Review
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Svea Jorgensen, Johan Lindsjo, Elin M. Weber, Helena Rocklinsberg
Summary: The study analyzed the ethical review process in Sweden, revealing issues with how harm-benefit analysis was conducted, the 3Rs, humane end-points, severity assessment, and suffering limits. Discrepancies were found between application requirements and legal demands, indicating a lack of transparency in the review process. Recommendations for improvements were provided to ensure compliance with legal requirements and animal welfare.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Lara Andreoli, Ronald Vlasblom, Rinske Drost, Franck L. B. Meijboom, Daniela Salvatori
Summary: In February 2022, the first university course called the Replacing Animal Testing (RAT) Challenge was organized by a group of Dutch universities to engage future generations in finding alternatives to animal testing. This study aimed to explore the beliefs, values, and motivations of the students participating in the course. The findings revealed that the students shared the ethical and scientific values that support the transition to animal-free innovations.
Review
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Patricia V. Turner, Kathryn Bayne
Summary: Continued evolution of research animal care is crucial for upholding the principles of replacement, reduction, and refinement. Animals' feelings are fundamental to their behavior and welfare, and an updated behavioral management program that considers their needs and desired outcomes is proposed. This approach not only enhances animal welfare but also improves the scientific quality of research. The expansion of these programs to include all research species is necessary to reduce stress, encourage natural behaviors, and generate reliable scientific data. An umbrella-based model for research animal behavioral management programs is described, along with the importance of regular welfare assessments to ensure the program's effectiveness and identify areas for improvement.
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Carly I. O'Malley, Raina Hubley, Halimatou Tambadou, Patricia V. Turner
Summary: This study aimed to refine restraint techniques for research pigs using habituation and operant conditioning and found that training pigs with habituation and operant conditioning techniques can reduce stress and improve human-animal relationships during research procedures.
FRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
(2022)
Review
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Elisa Codecasa, Patrick Pageat, Miriam Marcet-Rius, Alessandro Cozzi
Summary: This paper examines the European system regulating laboratory animal welfare and discusses the importance and functions of animal welfare bodies in research programs. Efforts in recent years have been aimed at improving the welfare of laboratory animals, with a focus on making science more humane and responsible. The review provides insight into legal measures protecting research animals and emphasizes the benefits of animal training and environmental enrichment programs in enhancing both animal welfare and research quality.
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Stefan Kleinert, Peter Bartz-Bazzanella, Cay von der Decken, Johannes Knitza, Torsten Witte, Sandor P. Fekete, Matthias Konitzny, Alexander Zink, Georg Gauler, Patrick Wurth, Peer Aries, Kirsten Karberg, Christoph Kuhn, Florian Schuch, Susanna Spaethling-Mestekemper, Wolfgang Vorbrueggen, Matthias Englbrecht, Martin Welcker
Summary: Real-world data, provided by the German RHADAR registry, play a crucial role in improving the management of patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. The digital modules in the registry facilitate personalized patient care and continuous improvement, ultimately enabling comprehensive and timely patient management along the entire disease pathway.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL INTERNET RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Ester Perez-Martin, Almudena Coto-Vilcapoma, Juan Castilla-Silgado, Maria Rodriguez-Canon, Catuxa Prado, Gabriel Alvarez, Marco Antonio Alvarez-Vega, Benjamin Fernandez-Garcia, Manuel Menendez-Gonzalez, Cristina Tomas-Zapico
Summary: Stereotaxic surgeries are important for drug delivery to specific brain regions, but their long-term use poses challenges for animal welfare. This study proposes an optimized method for safe implantation of intrathecal devices, focusing on preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative procedures. The refinements include modifications to device dimensions, the use of cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive and UV light-curing resin, and the development of a welfare assessment scoresheet. These refinements positively impacted animal welfare and can enhance experimental data quality and reproducibility.
Review
Veterinary Sciences
Monique Ribeiro de Lima, Daiani Cotrim de Paiva Campbell, Mariana Rietmann da Cunha-Madeira, Barbara Cristina Marcollino Bomfim, Jackline de Paula Ayres-Silva
Summary: Research on the effects of radiation exposure expanded significantly after World War II, with scientists conducting experiments on animals to understand more about radiation. To ensure the well-being of animals in research, scientists developed scoring systems to assess their condition. Implementing common rules is important for accurate research and collaboration among scientists.
VETERINARY SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Microbiology
Megan S. Hill, Jack A. Gilbert
Summary: Research over the past decade has shown that microbial communities in built environments have a significant impact on human health. It is known that the further humans are from natural environments, the higher the risk for autoimmune and allergic diseases, and indoor spaces can promote antimicrobial resistance and pathogenicity. However, there has been limited research on non-human animal structures, which requires further investigation.
MICROBIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Jane Johnson
Summary: This paper discusses the possibility of applying human research ethics concepts to animal research, focusing on participant dissent. It explores the options available to researchers and the consequences of taking animal dissent seriously.
