Return to flip book view

Vol 56 No 1 January 2020Institute of Animal TechnologyBulletinWWiisshhiinngg yyoouu aallll aa HHaappppyy,, HHeeaalltthhyy aannddPPrroossppeerroouuss NNeeww YYeeaarr

DevelopmentEDITOR*Carole Wilsonbulletineditor@iat.org.ukASSISTANT EDITOR*Karen Dunfordbulletinassistant@iat.org.ukADVERTISEMENTMANAGERSPRC Associates Ltdmail@prcassoc.co.ukPublished monthly by theInstitute of Animal Technology*Registered Office: 5 South ParadeSummertownOxford OX2 7JLISSN 0263-2861For enquiries other thanBulletin related contact:IAT ADMINISTRATOR*admin@iat.org.ukor 0800 085 4380BulletinVol 56 No 1 January 2020Final copy date for March Bulletin1st FebruaryThe opinions expressed in theBulletin do not necessarily reflectthose of the Editor or theInstitute.CONTENTSDear Readers 5Council Meeting 7-10Tech Month – March 2020 12Chair writes 13-14ATW open access information 15Notice of 2020 AGM 17Clicker training in 21-25laboratory rodentsAS-ET News 26-29Branch News 31-34IAT/AS-ET 2020 Ball 44announcementDispatches 45Diary Dates 47

BulletinJanuary 2020• 5DDeeaarr RReeaaddeerrssWelcome to 2020, a new decade. It isprobably a sign of how old I am because itseems like yesterday when we were celebrating2000 and the beginning of a new millennium!There is something I should have told you lastmonth – in keeping with global concerns about theuse of plastics, the Bulletin has how changed itsouter wrapper – you may have noticed the greenbags that the December issue was wrapped in andis totally biodegradable. I wonder what other changes we will bemaking in ten, twenty, thirty years time? I cannot imagine.I do imagine that we will still be reporting on the Council meetings, aswe are this month – see pages 7-10. Will we still have a “Chair Writes”,as we do this month on pages 13-14?I could not have imagined the kind of things we would do to improvethe lives of laboratory animals back when I began as a junior technicianback in the late 1980s. Nowadays it is completely different, see pages 21-25 for an article on clicker training for mice. I am very familiar withthe technique for dog training, but never thought that it would be usedin training of mice.I do not believe I would have ever thought the rise of genome editingwould have been so great either, or if I am honest, ever reallyunderstood what it was! I think I may have imagined 5Rs instead of the3RS but both these topics were being discussed at the Cambridge IATsymposium, for more information see pages 33-43.Wishing you all a very Happy New Year – I will catch up with you all inFebruary with our AAALAS special.KKeeeepp RReeaaddiinngg!!CCaarroollee

BulletinJanuary 2020• 7Synopsis of the IAT Council meeting held on Wednesday 11th December 2019AST2020Registrations for AST2020 continue to be made. Trade exhibition space isselling very well. The early bird booking rate finished on 15th December, sothere had been a flurry of bookings prior to this cut-off point. It washighlighted that hotel bookings were slow and it was agreed that a reminderwould be sent out to confirm that registration did not automatically includeaccommodation. This needs to be booked separately and is not included as itusually is with an IAT Congress booking.Marvin databaseTransfer to the new IAT membership database has been slower thananticipated. This has caused a delay in sending out renewal letters andproducing membership numbers. The new system will be trialled and instigatedas soon as possible.One of the many benefits to members of the new system will be the ability torecord CPD. A question was raised at the Branch reps meeting regarding the“Call for CPD cards” which has taken place in previous years. The new databasewill allow the Registration Board to monitor CPD as it is uploaded and will alsosend reminders to those who have not recorded sufficient CPD hours duringthe year.Anniversary Year2020 is the 70th Anniversary of the IAT and the 10th Anniversary of AS-ET.Various events will take place during the year to celebrate these milestones,culminating in the Charity Ball in November.200th Meeting of CouncilThe February meeting of the IAT Council will be the 200th meeting. PreviousCouncil members from the last ten years and those present at the 100thmeeting have been invited along to mark the occasion and to look forward tothe next hundred.

