Alternatives in research

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Alternatives in research

• June Fanning MVB
• University College Dublin

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Reasons for alternatives

• Regulatory / Legal
• Scientific
• Ethical
• Ecomonic
• Practical
• Social

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Alternatives 3Rs
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Reduction

• Quality literature search
• Appropriate statistical design
• Pilot studies
• Sharing animals, tissues, or organs
• New methods in testing

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Refinement

• Knowledge of species
• physiology and normal and abnormal behavior
• Anaesthetics and analgesics
• Competence in restraint, handling, blood
  collection
• Increase sensitivity of monitoring devices,
  chemical assays and tests

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Replacement

• Absolute replacement no animal involvement
• Endoparasites, microorganisms, plants
• Computer automated structure evaluation systems
• Human tissue culture

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Relative Replacement
Some animal involvement
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What are the alternatives?

• Improved use of information
• Mathemathics and Computers
• Predictions Modelling
• Physico-chemical methods/properties
• Predictions for preliminary screening
• Lower organisms
• Early developmental stages
• Culture systems
• Human tissues and volunteers

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In Vitro studies Advantages and Disadvantages

• Advantages
• Cost time effective information
• Reliable reproducible
• Human cells increase relevance
• Permit studies not possible in animals

• Disadvantages
• Lack multisystemic integration
• Lack effects of other systems
• Limited models
• Difficult to relate in vitro to in vivo

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Searching for alternatives

• Early planning
• Experimental design
• The 3 Rs
• Statistical analysis
• Literature searches
• General and Subject-specific databases
• Medline, Biosis, Embase, Agricola
• Search more than one lack of overlap

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Bad search techniques

• Only 1 database searched
• Insufficient terms used
• The term alternative used alone
• Irrelevant keywords
• Keywords and concepts linked in an incorrectly
• Inadequate time period to search(5-10 years).

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Where do I look?
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Sources of Information

• European Centre for the Validation of Alternative
  Methods (ECVAM)
• http//ihcp.jrc.it/Organisation/VBTM-ECVAM/VBTM-EC
  VAMindex.htm
• Dr. Hadwen Trust for Humane Research
• www.crueltyfreeshop.com/drhadwen
• The Humane Research Trust
• Journals
• ATLA, In vitro toxiclology, Laboratory Animals,
  Animal Welfare and Toxicology in vitro

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FRAME

• www.frame.org.uk

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Internet Resourses continued

• Altweb
• www.altweb.jhsph.edu
• Very thorough site
• Good search engine
• www.altwebsearch.org
• Includes tips on searching and terms to use

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Animal Welfare Information Center

• http//www.nal.usda.gov/awic/

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Databases

• Biological Biomedical
• Pharmaceuticals
• Technological
• Educational
• Norina - http//oslovet.veths.no/NORINA

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Search databases

• Medline
• Agricola
• Varied source of information related to
  agricultural animal welfare issues
• Biosis
• Comp. biological biomedical database
• Limit search to broad area
• Embase
• 10-30 overlap with Medline
• Drug development European literature

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Medline/PubMed

• www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/

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AGRICOLA

• www.agricola.nal.usda.gov

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SCIrUS

• http//www.scirus.com/

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INVITTOX

• http//embryo.ib.amwaw.edu.pl/invittox/

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Internet Resources

• Bio Med Net
• Customised interest areas
• Free full text journals
• www.bmn.com
• Pub Crawler
• Configure your own search go to pub!
• www.pubcrawler.ie

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Internet Resources continued

• ECVAM
• http//oslovet.veths.no/databasesintro.html
• Information on alternatives databases
• The Humane Research Trust
• www.btinternet.com/shawweb/hrt/
• UFAW
• www.ufaw.org.uk/

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How to look

• Search in 2 phases
• Analyze the protocol
• Determine where alternatives could be used and
  for terminology
• Decide where to go for the information
• Databases
• Websites
• Link terminology appropriately for best search
  results
• Evaluate the search results

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Using the web

• Choose search words wisely
• Broad and specific
• International spelling differences
• American vs British
• Tumor / tumour
• Anaesthesia/ anesthesia/ anasthesia
• Bookmark useful search results
• Know where to look

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Search techniques

• Quotation marks - Enclose multiword phrase
• e.g. animal welfare
• Plus and minus signs
• ? included in search
• Environmental enrichment mice
• - ? omitted from search
• Cattle - heifers

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Alternative terms

• Reduce Refine
• Painkiller / analgesic
• Method / technique / procedure
• anesthetic / anaesthetic / anasthetic
• monitor / evaluate /supervise
• Replace
• Vitro / artificial / culture
• tissue / cell / organ
• Animal Use Alternatives Thesaurus
• http//www.nal.usda.gov/awic/alternatives/altfact.
  htm

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Other useful resources

• Mailing lists
• Vole
• Newsgroups
• IACUC
• Discussion forums
• Compmed
• NVS