Recent Developments in Alternatives to Animal Testing

Methods that replace techniques that use live animals, or methods of testing substances without live animal use, are known as alternatives, replacements or non-animal methods. Some prefer the term advanced technologies given the fact that they often rely on more sophisticated technology and are more human- relevant than the animal test they replace (see Langley et al., 2015). There have been efforts to replace animal tests since the 1960s. Significant progress initially came in replacing animals used to diagnose human disease; to produce biological drugs (such as vaccines); and to safety test batches of these drugs as they were produced. Concerns about safety were the initial driver for this, as drugs produced using animal material could be contaminated with animal diseases. However, cost, efficiency, and the need for swifter and more accurate predictions also played a part. Some of the earliest replacements are, in fact, no longer referred to as such, as they are now standard practice. For example, the polio vaccine used to be produced in primary monkey kidney cells, resulting in the death of tens of thousands of monkeys every year. However, by the 1970s, the use of long-lived human or monkey cells in culture was common place and the risk of contamination with animal viruses was also eliminated ( Bookchin and Schumacher, 2005). Batches of the vaccine against yellow fever used to be tested for efficacy (potency) on animals in lethal dose tests, but these tests were replaced by a cell culture test, the plaque-reduction neutralization test, in the 1970s (World Health Organization, who, 2007)

Estimates for Worldwide Laboratory Animal Use in 2005

Animal experimentation continues to generate public and political concern worldwide. Relatively few countries collate and publish animal use statistics, yet this is a first and essential step toward public accountability and an informed debate, as well as being important for effective policy-making and regulation. The implementation of the Three Rs (replacement, reduction and refinement of animal experiments) should be expected to result in a decline in animal use, but without regular, accurate statistics, this cannot be monitored. Recent estimates of worldwide annual laboratory animal use are imprecise and unsubstantiated, ranging from 28–100 million. We collated data for 37 countries that publish national statistics, and standardised these against the definitions of ‘animals’, ‘purposes’ and ‘experiments’ used in European Union Directive 86/609/EEC. We developed and applied a statistical model, based on publication rates, for a further 142 countries. This yielded our most conservative estimate of global animal use: 58.3 million animals in 179 countries. However, this figure excludes several uses and forms of animals that are included in the statistics of some countries. With the data available, albeit for only a few countries, we also produced, by extrapolation, a more comprehensive global estimate that includes animals killed for the provision of tissues, animals used to maintain genetically-modified strains, and animals bred for laboratory use but killed as surplus to requirements. For a number of reasons that are explained, this more-comprehensive figure of 115.3 million animals is still likely to be an underestimate

Students' attitudes to the communications employed during an outbreak of meningococcal disease in a UK school: a qualitative study.

BackgroundFollowing an outbreak of meningococcal disease in a school in the North West of England, the communication methods employed by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) were evaluated in order to explore ways of improving communication with the public.MethodsQualitative questionnaires were distributed to Year 12 (sixth form) students. The Framework approach was used to analyse the data, which were coded, and emergent themes identified.ResultsIn the absence of clear communication from official sources, many participants suggested that circulating rumours caused confusion and anxiety in the student population. Rumours were spread through informal networks in person or through text and MSN messaging. It was generally perceived that accurate information in this period would have been useful to allay potentially unfounded anxiety. Most students surveyed reported that they were sufficiently aware of the situation prior to receiving official announcements. The information provided by the HPA through the school was generally perceived as being useful, but it came too late.ConclusionIn outbreak situations, rumours will spread rapidly in the absence of early communication, and this can be a significant cause of anxiety. The use of digital communication strategies should be considered, since they can seed dependable information that will disseminate rapidly through peer groups

Evidence of moderation effects in predicting active transport to school

Distance from home to school is an important influence on the decision to use active transport (AT); however, ecological perspectives would suggest this relationship may be moderated by individual, interpersonal and environmental factors. This study investigates whether (i) gender, (ii) biological maturation, (iii) perceived family support for physical activity (PA) and (iv) multiple deprivation moderate the relationship between distance to school and AT.A total of 611 children (11-12 years old, 334 females) were recruited from schools in Leicestershire, UK. Gender, family support for PA, and AT were self-reported. Home and school postcodes were used to determine multiple deprivation and distance to school (km). Predicted age at peak height velocity was used to indicate biological maturation.Logistic regressions revealed the main effects explained 40.2% of the variance in AT; however; distance to school was the only significant predictor. Further analyses revealed that distance to school had a greater negative impact on the use of AT in late-maturing (OR: 3.60, CI: 1.45-8.96), less deprived (OR: 3.54, CI: 1.17-10.72) and children with low family support of PA (OR: 0.26, CI: 0.11-0.61).This study provides evidence that, although distance to school might be the strongest predictor of AT, this relationship is complex

'Sarsen stones in Wessex': a society of antiquaries project contextualised and renewed

This paper reviews the Society of Antiquaries’ Evolution of the Landscape project, which started in 1974, and the project’s Sarsen Stones in Wessex survey. The survey was an ambitious public archaeology project, involving c 100 volunteers led by Fellows of the Society during the 1970s. Its aims, objectives and outcomes are described. The survey’s unique dataset, produced for the counties of Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset, has now been digitised. Drawing on the dataset, the paper situates the Evolution of the Landscape project in the context of later-twentieth century British archaeology. It demonstrates the importance not only of individual Fellows, but also contemporary movements in academic and development-led archaeology, to the direction of the Society’s activities in this formative period for the discipline today, and shows how the Society’s research was engaged with some of archaeology’s most pressing cultural resource management issue

Implementation of Primary Care Pandemic Plan: Respiratory Clinic Model

Implementation articleObjective: In an effort to keep our patients and staff safe while providing necessary care, we implemented phases 2 and 3 of the Primary Care Pandemic Plan as described by Krist et al.1 We consolidated clinics, we converted nearly all visits to virtual visits and separated the remaining face to face visits into sick and well patient cohorts.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154742/1/Respiratory clinic for Amb Care during COVID_ revised_FINAL.pdfDescription of Respiratory clinic for Amb Care during COVID_ revised_FINAL.pdf : Main Articl