Bulletin8 •January 2020MIAT and FIAT ApplicationsCouncil were pleased to approve MIAT Applications from:Samantha LuptonReiss Marc BrowningHanna AkelThey have all passed their Level 3 qualification and Practical Animal Handlingand Health module.Council also approved applications for FIAT from:Carmen AbelaRichard BerksWho both passed their Level 6 qualification.Council were also delighted to confirm the FIAT status to Kieran McManamon.Kieran obtained his FIAT by thesis and was presented with his FIAT followingthe meeting.Higher EducationCouncil discussed how to attract students for the higher education courses.Branches had been asked to canvass their members for reasons why studentsstop studying at Level 3 or only progress to Level 4 or 5. Further feedback willbe sought and Council will discuss the issue further at the next meeting.Findings will also be shared with CLAST to help them in attracting futurestudents.The syllabi for all the IAT qualification levels are currently being reviewed andthe moderation system is being assessed.Council ElectionsEvery year one third of Council is required to step down. They can stand for re-election and new members can be nominated. Eight Council members willstand down at the AGM and six wish to re-stand. As there were no othernominations received by the closing date, there was no election and all sixhave been re-elected.

BulletinJanuary 2020• 9Animal Technology and Welfare (ATW)From 1st January 2020 the ATW will become Open Access. This means that itwill be free to view on-line and no hard copies will be produced. This willmake the journal more accessible, and will also encourage submissions andarticles from those institutions who will only allow publication in Open Accessjournals.Further details are available on the IAT website, and a new dedicated websitehas been set up for the ATW – www.atwjournal.comThe ATW will follow the 70th Anniversary theme throughout the year, with thefirst issue looking at Education and Training.Animal Welfare GroupIt was reported that the first Animal Technician Exchange had taken place atthe University of Dundee. A report on the exchange will appear in theBulletin. Further detail of the Exchange Programme can be found on the IATwebsite.Tech Month 2020Tech Month will take place during March 2020. Quizzes will be available on theIAT website, along with further details of how to get involved. A report onTech Month 2019 will be published in the Bulletin to highlight how Techs makea difference and what you can do to take part in Tech Month 2020.Branch RepsThere was a meeting of the Branch Reps prior to the Council meeting.There will not be a Branch Raffle at AST2020, as it is not an IAT event. Reps diddiscuss future Branch Raffles and agreed that from Congress 2021, thebeneficiary of the raffle proceeds should be AS-ET.There was also a suggestion that a group of mentors be set up for studentsundertaking IAT qualifications. Students who study by distance learning do nothave the camaraderie that learning in a group can provide. It was felt thathaving someone to talk to or ask advice from, would be beneficial. Communication could be by email or telephone or even Skype. Council thoughtthis was a very good idea and it will be followed up.

Bulletin10 •January 2020Registration and Accreditation BoardIt was reported that a new centre has applied for accreditation for a NACWOcourse. Members of the Board will attend to assess the centre in January.The NACWO course providers have been working with the Board to produce apre-course assessment which students will be required to complete prior toattending courses. Content of the course is also being developed to achieveconsistency.During the year, RAnTech interviews have taken place and the followingsuccessful candidates have joined the Register:Carl Wright Rachel Sandy Beka ArmstrongJoanne Bland Jane Cardwell Matthew CardwellFrancesca Flack Marie Hitcham Claire PearceMark Pritchard Luke Gurney Rosalind LaceyLouis Kitchenham Aleksandra Czerniak Lee WheelerKally Booth Jamie Kelly Hanna AkelFraser LaingCongratulations to all these new RAnTechs.The next Council meeting will be held in February 2020.

BulletinJanuary 2020• 13Chair writes…Dear Members,Happy New Year and welcome tothe IAT’s 70th anniversary year –the Chinese year of the Rat!In February we hold the 200thCouncil meeting and some majormilestones for Animals Techniciansto celebrate what we have beendoing for the last 70 years, lookingafter the animals in our care. In1950 the Animal TechniciansAssociation (ATA) was set up by asmall group of Technicians so wewould be recognised for the jobswe all do and the knowledge we have about the animals we lookafter. They set up qualifications for Animal Technicians so we could beacknowledged as trained Technologists.We have come a long way with our qualifications – which are now onthe Nationwide Ofqual framework and there is a wideracknowledgement of the value of NACWOs and RanTechs. The Councilrepresent Animal Technicians and Technologists at various externalorganisations, including the Science Council, The Home Office traininggroup, NC3Rs and FELASA working groups. We also collaborate withmany other bodies such as the RSPCA, UAR and EFAT. We have a lot tocelebrate and we hope that you will be able to join us in some ofthose celebrations this year.

