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Background: Many individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and related disorders experience insufficient symptom relief from currently available treatment options. Researching additional venues should be prioritized. This systematic review, designed in accordance with PRISMA, examined the effect of targeted and structured dog-assisted interventions as a supplementary treatment. Methods: Randomized as well as non-randomized studies were included. Systematic searches were conducted in APA PsycInfo, AMED, CENTRAL, Cinahl, Embase, Medline, Web of Science, and in several sources covering "gray" (unpublished) literature. In addition, forward and backward citation searches were performed. A narrative synthesis was conducted. Quality of evidence and risk of bias were assessed in accordance with GRADE and RoB2/ROBINS-I criteria. Results: 12 publications from 11 different studies met eligibility criteria. Overall, studies showed diverging results. General psychopathology, positive and negative symptoms of psychosis, anxiety, stress, self-esteem, self-determination, lower body strength, social function, and quality of life were among the outcome measures with significant improvement. Most documentation for significant improvement was found for positive symptoms. One study indicated significant deterioration of non-personal social behavior. The risk of bias was high or serious for most of the outcome measures. Three outcome measures were associated with some concerns regarding risk of bias, and three with low risk of bias. Quality of evidence was graded low or very low for all outcome measures. Conclusions: The included studies indicate potential effects of dog-assisted interventions for adults diagnosed with schizophrenia and related disorders, mostly beneficial. Nevertheless, low number of participants, heterogeneity, and risk of bias complicate the interpretation of results. Carefully designed randomized controlled trials are needed to determine causality between interventions and treatment effects.

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Microplastic particles are ubiquitous in the environment. However, little is known about their uptake and effects in humans or mammalian model organisms. Here, we studied the effects of pristine polyamide (15-20 µm) and polyethylene (40-48 µm) particles after oral ingestion in rats. The animals received feed containing microplastic particles (0.1% polyamide or polyethylene, or a mixture of both polymers) or a control diet without microplastic particles, for 5 weeks. The permeability of the duodenum was investigated in an Ussing chamber, whereas gene expression and concentration of tight junction proteins were measured in gut tissue and plasma. Microplastic particles were quantified by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry in rats' feces. Rats fed with microplastic particles had higher duodenal permeability. Expression of gene coding for the tight junction protein occludin (OCLN) was higher in PE treated animals compared to control or the PA group. No changes in the expression of the gene coding for zonula occludens protein 1 were detected. Occludin protein concentrations were below the limit of detection of the applied method in both gut and plasma. Zonula occludens protein 1 concentrations in the gut were significantly higher in groups exposed to PA and PE as compared to control, while zonula occludens protein 1 concentrations in plasma did not show significant changes. These results demonstrated that short-term exposure to a dose of 0.1% (w/w) microplastic particles in feed had limited effects on duodenal permeability, expression of pro-inflammatory protein genes and tight junction protein genes in the duodenum.

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Fish and other aquatic animals represent a significant number of species with diverse physiology, size, and housing condition needs. Anesthesia may be necessary for several husbandry procedures as well as treatment of diseases, surgery, or experimental procedures. Choice of drugs and detailed procedures for anesthesia must be adapted to the species in question-there is no "one size fits all" solution. However, there are some basic principles that apply for good anesthetic practice of all animals. These principles include the preparations of animals, personnel, facilities and equipment, monitoring animals under anesthesia, as well as post-anesthetic care to be sure that animals are not lost in the recovery phase. Good anesthesia practice also includes the competence and commitment of personnel involved. Based on professional judgement, key factors will be the focus of this text.

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Ethical guidelines for research on animals such as the 3Rs (Replacing, Reducing, Refining) and positive harm-benefit evaluations are anchored in EU Directive 2010/63. In this qualitative study we investigated how ethical guidelines interact and/or compete with other considerations when animal research is planned. Four focus groups consisting mainly of researchers involved in animal use were conducted in four Northern European countries and findings were analysed thematically with the support of NVIVO. Practical issues and the importance of doing good science were dominant topics. Practical issues could not easily be separated from the goal of good science. Participants expressed concerns which accord with the core-values of the 3Rs, but in one group they explicitly referred to the 3Rs as a concept. Conflicts between reductions in animal numbers and the risk of creating unreliable results were addressed. They also criticized the practice of using more animals to improve statistical figures to get results published in highly ranked journals - a finding we believe is new. The main conclusion of this study is that ethical values could not easily be separated from the goal of producing good science. Whereas policy makers seem to expect researchers to explicitly take ethical considerations into account, we found that their ethical thinking is mainly manifested as an implicit part of methodology and design. We don't see this as a problem as long as the underlying core values are implicitly respected, or promoted, in the relevant experimental practice.

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International regulations and guidelines strongly suggest that the use of animal models in scientific research should be initiated only after the authority responsible for the review of animal studies has concluded a well-thought-out harm-benefit analysis (HBA) and deemed the project to be appropriate. Although the process for conducting HBAs may not be new, the relevant factors and algorithms used in conducting them during the review process are deemed to be poorly defined or lacking by committees in many institutions. This paper presents the current concept of HBAs based on a literature review. References on cost or risk benefit from clinical trials and other industries are also included. Several approaches to HBA have been discovered including algorithms, graphic presentations and generic processes. The aim of this study is to better aid and harmonize understanding of the concepts of 'harm', 'benefit' and 'harm-benefit analysis'.

