence of microorganisms in drinking water and the formation of biofilms in the distribution water systems produce bacteriological contamination and these associations may occur among bacteria, fungi, and protozoa, granting a higher resistance and pathogenesis to the biofilm. The Journal of Public Health of Mexico (2011), and the National Institute of Health, USA (2003) published that in 75% to 80% of bacterial diseases infectious, biofilm intervene.

We all have to provide training; if our program is big or small, a germ-free mouse colony or field studies in Africa, centralized or not. Animal research programs, as varied as they are, have to meet their training requirements in ways that are specific and appropriate to each institutions unique needs. This presentation will discuss basic training requirements that could be similarly satisfied across institutions, and many specific training needs that each program has to creatively accommodate. Some strategies that will be discussed to meet training needs include centralized training personnel versus lab based training, various methods of delivery, record keeping systems, and required versus voluntary training. I will focus on strategies employed at a medium/ large university with a very diverse program and how we have accommodated all of our different scenarios.

The environment in which laboratory rodents are kept has an impact on experimental data and breeding performance. The quality of the environment is defined by both the quality of the primary enclosure and the secondary enclosure and their fluctuations. There are regulations and international recommendations for optimal values and ranges of most relevant environmental parameters, but it is actually the whole environment and animal care and use procedures what might (and certainly will) impact experimental results. Standardization of animal models is an issue of paramount relevance in biomedical research and this standardization must include procedures, genetics, health status, but also the environment animals are kept in. The presentation deals with environmental standardization and the impact that lack of control of these variables can have on experimental results.

The rise of zebrafish as a research model has been dramatic. Given the global nature of the work, the rise in shipping zebrafish as a laboratory species has been sharp. Up until this point the majority of laboratory animals that were shipped have been mammalian species and both legislation and regulation reflects this and can, at times appear to hinder the shipping of laboratory fish.International flight regulations and changes in laboratory animal legislation have ended the days of carrying embryos through customs in one's pockets and we now need to comply with international laws, which, at times, can be very confusing and often counter intuitive. This presentation will examine IATA and airfreighting regulations that apply to fish and will then go onto look at changes in laboratory animal welfare legislation and regulation. It will explore the paperwork required to make exporting and importing of fish internationally go as smoothly as possible and also look at some of the oddities of these regulations, using European legislation as an example.

I will present the most common hazards, as they are perceived by workers (traditionally zoonoses, bites and scratches, allergies). Then I will present real data on accidents in research facilities including our facility. This will show that generally we are not focused on risks that are medically or numerically important. Finally I will talk about ‘emergent risks' (psychological and emotional risks) and will present the results of a Spanish study and the proposal for a ‘Spanish-speakers' global survey focused on these risks.

The proper surgical techniques represent a key opportunity to improve the welfare of laboratory rodents, while meeting legal and ethical obligations. Use of inappropriate or poor surgical technique requires a large number of animals, and in some instances introduces a high degree of morbidity and mortality, thereby increasing study variability and number of animals required. A recent increase in validations of inanimate surgical training tools has enabled the implementation of inanimate tools for training and competency assessment. Proper surgical technique improves animal welfare, decreases inter-animal variability, decreases expense and improves data yield. Inanimate based training is an integral part of clinical surgical training. However, the effectiveness of this type of training is as dependent on the manner in which it is implemented and delivered as it is on the inanimate object being used. In this presentation, specific inanimate tools will be identified that may assist trainers in optimizing the effects of inanimate-based training. These elements include scenario design, feedback, and conditions of practice. Specific guidelines for inanimate-based surgical training will be provided. This lecture will compare various inanimate surgical training tools, and describe the utilization of these tools in training and competency assessment. This information will be presented by summarizing our current studies addressing competency assessment. Justification, regulatory compliance processes, as well as the equipment and training required to establish and implement inanimate training into a surgery program will be discussed with a hope that this lecture will encourage IACUC personnel, investigators, veterinarians, surgical and veterinary technicians and research staff to consider and investigate the potential of these techniques to enhance research support capabilities and improve animal welfare.

It is well documented that social housing is fundamental to good welfare for non-human primates (NHPs). Despite this, many laboratory NHPs around the world continue to be singly housed, though usually with visual, auditory and olfactory contact with conspecifics. Most relevant legislative texts and professional guidelines stipulate that single housing should be used only when justified on strong scientific or animal health grounds. However, the interpretation of strong grounds by practitioners, regulators and ethics committees/IACUCs clearly differs between countries and research facilities. This is evident from the peer review of research proposals that the NC3Rs performs for the major UK research funding bodies. In the UK single housing is truly exceptional for NHPs; whereas overseas NHPs are often housed singly for reasons that would not be acceptable or necessary in the UK. The NC3Rs has been able to challenge these reasons and work with funded researchers and facilities to enable social housing. This short presentation will outline some of the factors that facilitate successful social housing, and invite some discussion of these with the audience.