Bulletin14 •January 2020The Communications Group will be promoting Technician Month againin March and of course, we also have the inaugural 3 day meeting ofIAT, LASA & LAVA in Edinburgh in March known as Animals in Scienceand Technology; AST2020.Another major change in 2020 will be that the Animal Welfare andTechnology (ATW) – The IAT Journal will become open access. Councilmade this decision as most societies and certainly all universities nowrequire this. It means the publication can reach a broader audience andhelps improve the quality of research through open, transparent andreproducible research practices while ensuring the quality of work thatAnimal Technicians produce can have a worldwide impact. So althoughyou will not be receiving a hardcopy ATW anymore, issues will be foundonline, so it is also much more environmentally friendly.We have exciting times ahead and we all have a lot to be proud of andwe need to remain as united, supporting each other so that the valuewe can add to animal research is appreciated. Your membership of theInstitute is as important today to animal welfare and to those lookingafter animals used in laboratory animal science, as it was to thosepioneering technicians 70 years ago.LLiinnddaa

BulletinJanuary 2020• 17NOTICE of IAT ANNUAL NOTICE of IAT ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2020GENERAL MEETING 2020The thirty-fourth Annual General Meeting of theInstitute of Animal Technology will be held at:AST2020 on Tuesday 24th March at 13.30 hrsAGENDA1. To consider the minutes of the thirty-third Annual General Meetingheld on Tuesday 9th April 2019 (as published in full on the Members’section of the IAT website and in abridged form in the Bulletin Vol. 55No 6).2. To receive and consider the Company’s annual accounts for the yearended 31st December 2019 together with the Annual Report and theAuditors’ Report.3. To appoint Auditors of the Institute.4. To review the Council’s objectives for 2019.5. To elect members of the Council who are proposed for re-election byrotation under the terms of the Articles of Association and any suchnew members to fill existing vacancies.6. To elect a President and Vice-Presidents for the ensuing year.7. To consider the election of Life and Honorary Members of theInstitute.8. Any other business.Dated: January 2020Linda Horan (CEO & Chair of Council)Simon Cumming (Honorary Secretary)THE AGM IS OPEN TO ALL DELEGATESVoting Rights are restricted to IAT voting members only

BulletinJanuary 2020• 21Clicker Training in Laboratory Rodentsby Karen DunfordHandling of mice has been a hot topic of late in Animal Technology,particularly concerning the use of tunnels. This simple refinement has provedto have an impressive positive impact on animal welfare. However, over thelast few years, another form of refinement has risen that focusses on handlingas well and that is clicker training. A trainer uses a clicker and a food reward to train a giant ratFrom one to another [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]Clicker training is a form of positive reinforcement, which involves rewardingan animal when it performs a desired task and is very common in dog training.This task could be moving to a particular area, or touching an object. With theaddition of a clicker, the animal would associate the sound with the task andthe following reward, much like Pavlov’s famous dogs that would salivatewhen a bell rang. Rewards can vary, such as interactions or playing but food ismost commonly used.

Bulletin22 •January 2020A dog being trained with a clickerElf at the English language Wikipedia [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)]

BulletinJanuary 2020• 23Clicker training is nothing new, as anyone with pets can attest to. It is aneffective way to train animals to do tricks and modify behaviour, as someanimal shelters have done to make pets more comfortable around people andimprove adoption rates. Zoos have successfully used this method to aid incleaning out pens as well. And now a lab in Germany (Translational ResearchCenter, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz) has adapted this commontechnique as a method to eliminate the need for handling animals during cagechanges.The lab has created protocols for both mice and rats to train them to associatea click sound with a reward. The reward is then provided for performing atask; this is done repeatedly over a number of weeks, with a new task added inonce the previous one is learned. The initial goal, done with mice, was to reduce stress during handling. Thetraining cumulated in the animal willingly climbing into the handler’s hand toreceive a reward. Whilst the animal here was not moved out of the cage, theoverarching goal was to reduce stress when being handled in future. Thesecondary goal of clicker training was done with rats and it involved trainingthe animals to voluntarily move across a bridge or through a tunnel into anew, clean cage without the need of an animal technician moving them byhand. The training itself is a lengthy and involved process. Over a period of days, theanimals are first trained to associate the sound of the clicker with a reward;the reward, using a preference test prior to training, was determined to bewhite chocolate. Once the animals associate the two, then a task is introduced.To begin with, a tunnel was introduced to both species in order to get them tomove through it. Once the animal shows any interest in the desired task, theclicker is sounded and the animal would come for the reward. This is donerepeatedly to then associate the task with both the sound and reward. This isalso repeated over a number of weeks until the animal shows clear associationbetween clicker and desired task, at which point the process is repeated with anew one. In the initial testing with mice, who were trained to touch a smallrubber tipped pointer, and eventually to follow it around the cage. Once thiswas accomplished, they were then trained to move into the handler’s hand.The rats were trained to enter into a tunnel and move into a new cage. Post training handling also showed that individuals from both species that hadbeen trained exhibited less stress related behaviours than those that had noprevious training. This was measured through urination, vocalisation anddefecation during basic manual handling as well as behaviour in a MorrisWater Maze test.