Editorial Material
Biochemical Research Methods
Julian Matschinske, Nicolas Alcaraz, Arriel Benis, Martin Golebiewski, Dominik G. Grimm, Lukas Heumos, Tim Kacprowski, Olga Lazareva, Markus List, Zakaria Louadi, Josch K. Pauling, Nico Pfeifer, Richard Roettger, Veit Schwaemmle, Gregor Sturm, Alberto Traverso, Kristel Van Steen, Martiela Vaz de Freitas, Gerda Cristal Villalba Silva, Leonard Wee, Nina K. Wenke, Massimiliano Zanin, Olga Zolotareva, Jan Baumbach, David B. Blumenthal
Summary: The AIMe registry is a community-driven reporting platform for AI in biomedicine, aiming to improve the accessibility, reproducibility, and usability of biomedical AI models, and allowing future revisions by the community.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Chuang Yu, Bo Pan, Zhiqiang Wang, Dehong Chen, Xiaowei Zhang, Wensheng Yang, Dongwei Zhang, Wenli Lu
Summary: This paper studies the purification of lanthanum using zone-refining technology. The equilibrium distribution coefficient of impurities is calculated using a liquidus slope method, and the concentration distribution of impurities, specifically Fe and Si, is analyzed based on the SPIM model. The calculated results based on SPIM are in good agreement with experimental results. Furthermore, the influence of zone-refining rate and number of passes on the purification of lanthanum is investigated, and it is found that under certain conditions, the content of Fe and Si impurities can be reduced to extremely low levels.
Article
Oncology
Hanna Huebner, Matthias Ruebner, Christian Kurbacher, Peyman Hadji, Andreas D. Hartkopf, Michael P. Lux, Jens Huober, Sabrina Uhrig, Florin-Andrei Taran, Friedrich Overkamp, Hans Tesch, Lothar Haeberle, Diana Lueftner, Markus Wallwiener, Volkmar Mueller, Matthias W. Beckmann, Alexander Hein, Erik Belleville, Michael Untch, Wolfgang Janni, Tanja N. Fehm, Hans-Christian Kolberg, Diethelm Wallwiener, Sara Y. Brucker, Andreas Schneeweiss, Johannes Ettl, Peter A. Fasching, Laura L. Michel
Summary: The PRAEGNANT study is a registry study that analyzed genetic alterations in 37 breast cancer predisposition genes for 396 metastatic breast cancer patients. The study aimed to return genetic results to physicians and evaluate the impact on treatment decisions and patients' quality of life. Evaluation of the study scored 7 out of 10.
BREAST CANCER RESEARCH AND TREATMENT
(2023)
Review
Metallurgy & Metallurgical Engineering
Guoxing Qiu, Hongzhao Zhang, Peng Gao, Rongxiang Li, Gongliang Wang, Lei Cao
Summary: This study reviews the research progress on desulfurization of refining slag in the ladle furnace (LF) process, including aspects such as chemical composition, desulfurization theories, the effects of operating parameters and slag components, as well as prediction models of slag properties related to desulfurization.
STEEL RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Andrea Miguel-Batuecas, Manuel Fuertes-Recuero, David Diaz-Reganon, Gustavo Ortiz-Diez, Luis Revuelta, Juan A. De Pablo-Moreno
Summary: Animal research has been widely used for various purposes, but it has also been controversial. We conducted a survey in Spain to explore people's opinions on animal research and found that the majority were in favor, but certain factors such as media reports, gender, and education level influenced their opinions. We also found a lack of knowledge about animal welfare and a growing opposition to non-biomedical use of animals.
Article
Reproductive Biology
Philip Marx-Stoelting, Marize de L. M. Solano, Hiroaki Aoyama, Ralf H. Adams, Anna Bal-Price, Jochen Buschmann, Ibrahim Chahoud, Ruth Clark, Tian Fang, Michio Fujiwara, Michael Gelinsky, Konstanze Grote, Masao Horimoto, Susanne Hougaard Bennekou, Rupert Kellner, Makiko Kuwagata, Marcel Leist, Annemarie Lang, Weihua Li, Alberto Mantovani, Susan L. Makris, Francisco Paumgartten, Monique Perron, Magdalini Sachana, Anne Schmitt, Steffen Schneider, Gilbert Schoenfelder, Frank Schulze, Kohei Shiota, Roland Solecki
Summary: The 10th Berlin Workshop aimed to discuss scientific, methodologic and regulatory aspects in risk assessment of developmental toxicity and to debate alternative strategies in testing developmental effects in the future. Recommendations for improvement of categorization, database update, and development of adverse outcome pathways related to DNT were discussed. Collaboration with the medical community was suggested to enhance relevance of test results to humans and accelerate the development of new technologies for identifying developmental health risks.
REPRODUCTIVE TOXICOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Marja Kornhuber, Sebastian Dunst, Gilbert Schoenfelder, Michael Oelgeschlaeger
Summary: This study introduces a novel high-throughput screening-compatible assay, E-Morph Assay, that accurately predicts the estrogenic potential of environmental chemicals by quantifying changes in the cell contact morphology of human breast cancer cells. The assay classifies substances into four main categories of estrogenic activity based on a classification model developed using reference substances.
ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Review
Neurosciences
Nils Ohnesorge, Celine Heinl, Lars Lewejohann
Summary: Pain is a challenging negative emotion to manage, and recent research has shown the potential for studying nociception and pain in fish models. The zebrafish, already well-established in various research areas, presents a powerful tool for pain research with the combination of different methodologies. Observing complex behavior and neuronal activity in zebrafish larvae offers new opportunities for studying pain.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Philipp Schwedhelm, Johanna Kusnick, Celine Heinl, Gilbert Schonfelder, Bettina Bert
Article
Environmental Sciences
Saskia Klutzny, Marja Kornhuber, Andrea Morger, Gilbert Schoenfelder, Andrea Volkamer, Michael Oelgeschlaeger, Sebastian Dunst
Summary: This study successfully identified substances with potential estrogenic activities through the further development and application of the E-Morph assay, and evaluated and analyzed the results using computational methods and models. The combination of in vitro HTS approaches with in silico methods proved to be effective in prioritizing substances for subsequent testing against higher tier human endpoints.
ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Review
Developmental Biology
Mirjam Niethammer, Tanja Burgdorf, Elisa Wistorf, Gilbert Schoenfelder, Mandy Kleinsorge
Summary: This article discusses the application of in vitro models in developmental toxicity testing, questioning the relevance of adverse reactions in animals to humans. It also points out that the currently developed cell culture-based models of embryo-fetal development lack sufficient levels of standardization and reproducibility.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kai Diederich, Kathrin Schmitt, Philipp Schwedhelm, Bettina Bert, Celine Heinl
Summary: This article highlights the importance of open science practices in translational biomedical research and provides practical methods that can be implemented throughout the research process. These methods contribute to improving the transparency and quality of research, as well as increasing the audience and scientific reach of published work.
Review
Veterinary Sciences
Paul Mieske, Ute Hobbiesiefken, Carola Fischer-Tenhagen, Celine Heinl, Katharina Hohlbaum, Pia Kahnau, Jennifer Meier, Jenny Wilzopolski, Daniel Butzke, Juliane Rudeck, Lars Lewejohann, Kai Diederich
Summary: Boredom refers to an emotional state where an individual has nothing to do, is not interested in the surrounding, and feels dreary and monotony. This state can have detrimental effects on the mental and physical health of laboratory animals. Providing enrichment in the environment has been recognized as a crucial solution to improve their welfare.
FRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Mathematical & Computational Biology
Mariana Neves, Antonina Klippert, Fanny Knoespel, Juliane Rudeck, Ailine Stolz, Zsofia Ban, Markus Becker, Kai Diederich, Barbara Grune, Pia Kahnau, Nils Ohnesorge, Johannes Pucher, Gilbert Schoenfelder, Bettina Bert, Daniel Butzke
Summary: Current animal protection laws require replacement of animal experiments with alternative methods, which can be time-consuming and require careful screening of biomedical publications. In this study, the GoldHamster corpus was developed and annotated to identify experimental models. Machine learning experiments using the corpus demonstrated high agreement and reliable predictive models for classifying biomedical literature. The corpus and classifier will support the retrieval of alternative methods to animal experiments.
JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL SEMANTICS
(2023)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Julia Scheinpflug, Chris Tina Hoefer, Sarah S. S. Schmerbeck, Matthias Steinfath, Jennifer Doka, Yonatan Afework Tesfahunegn, Norman Violet, Kostja Renko, Konrad Gulich, Thilo John, Marlon R. R. Schneider, Elisa Wistorf, Gilbert Schoenfelder, Frank Schulze
Summary: Continuous remodelling of human bone depends on physicochemical parameters and mechanical load. A microphysiological system (MPS) was developed for precise control of these parameters and investigation of bone formation. Primary human osteoblasts were cultured in the MPS, allowing monitoring of cell viability, metabolism, and extracellular matrix mineralization. The MPS provides valuable insights into bone biology and (patho-)physiological processes.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Celine Heinl, Anna M. D. Scholman-Vegh, David Mellor, Gilbert Schoenfelder, Daniel Strech, Steven Chamuleau, Bettina Bert
Summary: Preregistration is an effective tool in clinical research to improve research quality and reporting. In preclinical research, preregistration can facilitate the translation of research results into clinical breakthroughs. However, the implementation of preregistration in animal research is slow. Despite this, research institutions, funders, and publishers are recognizing the value of preregistration and paving the way for its broader acceptance in the future.
Article
Food Science & Technology
T. Tralau, M. Oelgeschlager, J. Kugler, D. Bloch, A. Braeuning, T. Burgdorf, P. Marx-Stoelting, V Ritz, S. Schmeisser, A. Trubiroha, S. Zellmer, A. Luch, G. Schoenfelder, R. Solecki, A. Hensel
Summary: Current legislation mainly focuses on the toxicological evaluation of single substances, lacking measures for the regulation of chemical mixtures. Researchers propose a proactive approach using the exposome concept and large-scale hazard screens to identify chemicals in mixtures and predict potential health risks. They suggest generating co-exposure patterns for specific consumer groups to assess the risk of identified mixtures, especially those from food, medicine, and cleaning products.