玩具对小鼠生长发育及繁殖性能的影响

目的：探讨玩具对实验小鼠生长发育及繁殖性能的影响。方法选取7-8周龄ICR小鼠,在生产过程中加入玩具进行干预,观测其对小鼠生长发育及繁殖性能方面指标的影响。结果除产仔数外,实验组各项繁殖性能指标均优于对照组,且差异显著（ P ＜0.05）。并且随干预时间延长,差异的显著性有进一步增加的趋势。实验组小鼠的生长发育水平相比于对照组有明显变化,且表现出有随干预时间延长而产生差异的趋势,但目前尚无统计意义（ P ＞0.05）。结论玩具对ICR小鼠的生长发育及繁殖性能有一定程度的积极影响,在小鼠的生产和饲育过程中值得借鉴。     

沙漠石蜂的筑巢材料和蜂巢结构

沙漠石蜂Megachile(Chalicodoma) desertorum Morawitz为多种植物的传粉昆虫,在西鄂尔多斯地区是多种濒危植物和荒漠建群植物的重要传粉者。在该地区研究沙漠石蜂的筑巢场所、筑巢材料和蜂巢结构。共调查统计5148个蜂巢的筑巢场所和朝向;选择4个土壤表层成分不同的筑巢地,分别测定其筑巢沙土的机械组成、pH值和土壤紧实度;定点连续观察整个筑巢过程。结果表明:沙漠石蜂95.80%的巢建于岩石表面;土墙、灌木枝条、水泥柱及钢窗框上的巢室数均较少。83.1%的巢室建在东向一面;南向14.2%,西向2.4%,北向仅0.3%;筑巢材料为沙土和唾液制成的泥浆,所用沙土的pH值在8.18～9.34之间、紧实度在1.28～1.84g/cm3之间,其中粒径为0.06～0.15mm的沙土比例最高;1个蜂巢一般由4～10个巢室组成。说明该蜂喜欢将巢室建在朝向东方的岩石表面;筑巢材料主要由唾液和以碱性的粒径为0.06～0.15mm左右的沙土构成。也说明是对干旱炎热的荒漠环境的适应。     

实验动物的环境与福利

实验动物在生物科学研究领域中的应用不断发展,其饲养环境和福利保障的问题已越来越被国际所关注。实验动物的环境与福利不仅是对动物本身的保护,更重要的是对动物试验结果的保证。本文详细论述了大环境（温度、湿度、气流等方面）及小环境（笼具、饲养密度、垫料）对实验动物福利的影响,通过总结国内外的研究概况,旨为我国改善和提高实验动物的福利提出一些思路。     

不同等级环境对大、小鼠及其应用的影响

目的了解不同等级环境（屏障环境和普通环境）对实验大小鼠的一般生理表现和抗应激能力以及对药物反应的影响,初步判定严格的微生物控制是否影响实验动物的人类模型作用。方法将40只SPF级Wistar大鼠和200只SPF级BALB／c小鼠分别饲养于屏障环境和普通环境内,通过以下实验对比观察不同等级环境对实验大、小鼠及其应用的影响：每周测量动物的体重增长情况;饲养35d后,测定大鼠15项血液学指标、14项血液生化指标和9个脏器的相对重量;以抗缺氧实验和游泳实验判断对小鼠体质和抗应激能力的影响;以5．氟尿嘧啶急性毒性实验和戊巴比妥钠麻醉实验测试其对药物作用的异同。结果在5周观察期内,屏障环境饲养小鼠和大鼠的体重增长均明显快于普通环境的对照动物（P〈0．05）;普通环境饲养大鼠的血液RBC、WBC、PCT、PLT、GOT、GGT、GPT、CK、TB值高于屏障环境大鼠（P〈0．05）,而CHO、LDL-C和HDL-C值低于屏障环境大鼠（P〈0．05）;不同微生物环境条件饲养小鼠的游泳耐力和抗缺氧实验结果接近,但是屏障环境组动物所获数据的变异较小;不同等级环境条件饲养小鼠的戊巴比妥钠麻醉反应和5-氟尿嘧啶中毒反应相似,而屏障环境组动物的麻醉维持时间较短,LD50较低,95％可信限狭窄。结论饲养于屏障环境和普通环境的实验大、小鼠在一般生理表现上出现部分差异,动物的抗应激能力和对药物的反应未发生显著变化;在屏障环境条件中,动物的药物反应更敏感、所获数据更稳定,因此,初步认为严格微生物控制条件下的SPF级动物可以作为生活在自然环境中的人类的模型动物。     