A problem facing the rapid growth of zebrafish as a model for human disease is a lack of qualified personnel that understand the benefits and limitations of fish culture. As this model gains prominence, the need for adequately trained personnel and standardization of methods for fish culture among laboratories will only increase. Gadsden State Community College (GSCC) in partnership with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the Zebrafish Husbandry Association (ZHA) are developing a training program for zebrafish husbandry. The program has two parts: 1) an online education course offered through GSCC that provides narrated presentations of husbandry content with online quizzes, and 2) a 3- day experience-based workshop held at GSCC to teach technical skills through a team of husbandry experts. In June 2012, 18 world experts in the zebrafish field gathered to initiate development of a new online curriculum and technical workshop. The effort resulted in 30 power-point presentations and the rough outline for a first technical workshop. The online course modules are: Water Quality, Systems and Filtration, Colony Management and Nutrition, and Compliance, Facilities, and Disease. Each module consists of five to ten detailed presentations of 15 to 30 minutes duration. Four major vendors for zebrafish husbandry research systems (Aquaneering Inc., Pentair Aquatic Eco-Systems Inc., Aquatic Solutions by Tecniplast, and Thoren Aquatics Systems, Inc.) donated expertise and stand-alone zebrafish husbandry systems to GSCC in support of the online course and technical workshop. The online course and first technical workshop are planned to launch in the Summer of 2014. This effort will provide a state-of-the-art, cost-effective, and efficient training mechanism for individuals involved with the research and husbandry of zebrafish.

The new animal facility is designed to breed and house rodents with the best quality of macro and micro environment and house the maximum possible number of rodents per sf2. This new facility has 20,000 ft2 in three levels use for breeding and housing different strains and stocks of rodents and aquatic species. The building is design to use 6,000 micro isolator cages in high-density ventilated racks located into soft wall clean rooms. This area also has a 1,100 sf2 to house rodents and aquatic species under experimental procedures in conventional hard wall rooms. The washing and sterilization area have a rack and cage washer and a tunnel washer, the sterilization area have two autoclaves, one medium size and other bulk autoclave. Also in the clean side, the animal watering system is design with two Hydropac systems. The HVAC with its redundancy system have an automatic control and registry of temperature, humidity, light (intensity and 12:12 light cycle) integrate software, a CCTV in all entrance levels, halls and corridors, an electronic access control (key card and biometric) in all entrance and rooms. The engineering system is located outside the facility with 2 boilers for steam and hot water, a soft water system, water storage of 66,000 gallons of capacity, a water supply pressure system, an emergency power plant to cover all building, an air compressor and a circuit for regulated and emergency power outlets for sensible electronics components. The building has fume detection system inside and a fire alarm system outside.

The 2011 Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals has required that institutions place importance on assuring that staff working with animals are trained and competent to perform their work. Training can be provided in a number of ways, to include didactic, hands-on, webinars, seminars to name a few. Training is typically provided by staff members that have received specific training on effective delivery of training. During the training process, it is helpful to assess the trainee's knowledge to assure understanding of the content. A final assessment should be completed to verify that the person is competent and has the skills needed to perform the task. There are a variety of ways that institutions administer the programs of training. Development of further standards and expectations for global programs within the laboratory animal community could provide advancement for the field. This presentation will clarify pertinent training definitions around competency and proficiency as well as discuss how two global companies work to meet regulations on training programs while harmonizing programs across global sites.

As the prevalence of the use of Zebrafish as an animal model continues its ballistic growth, the need for a better understanding of the factors that add up to success is needed. Topics covered will include: water quality, nutrition, embryo care and breeding techniques, larval rearing and environmental enrichment.

Education and training is closely linked to the quality of performance of all levels of LAS personnel and directly effects both the welfare of the animals used in research and the quality of research. However, looking globally, there are significant regional differences in the challenges and opportunities we face. Currently, the number of countries where research is carried out is continuously increasing and there is a global exchange of research results and of scientists. However, education and training in LAS is only well established in a few countries and we cannot achieve high standards of quality in science without the proper training of all categories of personnel involved in animal experimentation. For example, Europe and North America have well established training programs and, as in the case of AALAS and FELASA, well established schedules for certification and accreditation of the personnel and of the E&T programs respectively. There is also a network of laboratory animal medicine colleges (IACLAM) for the education and examination of veterinarians as a mechanism of veterinary specialization. We need to use all of these already existing programs and strategies to be able to respond to the demand for training, especially from emerging countries. In parallel, we also need to establish globally accepted systems of accreditation and certification in order to ensure high standards in both education and science. During this presentation the main current global initiatives and future challenges in laboratory animal science education and training will be discussed.

Regulations and guidelines governing the use of animals in research require minimization of pain and distress. However, pharmacologic treatments to prevent or alleviate pain can interfere with the disease process being modeled. This presents a challenge to the veterinary and investigative staff in determining how to best optimize both animal comfort and research results. An important component of this decision making process receives comparatively little consideration: the impact of unalleviated pain on that same disease process. In this talk, we will discuss possible interactions of analgesics and unalleviated pain and how this may affect whether certain treatments are recommended, contraindicated, or perhaps without impact in various research models.