Bulletin24 •January 2020Various clickers that can be used in animal trainingTaken by Elf | Talk Sept 17 '04 [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)]

BulletinJanuary 2020• 25In the initial training, it was determined that clicker training is a form ofcognitive enrichment. This is enrichment that results in better performance ofcognitive tasks, such as mazes. There are multiple ways to provide cognitiveenrichment, including social enrichment, toys and other structural forms thatare common husbandry practice with mammals. Pigs have also shown positiveresponses to cognitive enrichment, and it has been used to train them to moveinto weigh scales, and lowers distress they experience during weighing. Rats have shown a high aptitude for clicker trainer and trained rats have beenshown to then pass on their training to other rats, teaching them to movebetween cages which negates the need to train all individuals. Some criticisms of this method, particularly from the authors of the paper, arethat some strains of mice and rats showed variation in success. Additionally,not all individuals responded to the training, although the majority did.Training requires minimisation of distraction and only one individual animalcan be trained at one time. The training is chronologically lengthy, although itonly requires approximately five minutes of training per day over a number ofweeks. In order to train a cage of five mice, the training would need to berepeated five times. Given the popularity and widespread adoption of tunnel handling, it may beworthwhile to investigate the potential of adopting this training method formice and rats. Welfare and the 3Rs are always at the forefront of animaltechnology and any advances in these should be considered and weighed. Watch the videos of the rats and the mice being trained: https://www.jove.com/video/55415/introducing-clicker-training-as-cognitive-enrichment-for-laboratoryhttps://www.jove.com/video/58511/using-clicker-training-social-observation-to-teach-rats-to

Bulletin26 •January 2020AS-ET News – January 2020The AS-ET Trustees would like to wish all readers of the IAT Bulletin best wishesfor 2020.This year is an important one for AS-ET as it marks the 10th Anniversary of thetrust. During our first ten years we have distributed over £140,000 in educationalbursaries and in addition to this we have given educational prizes, promotedcompetitions and sponsored meetings. None of this would be possible without thegenerosity of our corporate sponsors, official supporters, IAT Branches and otherswho raise money for us. During this year events celebrating our anniversary willbe held around the UK, so please keep an eye on the IAT Bulletin and emailswhich will give further details. Our tenth anniversary falls in the same year as theIAT 70th and we are holding a joint charity ball in London on 21st November. Wewould love to see you there.Over the years individuals and groups have made an outstanding contribution tothe work of AS-ET and the trustees have been pleased to appoint themAmbassadors of the Trust. Our current Ambassadors are Elaine Kirkum, DavidSpillane, Paul Sanders and the IAT West Middlesex Branch. At the end of 2019 weappointed two new Ambassadors, Allan Thornhill and the IAT North West Branch. Every year we sponsor prizes to the student in each of the three levels of thehigher education programme who have achieved the highest academic standardsthroughout their course. 2019 winners were:AS-ET / IAT West Middlesex Branch Prize for Level 4 – Kyle O’SullivanAS-ET / Tecniplast Prize for Level 5 – Lisa WrightJohn Walton Prize for Level 6 – Carmen AbelaPatron: Professor Lord Naren Patel KTChair of Trustees: Professor Sir Richard Gardner FIAT (Hon) FRSSecretary to the Trust: Ken Applebee OBE FIAT FRSBTrustees: Stephen Barnett MSc (Hon) FRSB, Jasmine Barley MSc FIAT,Karen J Gardner, Wendy Steel BSc (Hons) FIATRegistered Charity Number 113319Registered Office: 5 South Parade, Summertown, Oxford OX2 7JL

