A Study on the Attachment to Pets Among Owners of Cats and Dogs Using the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale (LAPS) in the Basque Country.

The relationship between humans and their pets has long fascinated researchers, particularly in exploring how attachment varies according to the type of pet. Cats and dogs exhibit unique behavioral and social traits that influence the dynamics of human-pet relationships. Moreover, specific human characteristics have been found to affect this attachment.

Behavioral coping with chronic defeat stress in mice: A systematic review of current protocols.

Social stress is the most significant source of chronic stress in humans and is commonly associated with health impairment. Individual differences in the behavioral coping responses to stress have been proposed to mediate the negative effects of stress on physical, behavioral and mental health. Animal models, particularly mice, offer valuable insights into the physiological and neurobiological correlates of behavioral coping strategies in response to chronic social stress.

Systemic Tumors Can Cause Molecular Changes in the Hippocampus That May Have an Impact on Behavior after Chronic Social Stress.

Evidence indicates that chronic social stress plays a significant role in the development of cancer and depression. Although their association is recognized, the precise physiological mechanism remains unknown. In our previous work, we observed that OF1 males subjected to chronic social defiance exhibited anhedonia, and those who developed tumors in the lung showed anxiety-associated behaviors.

Caspases compromise SLU7 and UPF1 stability and NMD activity during hepatocarcinogenesis.

Background & Aims: The homeostasis of the cellular transcriptome depends on transcription and splicing mechanisms. Moreover, the fidelity of gene expression, essential to preserve cellular identity and function is secured by different quality control mechanisms including nonsense-mediated RNA decay (NMD). In this context, alternative splicing is coupled to NMD, and several alterations in these mechanisms leading to the accumulation of aberrant gene isoforms are known to be involved in human disease including cancer.

Chronic defeat stress induces monoamine level dysregulation in the prefrontal cortex but not in the hippocampus of OF1 male mice.

Chronic social stress can increase susceptibility to chronic diseases such as depression. One of the most used models to study the physiological mechanisms and behavioral outcomes of this type of stress is chronic defeat stress (CDS) in male mice. OF1 male mice were subjected to a stress period lasting 18 days.

The amygdala NT3-TrkC pathway underlies inter-individual differences in fear extinction and related synaptic plasticity.

Fear-related pathologies are among the most prevalent psychiatric conditions, having inappropriate learned fear and resistance to extinction as cardinal features. Exposure therapy represents a promising therapeutic approach, the efficiency of which depends on inter-individual variation in fear extinction learning, which neurobiological basis is unknown. We characterized a model of extinction learning, whereby fear-conditioned mice were categorized as extinction (EXT)-success or EXT-failure, according to their inherent ability to extinguish fear.

Implementing the 3Rs in Laboratory Animal Research-From Theory to Practice.

The regulatory framework for the use of animals in research in many countries is based on the 3Rs: replacement, reduction, and refinement [...

Perceived professional quality of life and mental well-being among animal facility personnel in Spain.

Animal facility personnel provide the husbandry and care of laboratory animals. We aimed to investigate their work-related quality of life, empathy and mental well-being. Participants living in Spain were contacted by email and asked to complete an anonymous online questionnaire, in which they answered the Professional Quality of Life scale, the Cognitive and affective empathy test, the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, and their perceived human-animal interaction.

The role of sociability in social instability stress: Behavioral, neuroendocrine and monoaminergic effects.

Extensive literature has reported a link between social stress and mental health. In this complex relationship, individual strategies for coping with social stress are thought to have a possible modulating effect, with sociability being a key factor. Despite the higher incidence of affective disorders in females and sex-related neurochemical differences, female populations have been understudied.

Individualized Housing Modifies the Immune-Endocrine System in CD1 Adult Male Mice.

In the last years, different research groups have made considerable efforts to improve the care and use of animals in research. Mice () are the most widely used animal species in research in the European Union and are sociable and hierarchical creatures. During experiments, researchers tend to individualize males, but no consideration is given to whether this social isolation causes them stress.

Refinement in the European Union: A Systematic Review.

Refining experiments and housing conditions so as to cause the minimum possible pain and distress is one of the three principles (3Rs) on which Directive 2010/63/EU is based. In this systematic review, we aimed to identify and summarize published advances in the refinement protocols made by European Union-based research groups from 2011 to 2021, and to determine whether or not said research was supported by European or national grants. We included 48 articles, the majority of which were related to improvements in experimental procedures (37/77.

Professional quality of life among Spanish veterinarians.

Background: In Spain, the perceived professional quality of life among veterinarians has not been explored.

Methods: Veterinarians were invited to complete an online questionnaire in which they answered the Professional Quality of Life scale, the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey and the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale. Participants were asked whether they were receiving psychological therapy or were taking anxiolytics, hypnotics or antidepressant medication.

Mice in translational neuroscience: What R we doing?