The question of pain in fish has been subject to much debate and, since fish are a popular experimental model globally and commercially important in fisheries, recreational angling and aquaculture, many procedures that fish are subjected to cause tissue damage. These injuries would give rise to the sensation of pain in humans but whether fish have the capacity for pain is relatively under explored and is a contentious issue. This presentation shall review the recent empirical evidence that has shown that fish have the same neural apparatus to detect pain that mammals and humans do, that their brain is active during a potentially painful experience, that fish show negative changes in behaviour and physiology and that this is reduced by administering an analgesic. Experiments demonstrating the significance of pain to trout and zebrafish have been conducted and have shown that fish do not show appropriate fear and anti-predator responses during a painful stimulation. This suggests that they are dominated by the pain state confirming its importance to the fish. However, social context affects the aggressive behaviour of trout when noxiously stimulated. In a familiar group, dominant trout perform much less chasing of conspecifics yet this suspension in aggression is not seen when placed in an unfamiliar group of fish. The latest findings on zebrafish seeking analgesia will be presented to demonstrate that fish are willing to pay a cost to accessing pain relief. Therefore, responses to pain are more complex and not simple reflexes. Together, these results demonstrate that painful events are important for fish and we should seek to minimise and alleviate pain where possible. The latest research findings on identifying robust indicators to assess pain in fish shall be discussed alongside the current knowledge on the use of anaesthetics and analgesics.

The utility of dried blood spot (DBS) sampling technology for rodent colony health monitoring was investigated using a two-tiered approach. In the first approach, groups of mice and rats were experimentally infected. Mice were inoculated with epizootic diarrhea of infant mice virus (EDIM), mouse hepatitis virus (MHV), murine norovirus (MNV), mouse parvovirus (MPV), or Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV). Rats were inoculated with Kilham rat virus (KRV) or rat theilovirus (RTV). Paired DBS and serum samples were collected at 2, 4, 6, and 12 weeks post-inoculation. In the second approach, designed to evaluate real-world conditions, over 1000 mouse and rat paired DBS and serum samples were collected from collaborating North American institutions. Dried blood spot and serum samples were evaluated by multiplex fluorescent immunoassay (MFI) against a comprehensive panel of infectious disease assays and data were compared for magnitude of MFI signal, signal to noise ratio, correlation, and stability. Results from these studies demonstrated that the magnitude of the mean MFI signal from the DBS samples was equal to or higher than the corresponding serum sample. Moreover, the assay signal-to-noise ratio from the DBS samples was equal to or higher than the corresponding serum samples. Evaluation of a large cohort of paired clinical DBS and serum samples showed 100% diagnostic correlation and improved specificity. Finally, stability studies showed no degradation of MFI signal when DBS samples were protected from humidity and stored at room temperature or 4°C for up to 14 days or when stored at -20°C for up to 3 months, compared to controls. A moderate decrease in MFI signal was encountered when samples were stored at 37°C in 95% humidity for 24 hours; however, all samples remained diagnostically positive.

The laboratory animal industry had expanded rapidly in China recently. It is critical to have a good basic understanding of the domestic laws and regulations involving laboratory animals if anyone wish to engage in this industry in China. The goal of this presentation is to review the regulatory requirements associated with laboratory animal science and animal research in China, point out areas of similarities and differences with US regulations, serving as a basic reference for anyone who wish to explore career opportunity in laboratory animal science and medicine in China.

For the purpose of ensuring research integrity, data reproducibility, and animal welfare, institutions that conduct animal research have the responsibility to evaluate vendors that provide laboratory animals, diet, bedding, and other products that have the potential to impact study outcome. Vendor assessment is therefore an integral component of any research institution's Animal Care and Use Program. The purpose of this presentation is to demonstrate the approaches to vendor qualification, including key areas to focus on, types of questions to ask, what to look for during facility tours, and post-visit follow-up expectations. By the end of the session, attendees should gain a better understanding of the vendor evaluation process, and be able to assess whether current internal qualification program will meet animal user expectations.

Monitoring the health of laboratory rodents is an important tool for improving the quality of animals used in research. However not all animal facilities have the same requirements, and an extensive health screen is not always warranted. Large breeding facilities supplying rodents to multiple institutes are under greater pressure to validate the health status of their colonies than experimental facilities holding rodents for short-term experiments. The biosecurity of the facility and the ability to quarantine and/or rederive imported rodents will impact on the likelihood of a facility remaining pathogen free. The value of performing expensive health screens on rodents in a conventional facility is questionable unless required for disease investigation. There is extensive research about the impact of pathogens on experimental parameters. A review of the type of experimental work being conducted in an animal facility and the common pathogens found in local rodent facilities, can assist in prioritizing the pathogens to be included in health-monitoring. Once the pathogen list is decided, the methodology chosen must take into account factors such as cage type, origin of animals, availability of dependable sentinels, and the value of individual rodents. Technological advances are changing the type of samples required for health monitoring and the number of international laboratories specializing in the health screening of rodents is improving access to health monitoring services. In conducting a cost benefit analysis, the value of utilizing some in-house health monitoring versus outsourcing all work to external laboratories needs to be considered. While the cost of health monitoring provides the boundaries, a good health monitoring programme is designed around the animal facility itself.