BulletinJanuary 2020• 27These prizes and certificates were presented at the IAT reception in December,except for Lisa Wright who was unable to attend. A certificate to KieranMcManamon from Cork University who was awarded Fellowship of the Institute ofAnimal Technology by thesis.AS-ET Higher Education Prizes"#$%&!'()*+,!%-./01(23!!4,(5+6!!!!!!!!!!!"#$%!&'()$$*+,-!.%/%*+*-0!1*2!3.*4%!5.67!8.65!(*.!9*/1,.:!;,.:-%.!< 9(!!=,.7%-! >?%$,!@*A1!(*.!9*/1,.: !;,.:-%.!7"&!8+992:6*(;!!"*%.,-!B / B,-, 76-!@ *A1!(*.!9*/1,.:!;,.:-%.!!!!!!"#$%&!'()*+,!%-./01(23!!4,(5+6!!!!!!!!!!!"#$%!&'()$$*+,-!.%/%*+*-0!1*2!3.*4%!5.67!8.65!(*.!9*/1,.:!;,.:-%.!<9(!!=,.7%-!>?%$,!@*A1!(*.!9*/1,.:!;,.:-%.!7"&!8+992:6*(;!!"*%.,-!B / B,-, 76-!@*A1!(*.!9*/1,.:! ;,.:-%.!!!!!!"#$%&!'()*+,!%-./01(23!!4,(5+6!!!!!!!!!!!"#$%!&'()$$*+,-!.%/%*+*-0!1*2!3.*4%!5.67!8.65!(*.!9*/1,.:!;,.:-%.!<9(!!=,.7%-!>?%$,!@*A1!(*.!9*/1,.:!;,.:-%.!7"&!8+992:6*(;!!"*%.,-!B / B,-, 76-!@*A1!(*.!9*/1,.:! ;,.:-%.!!!!!!Kyle O’Sullivan receiving his prizefrom Prof Sir Richard Gardner FRSCarmen Abela with Sir RichardGardnerKieran McManamon withSir Richard GardnerIAT Fellowship

Bulletin28 •January 2020AS-ET Ambassadors>(CDE !>7?,22,:6.2!!>$$,-!E16.-1*$$!!!(*.!9*/1,.:! ;,.:-%.!3.%2%-A*-0!F>E!G6.A1!H %2A!I.,-/1!,7?,22,:6.2!/%.A*5*/,A%!A6!G*/J#!H *-:6 @2K!!!>(CDE !>7?,22,:6.2!!>$$,-!E16.-1*$$!!!(*.!9*/1,.:!;,.:- %.!3.%2%-A*-0!F>E!G6.A1!H%2A!I.,-/1!,7?,22,:6.2!/%.A*5*/,A%!A6!G*/J#!H*-:6@2K!!!Sir Richard Gardner presentingIAT North West Branchambassadors certificate toNicky Windows Allan Thornhill

BulletinJanuary 2020• 29AS-ET is a charity to advance education and promote excellence in the careand welfare of animals used in science. Sponsors of AS-ET are listed below and to find out more please visit thewebsite www.as-et.org.ukAS-ET is a charity set up to advance education and promote excellence inthe care and welfare of animals used in science.To see how you can apply for a bursary visit our website (www.as-et.org.uk)The companies listed below sponsor AS-ET. If you would like to join themfind out how to support us by looking at our website.BulletinMay 2014• 15AS-ET is a charity set up to advance education and promote excellence inthe care and welfare of animals used in science.To see how you can apply for a bursary visit our website (www.as-et.org.uk)The companies listed below sponsor AS-ET. If you would like to join themfind out how to support us by looking at our website.BulletinMay 2014• 15AS-ET is a charity set up to advance education and promote excellence inthe care and welfare of animals used in science.To see how you can apply for a bursary visit our website (www.as-et.org.uk)The companies listed below sponsor AS-ET. If you would like to join themfind out how to support us by looking at our website.BulletinMay 2014• 15AS-ET is a charity set up to advance education and promote excellence inthe care and welfare of animals used in science.To see how you can apply for a bursary visit our website (www.as-et.org.uk)The companies listed below sponsor AS-ET. If you would like to join themfind out how to support us by looking at our website.BulletinMay 2014• 15AS-ET is a charity set up to advance education and promote excellence inthe care and welfare of animals used in science.To see how you can apply for a bursary visit our website (www.as-et.org.uk)The companies listed below sponsor AS-ET. If you would like to join themfind out how to support us by looking at our website.BulletinMay 2014• 15AS-ET is a charity set up to advance education and promote excellence inthe care and welfare of animals used in science.To see how you can apply for a bursary visit our website (www.as-et.org.uk)The companies listed below sponsor AS-ET. If you would like to join themfind out how to support us by looking at our website.BulletinMay 2014• 15AS-ET is a charity set up to advance education and promote excellence inthe care and welfare of animals used in science.To see how you can apply for a bursary visit our website (www.as-et.org.uk)The companies listed below sponsor AS-ET. If you would like to join themfind out how to support us by looking at our website.BulletinMay 2014• 15AS-ET is a charity set up to advance education and promote excellence inthe care and welfare of animals used in science.To see how you can apply for a bursary visit our website (www.as-et.org.uk)The companies listed below sponsor AS-ET. If you would like to join themfind out how to support us by looking at our website.BulletinMay 2014• 15AS-ET is a charity set up to advance education and promote excellence inthe care and welfare of animals used in science.To see how you can apply for a bursary visit our website (www.as-et.org.uk)The companies listed below sponsor AS-ET. If you would like to join themfind out how to support us by looking at our website.BulletinMay 2014• 15AS-ET is a charity set up to advance education and promote excellence inthe care and welfare of animals used in science.To see how you can apply for a bursary visit our website (www.as-et.org.uk)The companies listed below sponsor AS-ET. If you would like to join themfind out how to support us by looking at our website.BulletinMay 2014• 15