动物福利在研究生实验动物学教学中的应用初探

在医学研究中,实验动物具有不可替代的地位和作用,越来越多的人开始关心动物福利。各医学院校是培养未来科研工作者的机构,实验动物在医学院校的使用量非常大,因此,在课堂教学中,培养医学生树立保护动物福利的观念具有重要意义。本文从课堂教育、实验动物处理、3R原则的实施等方面探讨了如何在教学过程中开展动物福利教育。     

药物安全性评价中的实验动物福利

开展实验动物福利工作不论对于实验动物自身,还是科学研究都具有重要意义。本文对实践中如何开展实验动物福利工作,以及其中存在的问题进行了初步探讨。     

浅谈兽医在非人灵长类动物实验福利中的作用

非人灵长类实验动物作为人类的“替身”,在生理学、病理学、病毒学、药物动力学、毒理学、生殖生理学、免疫学、遗传学、基因工程药和生物医药等科学研究领域具有无可替代的重要作用。因此,在其实验过程中的动物福利问题应当引起人们的足够重视。本文根据工作实践和动物福利的要求,从疾病的监视、诊断、治疗、预防、实验操作技术、猴类捕捉、保定、镇静、止痛、麻醉和安乐死术等方面,总结了兽医及其护理在灵长类实验动物福利中的作用。     

实验动物替代技术在中国实验动物部分调查初步报告

为了解中国部分地区实验动物饲养机构及使用情况,特对包括高校在校研究生、教师、生物制药企业职员等专业内人员进行调查,分析中国实验动物使用现状及实验动物操作人员的实验动物福利观.     

图形显示自控技术在实验动物环境设施中的应用

目的为对规模化的SPF级实验动物环境设施中的设备进行系统控制与管理.方法利用图形显示自控技术,对设施中24套主要电器设备进行自动控制.结果该系统能够自动采集和监测设施中27个温度、湿度、梯度压差点和17个氨浓度点环境参数数据;设备自动切换、自动报警、运行工况动画显示; 8个区域实现电视监控;管理信息实时发布.结论该自动控制系统设计先进、实用、操作简便、性能稳定、管理高效.     

环境DNA技术在地下生态学中的应用

地下生态过程是生态系统结构、功能和过程研究中最不确定的因素。由于技术和方法的限制,作为\"黑箱\"的地下生态系统已经成为限制生态学发展的瓶颈,也是未来生态学发展的主要方向。环境DNA技术,是指从土壤等环境样品中直接提取DNA片段,然后通过DNA测序技术来定性或定量化目标生物,以确定目标生物在生态系统中的分布及功能特征。环境DNA技术已成功用于地下生态过程的研究。目前,环境DNA技术在土壤微生物多样性及其功能方面的研究相对成熟,克服了土壤微生物研究中不能培养的问题,可以有效地分析土壤微生物的群落组成、多样性及空间分布,尤其是宏基因组学技术的发展,使得微生物生态功能方面的研究成为可能;而且,环境DNA技术已经在土壤动物生态学的研究中得到了初步应用,可快速分析土壤动物的多样性及其分布特征,更有效地鉴定出未知的或稀少的物种,鉴定土壤动物类群的幅度较宽;部分研究者通过提取分析土壤中DNA片段信息对生态系统植物多样性及植物分类进行了研究,其结果比传统的植物分类及物种多样性测定更精确,改变了以往对植物群落物种多样性模式的理解。同时,环境DNA技术克服传统根系研究方法中需要洗根、分根、只能测定单物种根系的局限,降低根系研究中细根区分的误差,并探索性地用于细根生物量的研究。主要综述了基于环境DNA技术的分子生物学方法在土壤微生物多样性及功能、土壤动物多样性、地下植物多样性及根系生态等地下生态过程研究中的应用进展。环境DNA技术对于以土壤微生物、土壤动物及地下植物根系为主体的地下生态学过程的研究具有革命性意义,并展现出良好的应用前景。可以预期,分子生物学技术与传统的生态学研究相结合将成为未来地下生态学研究的一个发展趋势。     

Working with what you’ve got: Changes in thermal preference and behavior in mice with or without nesting material