This presentation mainly includes 4 sections, the first one: introduction for CFDA/FDA GLP Regulation and analysis the difference. The second one: introduction of the most important responsibility of veterinarian, for example: to supply support to scientist, to supply veterinary care promptly, to ensure the animal welfare and enrichment. The third one: The procedure for observation of abnormal animal. The fourth one: case for case, for example, alopecia, dehydration, decrease the consumption of food, not drink water, decrease the activity, diarrhea, mass or tumor. Outline - Requirements for animal welfare and veterinary care in related regulations of toxicology study - Requirement for laboratory animals in CFDA GLP regulations - Requirement for laboratory animals in FDA GLP regulations - Requirement for laboratory animals in OECD GLP regulations - Responsibility of veterinarian in the toxicology study - To supply support to scientist - To supply veterinary care promptly - To ensure the animal welfare and enrichment - The procedure for observation of abnormal animal - Case - Alopecia - Dehydration - Decrease the consumption of food, not drink water - Decrease the activity - Diarrhea - Mass or tumor

The popularity reached by the genetic manipulation of laboratory animals to create new models for studying human diseases, produced in turn, that the techniques for assisted reproduction consolidate as routine in the laboratory of an animal facility. However, the costs of maintaining these mouse strains have increased deeply, and the physical space to housed these animals is practically the same one, for what we should admit that it is a concrete problem. In order to alleviate this problem is why embryo cryopreservation took importance in the early 90s. The cryopreservation technology has the advantage of being a tool to control the animal space at a low cost, but also has the benefits of being able to stop the risk of possible natural mutations, and genetic or infectious contamination (a tragic epidemic).Nowadays we can freeze embryos, sperm and ovaries to cover any situation of protecting the genetics of a mouse line. At the same time, the progress in the manipulation of the sperm and in the methods of in vitro fertilization does this task a more efficient process. With the sperm collected from a mouse there is enough material to fertilize approximately thousand of oocytes, which facilitates the task to preserve, to rederivate, and to expand or to distribute a mouse strain. Another application of this technology is to recover strains that otherwise it could be lost or by negligence, lack of breeding or by death. Today it is also possible to recover sperm from a death mouse and fertilize in-vitro up to 4 days after his dead.

Abnormal behavior commonly occurs in captive nonhuman primates. It differs from normal behavior in either kind or degree and consists of behaviors such as pacing, self-grasping, and self-injurious behavior. The extent of abnormal behavior in a population can be impacted by variables such as the animals’ sex, species, and age; however, environmental risk factors such as nursery rearing, single housing, and veterinary procedures also play a role. Self-injurious behavior (SIB) is of particular concern due to a greater potential for wounding. Although SIB has been referred to as a form of self-directed aggression, stress, rather than aggression, may play a greater role; SIB may actually be utilized as a means to reduce stress. Wounding occurs in a small percentage of the animals exhibiting SIB and may be associated with the animal’s inability to inhibit certain behaviors. Proper rearing, environmental enrichment, and social housing can help reduce abnormal behavior, but understanding the risk factors with an aim of prevention is the best strategy.

Although a growing body of evidence indicates that environmental enrichment (EE) facilitates normal development and behaviour in laboratory mice, few studies were conducted to demonstrate its impact upon male and female reproductive physiology. Our study investigated the effects of EE on the development and reproductive success of Albino swiss mice, using PVC tubular devices and shredded paper as physical enrichment. Animals were allocated in regular housing cages in groups of five individuals and treated as non-enriched (control, C) or enriched from weaning to adulthood (E). To evaluate the EE effects upon pups development, a third group of females were enriched from the time the male was introduced to achieve pregnancy (EP). In males, evaluated parameters were body, testicular and accessory glands weight, sperm functional activity (motility, viability, acrosome and membrane integrity), testosterone concentration, in vivo fertilization rates, litter size and embryo degeneration percentages. In females, evaluated parameters included body, uterine and ovary weight, spontaneous ovulation, estradiol concentration, in vivo fertilization rates, litter size, pups neurobiological (cliff avoidance, negative geotaxis, surface righting reflex), physical (body weight at d 1, 7, 14 and 21, bilateral pinna detachment, low incisor eruption and eyes opening) and reproductive development (testicular descent, balano-prepucial opening and vaginal opening). No differences were evident in any of the parameters reflecting the basic reproductive physiology of males or females. However, a significantly higher number of pups were born from enriched mothers (C: 9.50.6, n=4; E: 10.70.2, n=5; EP: 12.20.7, n=5; p=0.03). A strong tendency was detected towards a faster development of the physical and reproductive parameters of pups born from both enriched groups, yet significant differences were only observed for testicular descent (day 19, C: 00%, n=16; E: 62.512.5%, n=17; EP: 21.69.7%, n=21; p=0.002). Although EE showed limited effects in this strain of laboratory mice reproductive physiology, a faster pup development appears to be favored by an increased physical complexity in the environment from birth.

The title of this presentation could have been Training within laboratory animal science - where we are and where we should be. While training has been the domain of facility managers for many years, the concept of a dedicated trainer is relatively new at minimum 20 years when measured by LAWTE. Ergo, the theme of metrics, measuring the recent milestones of training and accounting for training in a facility. The phrase One size doesnt fit all has a numerical overtone; that concept certainly applies to teaching. And as much as animal research varies across the world, so do the methods and measures of training effectiveness. The presentation will highlight various training metrics for the benefit of trainers, managers, and administrators.