BulletinJanuary 2020• 33Cambridge IAT Autumn Symposium November 2019Title: The 3Rs are History, the 5Rs are our FutureOn the 13th November, Cancer Research UK on the Cambridge BiomedicalCampus, very generously opened its doors to host the Cambridge branch IATAutumn Symposium. As you know, this event is usually co-organised with ourHNS colleagues, but due to the nightmare that are the ongoing A14roadworks, we recognised that few were likely to travel from the Huntingdonarea into Cambridge…and so we went it alone, but hope to reconvene againin the future.We were delighted to receive tangible support from several stalwart IATsupporting companies from our industry, and we thank the following (inalphabetical order) – Castium, Datesand, Envigo, IPS, LMB, and Tecniplast,without whom this event could not have gone ahead.The title The 3Rs are History, the 5Rs are our Future reflected our desire toencourage discussion about Robustness (of research) and Reproducibility (ofthat research), and that by promoting these new Rs, we would collectivelybecome more Responsible – so is that a 6th R perhaps? We were delighted to offer a wide ranging programme for our Symposium,and commenced with Rue Green with her excellent presentation entitledAfrican Clawed Frog Xenopus laevis – Diseases and Clinical Signs: this iscentred on a poster comprising clear photos of clinical signs of diseases withconcise written descriptions, to help Animal Technologists identify problems atthe earliest stage possible and so take prompt remedial action to minimisedisease outbreaks, prevent pain and lasting harm and ultimately save froglives. The poster should be laminated and displayed prominently on the wall of thefrog holding room, for instant reference purposes.Rue talked us through the many disease conditions that frogs could potentiallysuffer from and explained it can be difficult to identify the cause of conditionsseen. Rue started with the disease that most people will associate with frogs, thatbeing ‘Red Leg’, explaining this is a secondary infection and stress is a primarycause. We heard about common and rare conditions seen including

Bulletin34 •January 2020African Clawed Frog Xenopus laevis talk

BulletinJanuary 2020• 35Diseases of XenopusRue Green

Bulletin36 •January 2020Hyperstimulation Syndrome (of the ovaries) – a rarely seen condition (aftersuper-ovulation) and the importance of not putting items close to frogs as theywill eat everything, as seen by the closed cable-tie found in the gut of onefrog!Rue talked us through a particularly memorable and damp experience onChristmas Day when she discovered Gas Bubble Disease was occuring: the causewas a hairline crack in the pump pushing system water though the tanks andfilters so the water was super-saturated with air (argon & nitrogen), and thefrogs had ‘The Bends’ as human divers can get.Rue is very keen to promote the poster as a valuable resource tool to frogcolonies across the UK and abroad and by doing so, open-up lines ofcommunication so this niche community can establish and expand existing usergroups for the purposes of networking and sharing best practice.Our second speaker Chris Brown, is the manager of the University ofCambridge MIRA Building: Chris’s presentation was entitled ‘DVC – Can ithave a Positive Impact on Animal Welfare?’Ammonia testing in DVCs

BulletinJanuary 2020• 37Chris gave us a thorough overview of this cage type which enables the user toclosely monitor various parameters, including movement and moisture levels atthe rate of 4 readings per second, which results in vast quantities of data to beinterrogated (10GB per rack).The main issue for Chris was getting the rack configured and operational.Security fire-walls caused a lot of angst as the DVC cage must be able to senddata to the Tecniplast cloud and Chris spent a lot of time and energy talkingwith the University IT Dept to arrive at a solution. Thankfully an in-house ITexpert took the project on and helped ensure the DVC rack was renderedoperational! Overall it took 18 months to get the rack ready for use.The rack can be used for real-time census tasks such as activity monitoring andleak detection, although the latter requires an expensive electromagneticplate, but Chris was using the rack to determine the optimum time to changecages, with the aim of only cleaning out mice when they needed it, on a cage-by-cage basis and not just changed routinely regardless of the number of cageinhabitants or degree of soiling etc.Chris explained you must teach the machine to know when a cage base needsto be changed, the ensuing discussions revealed every person had a differentview of what is an acceptable degree of soiling, but preference testing showedthe mice really don’t want the base to be changed! All key parties wereinvolved – the HOI, NVS, NACWO, researchers and Animal Technologists…TheHome Office Inspector encouraged the extended cage change periods: whenenabled cages of 5 mice could be left for 21 days and cages of 2 mice left for49+ days!BenefitsHappy mice – not needlessly disturbed and stressed by being placed into sterilecage baseSignificant savings – in technician time, bedding materials and waste produced More time available – Animal Technologists now have much more timeavailable to spend with the animals, handling and performing tasks such asprocedural activities and training. A new study to compare bedding types is due to start soon – the aim being toidentify the optimum bedding material to use for maximising extended cagestay periods in IVC caging.The bio-burden will be monitored by Charles River, once a suitable test hasbeen identified.