Animal models play a pivotal role in translational neuroscience but recurrent problems in data collection, analyses, and interpretation, lack of biomarkers, and a tendency to over-reliance on mice have marred neuroscience progress, leading to one of the highest attrition rates in drug translation. Global initiatives to improve reproducibility and model selection are being implemented. Notwithstanding, mice are still the preferred animal species to model human brain disorders even when the translation has been shown to be limited.

A survey on the use of mice, pigs, dogs and monkeys as animal models in biomedical research in Spain.

Background: The use of animals in biomedical science remains controversial. An individual's level of concern is generally influenced by their culture, previous or current experience with animals, and the specific animal species in question. In this study we aimed to explore what people in Spain who had never or who no longer worked with laboratory animals thought of the use of mice, pigs, dogs and monkeys for biomedical research purposes.

DNA Methylation Regulates a Set of Long Non-Coding RNAs Compromising Hepatic Identity during Hepatocarcinogenesis.

Background: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as key players in cancer, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here we identify the mechanism implicated in the HCC inhibition of a set of lncRNAs, and their contribution to the process of hepatocarcinogenesis.

Methods And Results: The top-ranked 35 lncRNAs downregulated in HCC (Top35 LNDH) were validated in several human HCC cohorts.

Professional Quality of Life in Research Involving Laboratory Animals.

Many workers contribute to the success of animal welfare and study outcomes in biomedical research. However, the professional quality of life (ProQoL) of those who work with laboratory animals has not been explored in Spain. To this end, we adapted the ProQoL scale to the Spanish population working with laboratory animals.

The splicing regulator SLU7 is required to preserve DNMT1 protein stability and DNA methylation.

Gene expression is finely and dynamically controlled through the tightly coordinated and interconnected activity of epigenetic modulators, transcription and splicing factors and post-translational modifiers. We have recently identified the splicing factor SLU7 as essential for maintaining liver cell identity and genome integrity and for securing cell division both trough transcriptional and splicing mechanisms. Now we uncover a new function of SLU7 controlling gene expression at the epigenetic level.

Working with laboratory rodents in Spain: a survey on welfare and wellbeing.

Background: Replacement, reduction and refinement, the 3R principles, provide a framework to minimize the use and suffering of animals in science. In this context, we aimed to determine the actual perception that individuals working with laboratory rodents in biomedical research have on animal welfare and on their interaction with the animals, as well as how they perceive its impact on their social relations. To this end, we designed an anonymous on-line survey for people working with rodents, at three responsibility levels, in Spain.

Splicing Factor SLU7 Prevents Oxidative Stress-Mediated Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 4α Degradation, Preserving Hepatic Differentiation and Protecting From Liver Damage.

Background And Aims: Hepatocellular dedifferentiation is emerging as an important determinant in liver disease progression. Preservation of mature hepatocyte identity relies on a set of key genes, predominantly the transcription factor hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α) but also splicing factors like SLU7. How these factors interact and become dysregulated and the impact of their impairment in driving liver disease are not fully understood.

Looking backward to move forward: a meta-analysis of stem cell therapy in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Transplantation of several types of stem cells (SC) for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has been evaluated in numerous Phase I/II clinical trials with inconclusive results. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to systematically assess the outcome of SC therapy trials which report the evolution of each patient before and after cell administration. In this way, we aimed to determine the effect of the SC intervention despite individual heterogeneity in disease progression.

Postweaning Grouping as a Strategy to Reduce Singly Housed Male Mice.

Rearing laboratory mice in groups is important since social isolation after weaning induces brain alterations, which entails behavioral abnormalities in adulthood. Age is an important factor when grouping males of different litters due to inter-male aggressiveness. The aim of this study was to determine whether newly weaned mice could safely be grouped with late juvenile or early and late pubescent mice, and whether cage cleaning, the number of the hosting group members and testosterone plasma levels have any influence.

Femtosecond laser fabrication of monolithic double volume phase-gratings in glass.

A diffractive optical element was fabricated by monolithically integrating two volume phase-gratings (VPGs) in the bulk of a single-piece transparent material. A computer model of the diffraction generated by the double volume phase-grating (DVPG) was made with a rigorous coupled wave analysis simulator. Simulations and experiments show that the diffractive behavior of a DVPG can be controlled by arranging the relative displacement and the distance between the VPGs according to Talbot self-imaging planes.

Testing the Multiple Pathways of Residential Greenness to Pregnancy Outcomes Model in a Sample of Pregnant Women in the Metropolitan Area of Donostia-San Sebastián.

Residential greenness may positively impact diverse human health indicators through the reduction of air pollution, the improvement of psychological health, and the promotion of physical activity. Previous studies indicate a weak but positive association with pregnancy outcomes. Our aim was to test the multiple pathways from residential greenness to pregnancy outcomes model, using residential NO concentrations, psychological health, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during the first trimester of pregnancy, in a sample of 440 pregnant women residing in Donostia, Spain.