Nonhuman primates in captivity are typically provided with a multitude of behavioral management opportunities, including naturalistic social groupings, foraging devices, complex physical environments, positive reinforcement training, and challenging cognitive tasks. We are currently providing our nonhuman primates with additional behavioral management alternatives, specifically, several options that allow them to participate in their own care. These opportunities include chances to 1) choose which of several medications they would prefer to receive, 2) control aspects of their physical environment (light levels, temperature, humidity, etc.), and 3) receive acupuncture and similar treatments for maladies related to advanced age. A number of the chimpanzees in our research colony are participating in a study that allows them to choose which of two arthritis medications they prefer. The choice procedure we employ opens a valuable channel of communication with the animals that permits them to directly ‘tell' us which medications they favor. The next phase of this program will expand the choice procedure to other types of medications required by the animals. We are also using the Kinect video game system, which lets the chimpanzees act as the ‘controller' to optimize the physical environments in which they are housed, providing them with the chance to control fans, lights, and radios. Additionally, many of our nonhuman primates voluntarily participate in blood sampling procedures (venous and capillary), and acupuncture and laser treatments. These are all examples of components of a comprehensive behavioral management program that is designed to provide nonhuman primates with multiple opportunities to control, and participate in, their own care. In our opinion, this is the direction in which all management programs for captive nonhuman primates should be headed.

With the growth and expansion of mouse and rat transgenic models in recent years, the demand for surgically altered models mimicking human diseases is growing at an amazing rate. Surgical procedures are performed under anesthesia, and this has a profound effect on physiological systems and makes many protective mechanisms ineffective. Therefore it is critical to manage anesthetic depth so as to minimize adverse effects such as depression of respiration, and disruption of the cardiovascular system and thermoregulation. Physiological monitoring is an integral part of overall peri-operative care to ensure animal safety, and allow for control of physiological functions through the use of drugs, instrumentation, and the anesthetist's own senses. Additionally, the 8th Edition of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals incorporated a new subsection on intraoperative monitoring, which underlines the importance of physiological monitoring and stresses its importance during anesthesia. During this session, veterinary technicians, veterinarians, scientists, trainers and IACUC personnel will learn about the hazards of not performing physiological monitoring, understand how anesthesia can be refined with the use of physiological monitoring. Attendees will also be able to select appropriate, adequate and reliable equipment for physiological monitoring of rodents and learn how it can significantly increase the efficiency of anesthesia and prevent the over-anesthetizing of rodents.

Modern biomedical research greatly benefits from sophisticated techniques which can detect even the most subtle alterations between different individuals or groups. This has raised the bar for the health status of research rodents; even silent infections can cause short-term shifts in the body's host-defense systems or various other metabolic functions. However, several problems complicate QC efforts to insure the animals meet the necessary specifications. First, because many rodents, including almost all mice, are housed in some type of individual containment caging (IVC, FTC, etc.), any infection is likely to be present in so few cages that random sampling is not effective as a detection strategy. Second, although a very small amount of soiled bedding can be collected from each cage and given to a "sentinel", this method does not reliably transfer many of the common infections. Third, shipping rodents to a diagnostic laboratory is expensive and subject to weather embargoes. Finally, economic trends have required more to be accomplished with less expense and labor. Fortunately, techniques have emerged in the last several years which allow rack-level monitoring at a sensitivity level higher than achievable by soiled bedding sentinels. All diseases which are transmitted by soiled bedding, as well as many others, can be detected by PCR testing of dust which accumulates in filters, exhaust plenums, change hoods, etc. With careful selection of test panels and judicious use of pooling, PCR-based testing can reduce costs, reduce labor, and even replace sentinels. When animals do need to be tested for antibodies, dried blood spot methods have been adapted to rodent serology, allowing full serology panels to be conducted on essentially one drop (20 ul) of blood shipped at ambient temperature. Thus, innovative technology has expanded the QC toolbox available to vivarium managers, enhancing surveillance while controlling labor and other costs.

It is increasingly recognized that the genetic background (i.e., all genomic sequences other than the gene(s) of interest) can have profound influences on the phenotype of an animal model. It has been shown that mutations (spontaneous and induced), transgenes, and targeted alleles (knockouts and knockins) that are moved onto a different background can show a change in phenotype. One of the first cases involved the classical diabetes (Leprdb) mutation that presented transient diabetes on a C57BL/6 background but overt diabetes on C57BLKS. Other examples include background effects on survival rate in Egfr (epidermal growth factor receptor) KO mice and effects on tumor incidence and spectrum in Trp53 and Pten (tumor suppressors) KO mice. In order to highlight the importance of this issue, I will present a selection of published articles showing the influence of genetic background on different mouse and rat models. I will also discuss some of the problems arising from the use of undefined substrains, the use of genetically engineered mice with mixed backgrounds (e.g., after breeding chimeras), as well as the flanking genes and passenger mutations concerns. Finally, I will present different ways to avoid or resolve these drawbacks, including the development of congenic strains by marker-assisted backcrossing and the use of newly available ES cells from strains other than 129. In order to stay away from confounding or unreliable experimental results, particularly with the increasing number of mouse and rat strains, attention to the genetic background is crucial.

This seminar will cover spontaneous diseases of Rhesus Macaques utilizing a systemic approach. It will consist of gross and histopathologic images of common pathologic conditions highlighting the most prominent histopathologic features of the disease and differential diagnosis.

Training for researchers using animals is a requirement in most European countries. However, somewhat surprisingly, the main actor in providing specific guidelines for such training is a scientific society - the Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Associations. FELASA is also presently the only entity that accredits training courses on an international level. At the Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology, we have been running courses following the FELASA recommendations for Category C (scientists) since 2005. Since 2008, these courses have been run under accreditation. In this presentation, I will share our experience as course organizers, with focus on the implications and benefits of the accreditation program.