In laboratories mice are typically housed at ambient temperatures (T_a) of 20-24 °C, which are below their average preferred T_a of ≈30 °C. Adjusting laboratory T_a is not a solution because preferences differ depending on activity, time of the day, and gender. We tested the hypothesis that providing mice with nesting material will allow behavioral thermoregulation and reduce aversion to colder T_a. We housed C57BL/6J mice with and without nesting material in a set of 3 connected cages, each maintained at a different T_a (20, 25, or 30 °C). Mice were confined in and given free access to the T_a options to determine if thermotaxis or nest building was the primary mode of behavioral thermoregulation. As predicted, nesting material reduced aversion to 20 °C but the overall preference, in both treatments, was still 30 °C. Inactive and nesting behaviors were more likely to be seen in contact with nesting material while active behaviors were more likely to be observed when not in contact. Nest quality increased with decreasing T_a when mice could not use thermotaxis but nest quality was uncorrelated with T_a when thermotaxis was possible. Males decreased nest quality with increasing temperatures but females showed no correlation. We conclude that nesting material does not alter thermal preferences for 30 °C when thermotaxis is possible, indicating thermotaxis as the primary mode of behavioral thermoregulation. However, when thermotaxis is not possible, mice adjust nest shape depending on the T_a. Nesting material appears to partially compensate for cooler T_a and is especially important when mice are inactive. Therefore, nesting material may be a solution to the mismatch between laboratory T_a and mouse thermal preferences.     

Neurorestorative effect of erythropoietin and environmental enrichment in the early stage of stroke recovery

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether erythropoietin (EPO) and environmental enrichment (EE) after hypoxic ischemic insult can prevent brain damage, improve neuronal plasticity, and reduce sensorimotor deficits and whether the combination of EPO and EE has a synergistic effect. Sixty Sprague-Dawley rats were used for this study. The rats were divided into three groups: middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) without treatment, MACO?+?EPO, and MCAO?+?EPO?+?EE. For the behavior test, the foot-fault test and measurement of the crossing time in the parallel bars were used. Infarct volume measurement, Neuronal nuclei (NeuN) immunohistochemistry, western blot of the synaptophysin (SYP), and Growth-Associated protein 43 (GAP-43) were used. On postoperative days (POD) at 1 week and 4 weeks, group of EPO and EE increased the recovery as seen in the behavior test. The infarct volume of the EPO group was 32.4%, the EPO?+?EE group was 28.5%, and the control group was 44.0% on POD 4 weeks. The SYP and GAP-43 expression showed an increase in the EPO and EPO?+?EE group compared with the MCAO group. EPO and EPO?+?EE treatment creates a neurorestorative effect, improved neural plasticity, and reduced sensorimotor deficits. But the synergistic effect of the combination of EPO and EE was significantly not proved. In the results of this study, we suggest that EPO and EE treatment may offer a neruorestoration, which can improve the functional brain disturbance of stroke patients.     

Preference for social contact versus environmental enrichment in male laboratory mice

Due to their aggressive nature, male mice are less frequently used than female mice in biomedical research. When aggressive males are being used, individual housing is common practice. The question arises whether this is an acceptable housing for a social species. The present study was designed to gain more insight into the nature of inter-male social contact and into the potential of a form of environmental enrichment (nesting material) to compensate for the lack of social contact. In a series of tests, we analysed whether male mice of different ages preferred to spend time (1) near a familiar cage mate versus an empty cage, or (2) near to a familiar cage mate versus direct contact with nesting material (tissues). Dwelling time in each of the test cages and sleeping sites was recorded, as was the behaviour of the test mice. Results indicated that when other conditions were similar, male mice preferred to sleep in close proximity to their familiar cage mate. Furthermore, the need to engage in active social behaviour increased with age. Tissues were used to a large extent for sleeping and sleep-related behaviour. It is concluded that single housing in order to avoid aggression between male mice is a solution with evident negative consequences for the animals. When individual housing is inevitable due to excessive aggressive behaviour, the presence of nesting material could partly compensate for the deprivation of social contact.     