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International regulations and guidelines strongly suggest that the use of animal models in scientific research should be initiated only after the authority responsible for the review of animal studies has concluded a well-thought-out harm-benefit analysis (HBA) and deemed the project to be appropriate. The AALAS-FELASA working group on HBA has performed a literature review and based on this review, proposed a method for HBA. Examples of the working group's approach are included in this report.

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In order for their research to be legitimate, scientists carrying out research using animals must comply with rules and regulations. The 3Rs (replacement, reduction and refinement) are one set of guidelines that help to promote the ethical use of animals for research. An important question is whether implementing the principles of the 3Rs in legal regulations, such as a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes, will increase compliance with the principles of the 3Rs in research organizations. Previous work suggests that organizational culture is just as important for directing behavior as are formalized rules and regulations. This article introduces the concepts of compliance and organizational culture and discusses their consequences on the implementation of the principles of the 3Rs.

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Interstitial fluid pressure (P(if)) is important for maintaining constant interstitial fluid volume. In several acute inflammatory reactions, a dramatic lowering of P(if) has been observed, increasing transcapillary filtration pressure and favoring initial and rapid edema formation. This lowering of P(if) seems to involve dynamic beta(1)-integrin-mediated interactions between connective tissue cells and extracellular matrix (ECM) fibers. beta(1)-Integrins are adhesion receptors responsible for the attachment of connective tissue cells to the ECM providing a force-transmitting physical link between the ECM and cytoskeleton. Disruption of actin filaments leads to lowering of P(if) and edema formation, suggesting a role for actin filaments. The aim of this study was to further investigate the role of the cytoskeleton in the control of P(if) by studying the effect of microtubuli fixation using paclitaxel and docetaxel. P(if) was measured with the micropuncture technique. Albumin extravasation (E(alb)) was measured using (125)I-labeled albumin. Paclitaxel and docetaxel were tested locally on foot skin in female Wistar rats. Paclitaxel (6 mg/ml) reduced P(if) from -1.5 +/- 1.0 mmHg in controls to -4.9 +/- 2.6 mmHg after 30 min (P < 0.05) in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05). Docetaxel caused a similar lowering of P(if). Both paclitaxel and docetaxel increased E(alb) compared with Cremophor EL and saline control (P < 0.05). Pretreatment with phalloidin before paclitaxel, causing fixation of actin filaments, abolished the lowering of P(if) caused by paclitaxel. This study confirms several previous studies demonstrating that connective tissue cells influence P(if) and edema formation.

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In the present study we investigated four variables using factorial design to decide if any of these could explain the variations in the control measurements of interstitial fluid pressure (P if) in rat trachea that were experienced. This approach requires only a fraction of the animals normally needed when studying each factor separately. P if in tracheal tissue was measured with the servocontrolled counterpressure system using sharpened micropipettes. The measurements were performed over a period of 60 min and are presented as mean for every 15 min period. The factors investigated in the study were: three strains of female rats (Strain) two brands of diets (Food); two breeder companies (Source); and finally two batches of the same set of animals to repeat the experiment twice (Week), using a total of 48 animals. There was a highly significant effect within Strain the first week (p=0.007), but this response was not observed the second week. The interaction between Strain×Week was significant (p=0.007) while the main effects Strain or Week alone were not significant. The response pattern for Strain and Food was inconsistent for the two experimental weeks studied. These experiments made it possible for us to simultaneously test several factors and exclude these factors as the reason for the observed changes in our experiments since the experiments did not allow the conclusion that one or several of these factors could explain the variation in P if.

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OBJECTIVE: Interstitial fluid pressure (P(if)) plays an important role in controlling interstitial fluid volume. In the early phase of rapid edema formation, such as in dextran-induced anaphylaxis in the Wistar rat, P(if) falls from -0.5 mm Hg to a value between -5 and -10 mm Hg. It is believed that P(if) is controlled by the interaction between connective tissue cells and the extracellular matrix. This hypothesis was tested by studying dextran-induced edema formation and the subsequent changes in P(if) in response to a pretreatment with phalloidin, a reagent that fixes the actin filaments within the cell. METHODS: P(if) was measured in anesthetized female Wistar rats by using a micropuncture technique. The rats were pretreated with phalloidin followed by dextran. Albumin extavasation (E(alb)) was measured as the extravascular space of (125)I-labeled human serum albumin (HSA) after 25 minutes. Total tissue water (TTW) was calculated as the difference between wet weight and dry weight divided by dry weight. Localization of phalloidin was determined histologically by using rhodamine-labeled phalloidin. RESULTS: Control P(if) values of -0.3 +/- 0.6 mm Hg dropped to -3.1 +/- 0.8 mm Hg after dextran treatment (p < 0.05). Pretreatment with phalloidin completely abolished this decrease in P(if), giving values of -0.6 +/- 0.2 mm Hg (p < 0.05, compared to dextran). The E(alb) in control rats of 0.02 +/- 0.02 mL/g DW increased to 1.35 +/- 0.43 mL/g DW after dextran treatment. Pretreatment with phalloidin before dextran treatment lowered the dextran value to 0.59 +/- 0.32 mL/g DW. CONCLUSION: This study shows that pretreatment with phalloidin, before the administration of dextran, abolishes the lowering of P(if) and edema formation, which is detected after i.v. injection of dextran alone.

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