It is commonly recognized that technicians are the backbone of a successful animal research program. Unfortunately, the invisible contributions that they make as well as the valuable high level contributions they could make are often missed. In addition, ambitious and talented technicians can feel trapped in a position that limits their contributions and mobility. This paradigm can be broken by focusing on team development, continuing scientific education, communication training, and leadership skills. Actual case studies and development progressions will be used to present strategies for the technician to advance their skills and make themselves more valuable both as technical experts and leaders. Additionally, leadership tips will be offered for managers and scientists to fully develop the potential of their technicians and learn from them as well.

Almost all discussion to date on the ethics of animal use in research has revolved around the balance of harms (to the animals) versus benefits (to us) associated with conducting the research. For this reason, most research on the welfare of laboratory animals has focused on harm reduction, including methods of handling and euthanasia that are less likely to cause pain or distress. I briefly review recent examples of this approach concluding that this approach is necessary but not sufficient. Focus in the animal welfare literature is now shifting from simply reducing harms that we cause to animals to promoting positive experiences; the question has become do the animals under our care experience a good life? Achieving a good life may require that we provide environments that allow animals to express natural behaviors that they are motivated to perform and provide opportunities for positive emotional experiences, such that positive experiences far outweigh negative ones. Recent research in animal welfare science has begun to develop methods for identifying and assessing positive emotional states and assessing how animals view their own condition. Judgments regarding a good life for laboratory animals ultimately require public input, and researchers must seek out effective methods for informed engagement with the public on the quality of living conditions we provide for the animals under our care.

Rabbits are commonly used in biomedical research for many years due to its ease of use and phylogenetical similarities with humans. They are commonly used in cardiovascular research (atherosclerosis), antibody production, physiology, and toxicity studies. This presentation includes some aspects of the biology and care of the rabbits in the research laboratory. Briefly, it will be discussed some common diseases and research uses of the rabbit.

All personnel involved in an animal care and use program are expected to have an appropriate level of education, training and/or qualifications to perform their duties as defined through laws, regulations, and guidelines in the laboratory animal field.  Although methods used to evaluate personnel qualifications vary throughout the world, the realistic and practical approach to assessing proven competency of individuals resides with the demonstration of tasks and/or analysis of the end product. Fortunately in the field of laboratory animal science and medicine, numerous metrics are available for review, including documentation of activities (e.g., daily husbandry log sheets, medical records, etc.) and most importantly, the health and appearance of the animals in the institution.  Thus, assessing the competency of individuals, whether through demonstration of tasks or examination of the end product, is a basic tenet of education and training and is critical in ensuring animal welfare as well as preventing potential occupational injuries to personnel.  The 8th edition of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (Guide) provides enhanced guidance relative to training and education and the Program Description template of AAALAC International requires institutions to provide information describing the training programs and qualifications of animal program personnel.  During the on-site assessment of an institution, the AAALAC representatives will evaluate the program and facilities for conformance with AAALAC International's Primary Standards, as appropriate to the institution, including the training program and qualifications of personnel.  This presentation will highlight key groups of the animal care and use program where training and education are essential, and discuss methods of assessing the quality of the training program for those groups.  In addition, the expectations of the Council on Accreditation in assessing training and qualifications of personnel in the animal care and use program will be discussed.

Training in your own institution or corporation can be challenging in trying to meet the goals of the program and the needs of the researchers. If you are challenged with training visiting international researchers or instructing overseas, tried and true methods that you have relied on may not be applicable. When you are at your own institution, you share with most of your students, a similar cultural background so communication and understanding is easier since you share a common ground. However, when you are presented with research personnel where english is their secondary language (or may not exist at all) you as the trainer are have to find a way to meet the needs of that student or students to fulfill their training requirements. You cannot use similar cultural references to relay information because those bridges do not exist. You have to adapt and step outside your comfort zone and make the training experience for your student personal and relatable. If you are training overseas, your physical training environment may present challenges. You may not have all the tools and equipment you need so you will have to adapt to meet the training needs. This presentation will discuss training outside those "comfort zones" when working with an international audience through my personnel experience. I will discuss how to adapt to your audience and training with international students whether at home or abroad. The presentation will discuss lessons learned and how changing your perspective can improve your own training program and how it will enhance your communication skills.

Non-surgical transfer techniques for mouse embryos and sperm provide animal welfare benefits for assisted reproduction of mice. While surgical embryo transfer (ET) is an effective method for transfer of embryos into the uterine horn of mice, surgery is expensive, time consuming, and requires technical expertise. Surgery is also a stressful procedure for the mouse, which has to be anesthetized and treated with an analgesic. We have developed a simple, brief procedure for ET using a non-surgical embryo transfer (NSET) device. Once embryos are loaded into the NSET device, the tapered NSET catheter passes through the vagina and traverses the cervix to deposit the embryos into the uterine horn of a recipient mouse. Since the NSET procedure does not require sedation, opening of the inner body cavity, or use of an analgesic, this procedure is less stressful for the mouse than surgery. In proof, our results show that when pseudopregnant mice are monitored by electrocardiography, the non-surgical procedure does not affect heart rate. The NSET procedure also has no effect on the level of the stress biomarker fecal corticosterone measured by ELISA analysis. However, surgery or anesthesia does lower heart rate and increases levels of fecal corticosterone. Additional studies show that the NSET procedure is effective for transfer of mouse embryos for the purposes of rederivation, cryorecovery, and transgenic research. Embryos can be successfully transferred with the NSET technique after cryopreservation, in vitro fertilization (IVF), or embryonic stem (ES) cell injection as an alternative to traditional surgical embryo transfer. The NSET device has also successfully transferred mouse sperm for artificial insemination. Therefore, the NSET technique is an example of a 3Rs refinement, an alternative to a surgical procedure, which will lead the way for improved assisted reproductive techniques in mice.