Bulletin38 •January 2020Conclusions: the DVC cageReduces the frequency of cage changesExcellent tool to train new technicians – soiled cage-bases are good, cleanbases are bad!Frees-up a vast amount of time!Result!A short comfort break followed and then our third speaker Judit Espana-Agusta presented her work entitled Evaluation of DVC Technology inRelation to Tumour Growth as an Indicator of Disease Progression.Astra-Zeneca were keen to evaluate applications of automated recording oflaboratory animal movement using the DVC cage, which captures data on a24/7 basis.Tracking animal movement

BulletinJanuary 2020• 39The questions asked were:Does tumour growth impact animal movement levelsCould the DVC cage help monitor disease progressionCould the DVC cage monitor improvements (after medication say)Could the DVC cage monitor deterioration.Would the DVC cage affect mouse wellbeing with clean-out intervals extendedto once in 3 weeks, with less handling and impactful on the microbiome?Extensive experiments using the laboratory standard Greenline IVC cage andthe DVC cage determined that there was no difference between the cagetypes, and so the DVC cage could be used for tumour growth studies.Slide from Judit Espana-AgustaAssessment of movement was possible with the DVC cage across a 24 hourperiod, but the mice became very active at 7pm when the room lights wereextinguished.An orthotopic model of pancreatic tumour was established via iv injection intothe tail of the pancreas after surgical incision; the question asked was, doessurgery affect animal movement?

Bulletin40 •January 2020Manual palpation was used to monitor development of the tumour along withclinical signs and welfare scoring sheets, to ensure humane endpoints weredetermined.Surgery did impact activity levels post-surgery and quantified recordinginformation was obtained.Cage bedding change-time resulted in a big spike of activity, the mice werevery active after a cage change. Mice in neighbouring cages were also affectedtoo, even though they had not undergone a cage change.Conclusion: Cage change is hugely impactful and must be factored into studydesign.In the futureAnimal handling refinement project: Tail grip vs tube vs cupping etc – identify the best method by monitoringmouse movements before, during and after the handling procedure employed.We look forward to hearing moreabout this interesting project, whichhas potential for huge welfareimprovements for millions of mice,throughout their lives.Our Key-Note speaker was Dr AlRussell, who is Head of theGenome Editing Facility at CRUK,and is passionate about innovationand the application of CRISPR tools.His talk was entitled The Use ofCRISPR Technology – ReducingMouse Numbers and was soabsolutely right on the cutting-edge,it hurt!Al briefly reprised his talk at lastyears’ symposium when he explainedin wonderfully clear terms, CRISPRtechnology. Al is a gifted speaker andhas a knack of making complexthings seem straightforward! Hespoke about the magnitude ofSlide from keynote speaker

BulletinJanuary 2020• 41information contained in the DNA ofevery cell: One person’s DNA, if in linear form,would stretch from the earth toPluto!Al spoke about the convergence ofartificial intelligence, computing andgene therapy and how this comingtogether bought us to the point thatCRISPR-Cas9 technologies enable there-engineering of DNA and henceCRISPR therapy, an example beingfor Muscular Dystrophy with 80%efficacy. CRISPR was likened to being a GPSsystem, while CAS9 is like a pair ofvery accurate and programmablescissors.‘Mice without Breeding’ is anintriguing title for a slide and Alwent on to tell us about how we canedit genes: we are all aware ofKnock-Out (KO) with 100%efficiency & Knock-In (KI) with verylow efficiency rates.DNA repair isn’t random and Al explained Microhomology and how AI (ai notAl!) allows prediction of editing outcomes – in advance! A normal GA mouse breeding facility comprises about 80% stock strains ofmice, used to generate gametes in order to create GA mice and recipientfemale mice for manipulated embryos, stud and vasectomised males and agreat deal of breeding of GA strains to get mice with the genetics required forthe study.The time taken to breed mice with the correct genetics can take 3 years andcost £150k per strain: Al wanted to explore the generation of experimentalmice without breeding, but that wasn’t doable due to Mosaicism, which resultsin different gene edits within a mouse.