Pigs’ preferences for rooting materials measured in a three-choice maze-test

The aim of this experiment was to investigate pigs’ preferences for rooting materials. Eighteen materials were allocated to six categories each of which consisted of three similar materials based on characteristics such as structure, size of particles, complexity, destructibility and digestibility. Twelve pairs of pigs chose among the three materials of each of the six categories in a balanced design. Within each category each pair was given four instantaneous choices among the three materials in a three-armed maze. ‘No choice’ was scored if the pigs did not enter one of the maze-arms within 90 s. Thus there were four options in each choice situation. The results were analysed using a random utility model incorporating random intercepts to account for the repeated testing of the same animals. The pigs expressed clear preferences within the category EARTH, where compost and peat were preferred to wood-shavings and no choice. In the category CHIP the most probable rank-order was spruce chip, willow chip, fir chip and no choice, while in the category ROUGH the most probable rank-order was maize-silage, grass silage, sugar beets and no choice. However, in these two categories none of the probabilities were sufficiently large to signify a preference for any of the three materials although the probabilities of the ‘no choice’ option were low. The pigs expressed no preferences among any of the four options including ‘no choice’ in the categories TOY (sisal robe, Bite-Rite, wooden beam), HAY (alfalfa hay mixed with straw, seed grass hay, barley straw with under-seed), and STRAW (long straw, chopped straw and straw pellets).     

A targeted approach to developing environmental enrichment for two strains of laboratory mice

Previous studies on environmental enrichment have generally placed a purported enrichment in the cage and observed changes in behavioural and physiological indicators of welfare. However, many of these ‘enrichments’ are not purposely designed, or appear to be designed with anthropomorphic or anthropocentric concerns, which have little biological relevance. The aim of this study was to screen the behavioural responses of mice to a range of 24 potential enrichments (PEs) considered by an expert panel to have characteristics most biologically relevant to mice. Female mice (64 C57/Bl/6 and 64 ICR(CD-1)) were housed in groups of four and observed three days per week for 12 weeks whilst provided with a different PE weekly. The overall time-budgets of the two strains differed significantly. ICR(CD-1) mice performed more bar chewing, digging, manipulation of PEs, and rearing in the cage. They were also more likely to be hidden in the cage. C57/Bl/6 mice performed more drinking, cage sniffing and social interaction, and showed three times more bar climbing. The two strains responded differently to the PEs, with the ICR(CD-1) mice making more use of PEs, particularly those that could be manipulated or which provided additional hiding places. The higher trait anxiety of the C57/Bl/6 mice may have reduced their utilisation of novel PEs. We conclude that, whilst enrichment can significantly improve animal welfare, those types of enrichments that work well for all strains need to be identified, or strain-specific enrichment policies devised.     

梅毒螺旋体遗传物质和致病机制的研究进展

梅毒螺旋体(Treponema pallidum,Tp)是慢性全身性性传播疾病梅毒的病原体。由于Tp不能持续体外培养,阻碍了对Tp结构及其致病机制的深入研究。目前,Tp(Nicholes株)基因组测序的完成以及分子生物学技术的发展,为Tp的研究提供了机遇。就Tp的遗传物质和致病机制的研究进展进行综述。     

Preference for structured environment in zebrafish (Danio rerio) and checker barbs (Puntius oligolepis)

Information about the welfare and husbandry of pet and laboratory fish is scarce although millions of fish are sold in pet shops and used in laboratory research every year. Inadequate housing conditions can cause behavioural problems also in fish since they are complex animals with sophisticated behaviour. In this study, we investigated the influence of environmental complexity on compartment preference and behaviour in zebrafish (Danio rerio) and checker barbs (Puntius oligolepis). For the preference test, large aquaria were divided by two semi-transparent walls of Plexiglas into an empty compartment, a structured compartment enriched with plants and clay pots, and a smaller compartment in-between, where food was provided. For observation, the empty and structured compartments were divided into six zones of similar size by defining three vertical layers and two horizontal areas (back vs. front area). Seven groups of six to nine zebrafish and seven groups of seven or eight checker barbs were observed on four days each (within a time period of ten days) to assess compartment use and activity, and to assess behavioural diversity and use of zones within compartments. Both zebrafish and checker barbs showed a significant preference for the structured compartment. Nevertheless, in neither species did behavioural diversity differ between the empty and structured compartment. Zebrafish used all zones in both compartments to the same extent. Checker barbs, however, used the structured compartment more evenly than the empty compartment, where they mainly used the lower and middle zones. These results suggest that zebrafish and checker barbs have a preference for complex environments. Furthermore, they indicate that the behavioural and ecological needs of fish may vary depending on species, and recommendations for husbandry should be specified at species level.