GOAL: "A simple and reliable method for mouse intubation" is designed as an instructional tutorial with learning objectives that are twofold. First is becoming familiar with the procedure and learning how to perform a minimally invasive technique that guarantees tracheal intubation. The second objective is learning the benefits of using this technique over other costly conventional methods. METHOD: Through a retracted 1.0cm incision at the mandibular region, the cricoid and thyroid cartilage and first rings of the trachea are exposed. This exposure allows for the visualization of the endotracheal tube as it passes into the trachea. RESULTS: A successfully intubated mouse with visual confirmation performed in a short amount of time. No complications such as respiratory obstruction caused by trauma or swelling. This provides a very cost effective means of preparing your animal for surgery.

Nonhuman primates are commonly used in biomedical research due to its anatomical, behavioral, and genetic similarities with humans. Macaques, especially the Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) are one the species of monkeys commonly used for this purpose. Therefore, it is important to have a basic knowledge of frequent clinical and pathological findings when managing the health of macaques. In this presentation we will briefly discuss some of the common diseases and problems observed such as neoplasia, endometriosis, enteritis, traumas, and viral diseases. We will also present some important points about the laboratory management of macaques. Lastly, we will present some uses of monkeys in biomedical research.

In the laboratory setting, rats are commonly housed in clear caging in brightly lit rooms. As their natural history suggests a preference for low-light conditions, this practice is likely stressful for rats. As the laboratory field continues to advance, modifications and improvements to housing conditions and environment will be made. The current laboratory environment uses red tinting in shelters, doors, and for lighting under dark conditions with the conception that this does not alter the behavior or physiology of the rodents. The retinal anatomy of rats indicates they have some ability to see the red spectrum of light but that this red visibility may be limited, so red-tinted caging would replicate a darkened condition for the rodent. This talk will discuss the current laboratory lighting standards, caging conditions, and how the use of color has impact on animal welfare.

An anesthesia system designed to accommodate the physiological characteristics of small animals, including rats and mice, has the potential to provide great practical value to the life science research community. Small animal surgery requires an investment in equipment and time. The task of anesthetizing research subjects is complicated by the equipment itself, which is designed for use on larger species, such as humans or horses. Laboratory animal anesthesia is governed by societal concerns to minimize harmful exposure to the research subjects and to the people performing the surgery. Todays economy puts pressure on laboratories to conserve time and resources while maintaining successful research. A miniaturized anesthesia system designed to administer inhalant anesthetics to small animals can address those challenges by providing the following advantages: Improved laboratory safety by minimizing exposure to anesthetic gas Precision anesthetic dosing resulting in faster, more efficient performance of procedures, and reducing morbidity rates Reduction of expense by using less anesthetic, eliminating outside calibration services, improving laboratory space utilization, and increasing successful outcomes

Public concerns over animal experimentation are becoming felt on both sides of the Atlantic, and a dangerous chasm is appearing between those who conduct such experiments and those who are opposed to them. This is a dangerous development, not only because a divided society loses efficiency, but the element of secrecy which it engenders can impede scientific progress and hinder the deployment of resources. It is my thesis that scientific investigations designed and carried out by competent personnel, better support animal welfare, are less likely to be flawed or lack rigour and are likely to be more acceptable to the general public. Competence is much more than the possession of manual skills or knowledge. Many of the qualities associated with competence will be acquired in the workplace rather than during formal training although the quality of the latter is paramount in establishing the correct personal development trajectory. This presentation addresses not only the characteristics and validation of that basic training, but the importance of continuing professional development, the need for ongoing guidance and the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to assessing the competence which an individual has attained. Application of a quality assurance scheme based on external standards and applied across a number of different establishments serves not only to facilitate free movement of personnel, whose qualifications can be recognised by other parties, but also provides reassurance that valid standards are being sought and attained and can act as an important motivator for those both delivering and receiving the experience, education and training that lead to competency. Learning objectives. 1. It is important to focus on competency rather than the delivery of education and training. 2. Impartial and objective validation of the assessment of competency is key to setting and maintaining appropriate standards.

Contract Research Organizations present unique challenges in the field of environmental enrichment for laboratory animals. CRO's are service oriented and budget conscious, with large animal populations in a GLP environment. By learning to incorporate the needs of GLP studies into enrichment plans and working with GLP scientists through education on how enrichment can improve their studies while minimizing variability, contract research organizations can increase their ability to meet USDA requirements and improve animal welfare while maintaining study quality.

Environmental enrichment can be defined as altering the living environment of captive animals in order to provide opportunities to express more of their natural behavioral repertoire. The challenge of providing effective enrichment in laboratory species is to ensure it allows for normal behavioral opportunities. For many animals, these behaviors include foraging, sheltering, exploring, nest building and gnawing. In the wild, many species use wood and bark to satisfy these behaviors, thereby maintaining physiological and behavioral health. For laboratory animals, a variety of wood enrichment products are available that will provide appropriate environmental enrichment and satisfy those same needs. A discussion of wood varieties will be defined and a review of species appropriate wood enrichments will be discussed highlighting safety considerations when selecting wood products.