Bulletin42 •January 2020Al Russellexplainsgenome editing

BulletinJanuary 2020• 43The process: CRISPR at 1-cell stage, but continued in 2-cell stage, 4 & 8 cellstages and beyond, resulting in several edits in one mouse: you then breed thecolony to homozygous status to arrive at the mouse required – which takes ayear.Aim: Get rid of Mosaicism!Can be done: but you get a very few non-mosaic mice and lots of unusablethough…what’s wanted is the opposite with the majority usable and a few not– a 3Rs Reduction.Currently Al has created 38 mice, all 100% KO, the same in every cell in theirbodies, in just 3 weeks!SummaryPaper due to be published imminently.Same edit in all germ cell layers – no mosaicism.Germline transmission achieved. 170 mice ‘saved’ from the previously ‘normal’ generation procedureThe standard one-year period to breed the mice required, reduced to just 3weeks.The potential to both significantly reduce the number of mice used and thetimescale and costs involved is quite phenomenal, and the audience receivedthis information with great positivity, and wait to have an update at theAutumn Symposium 2020, if Al is willing.A randomised raffle was drawn and lucky Lauren won a £25 gift card.Each attendee at the Symposium had a raffle ticket in their name added to atombola, from which will be drawn a winning ticket at our Summer Quizevent. Attendance at our events between now and then, gives the branchmember additional entry/entries into the draw, thus increasing their chances ofwinning the prize being: 2 tickets for the AS-ET Ball, overnight hotelaccommodation and train travel for two!The meeting closed after thanks to the speakers and the sponsors and CRUKfor being such generous hosts.The audience retired to the cafeteria for a most welcome hot meal and lots ofdiscussion about what they had just heard – and whether Animal Technicianswere going to be needed in the future! Discuss…Reporter: Theresa Langford

BulletinJanuary 2020• 45Following the retirement of Dr Robert Hubrecht atthe end of 2019, The Universities Federation forAnimal Welfare (UFAW) is delighted to announce ithas appointed Dr Huw Golledge BSc PhD as the newChief Executive of both UFAW and its sister charity,the Humane Slaughter Association (HSA). Huw has been a member of the senior management team at UFAW andthe HSA since September 2014 when he joined as the Senior ScientificProgramme Manager, a role in which he has helped to develop theresearch and educational activities of the charities as well as working onthe general management of both organisations. His background is inneuroscience and before joining UFAW and the HSA he was a SeniorResearch Associate at Newcastle University working onneurophysiological and behavioural methods to assess and improve thewelfare of laboratory animals. He is interested in the application ofrigorous scientific investigation to advance our understanding andultimately to improve the welfare of animals.Chair of UFAW’s Council Alick Simmons said: “The Council of Trusteesand I are delighted with the appointment of Dr Huw Golledge as ChiefExecutive of UFAW. Huw has been a great asset to the organisation and Ilook forward to working with him in his new role. We are confident hewill rise to the challenge.” Huw said: “Both UFAW and the HSA have a long and proud tradition ofworking to improve our knowledge and understanding of animals andtheir needs through scientific research, education and training. I considerit a privilege to lead the charities as they enter a new decade of pushingthe boundaries of our knowledge to benefit animal welfare. I also lookforward to helping both charities disseminate the findings of theresearch we fund, and animal welfare science more generally toeveryone who can use this information to improve animal welfare, fromgovernments and regulators to animal caretakers and the generalpublic.”Huw will officially take up his new role with effect from the 1st ofJanuary 2020. Dispatches…

BulletinJanuary 2020• 47DIARY Dates21-22 January NACWO WorkshopNewcastleDetails: info@learningcurvedevelopment.co.uk29 January Train the TrainerCambridgeDetails:https://www.ubs.admin.cam.ac.uk/training-centre/cpd-courses/train-trainer-course25 FebruaryNominated Assessors CourseCambridgeDetails:https://www.ubs.admin.cam.ac.uk/training-centre/cpd-courses/nominated-assessors-course25-27 February Nominated Assessors CourseCambridgeDetails:https://www.ubs.admin.cam.ac.uk/training-centre/cpd-courses/nominated-assessors-course26 FebruaryThe Surrey Hampshire andSussex Branch AGMSouth of EnglandDetails:Fran.Whitmore@pirbright.ac.uk23 MarchRSPCA meeting: Focus on Fish EdinburghDetails:https://science.rspca.org.uk/sciencegroup/researchanimals/meetings24-26 March AST 2020EdinburghDetails: https://www.ast2020.orgFront cover: Stick insect Photo: Paul Barwood