The city of Valdivia is located in Chile, South America, 841 km south of its capital city Santiago. I moved to Valdivia early in 2004 to participate in the development of a new animal facility to generate and house genetically modified mice at the Centro de Estudios Científicos (CECs). The facility was inaugurated a year later (2005). I was initially hired as one of two laboratory animal technicians and I undertook to train new staff without formal education in the subject. Eventually I became the manager of the facility, with responsibility for the use of resources (people, animals, money, equipment, etc.) efficiently and effectively in order to achieve certain goals. In this presentation I will tell you about the problems faced as an animal facility manager in Latin America, but also about achievements. Among the last was the accreditation awarded by AALAC to our facility in mid-2012, which converted us in the first internationally accredited animal facility in Chile and one of the few to enjoy this distinction in Latin America.

The primary goal of all gnotobiotic facilities is to maintain a germ-free colony until such time as protocols require associations with other organisms. As such, a well-trained and knowledgeable staff is crucial to the success of such facilities. Many facilities may differ in standard operating procedures, size, and species of animals. That being said, finding staff that correctly fit the role of a gnotobiotic technician for individual facilities is imperative. It is important to look for several key qualities in individuals during the interviewing and hiring process for any gnotobiotic position. Past laboratory animal experience, attention to detail, and organization are a few of the key concepts that aid in the gnotobiotic training process. Once an individual is hired, a detailed training process is essential to the continued success of a facility. In this presentation, we will review some basic training procedures of gnotobiotic technicians working in a mouse facility. These basic procedures range from basic animal care to facility upkeep. In addition, we will look at several additional study related procedures that are often used in gnotobiotic facilities. These will include derivation training, giving injections in isolators, special diets, and timed mating procedures for age specific studies.

The 8th Edition of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (Guide NRC, 2011) has been in use since 2011. What changes has it brought? What are the impacts of those changes? The genesis of this important document will be briefly reviewed to reflect the path to the current standards of research animal care and use. An analysis of the scope of use of the Guide will be explored with a specific examination of its effect on scientists, institutional animal care and use committees, animal care personnel, and animals. The key features of each chapter will be highlighted and information will be provided regarding some of the common challenges faced by animal care and use programs as these standards are implemented. Discussion will explore widespread global perspectives and detail several technical, operational and fundamental aspects of current animal program management.

Simplifying Rodent Surgery... Tips for improving technique without incurring unreasonable costs Good science is greatly dependent on minimization of study variables. Surgery has the potential of inducing significant pain and distress related variables. To minimize these, excellent surgical technique, care and outcomes have received more and more attention in biomedical research. With increasingly shrinking and limited budgets, creativity in the application of good and affordable technique have become vital to maintaining an affordable yet excellent surgical program while yielding adequate outcomes with minimal variables. The presenter offers tips from his own personal experience and that of others to help maintain a relatively economical surgical program with resulting excellent outcomes. Audience: This presentation is designed for participants who have minimal, moderate or advanced surgical experience, and personnel involved in surgical oversight and training, including but not limited to scientists, veterinary technicians, veterinarians, technical support staff and IACUC members. Simplificación de la Cirugía de Roedores… Consejos para mejorar la técnica y el proceso perioperatorio sin caer en costos excesivos La buena ciencia depende en gran medida de la minimización de las variables del experimento. La cirugía tiene el potencial de contribuir en forma significativa al dolor y las variables en los estudios. Para reducir al mínimo estos, la excelente técnica quirúrgica, cuidado y resultados han recibido más y más atención en la investigación biomédica. Con presupuestos cada vez más y más encogidos o limitados, la creatividad en la aplicación de técnica buena y asequible se han vuelto vital para el mantenimiento de un programa de cirugía económico y excelente que a la misma vez produzca resultados adecuados con variables mínimas. El presentador ofrece consejos derivados de su propia experiencia personal y la de otros para ayudar a mantener un programa de cirugía relativamente económico con consiguiente excelentes resultados. Audiencia: Esta presentación está diseñada para participantes con experiencia mínima, moderada o avanzada en cirugía de roedores, individuos encargados de la supervisión y entrenamiento quirúrgico, incluyendo pero no limitado a los científicos, técnicos veterinarios, veterinarios, individuos de apoyo técnico y los miembros del CICUAL.

This presentation will discuss the properties of beddings on the market today and why the use of bedding alone does not promote thermoregulation. Topics included will be the importance of bedding properties and how they perform within the micro cage environment. Thermoregulation behaviors will be discussed as well as abnormal behaviors from lack of thermoregulation. The importance of using a "system or program" of bedding and nesting materials as a means to improve thermoregulation will be explored. Combining base bedding with the addition of nesting material options creates a portion controlled, repeatable system that is not only natural for mice, but also reduces rodent stress, facilitates study accuracy, and provides efficiency in today's laboratory. Topics to be covered include the benefits of having nesting materials as well as the abnormal rodent behaviors associated with today's lab environment and how they impact thermoregulation. These "unnatural" behaviors can all be reduced or eliminated through proper use of bedding and nesting system or program that promotes and allows for thermoregulation. Also discussed will be the benefits and reduced vivarium management costs of using a bedding and nesting program which is of value to the individual investigator as well as the importance of having a bedding and nesting program for animal welfare.