193
Feeding and rearing techniques used for larvae of Pleurodeles waltl (urodele amphibian) onboard the MIR space station.
by Danielle Durand, Christiane Tankosic, Didier Chaput, Lydie Gualandris-Parisot, Hervé Membre, Alain Bautz & Christian Dournon

In laboratory standard conditions, Pleurodeles waltl larvae (urodele amphibian) were reared in basins with clean fresh water at room temperature and submitted to daylight variation. They were periodically fed with nauplii of Artemia salina developed from cystae in salted water. In space flight conditions, the Pleurodeles larvae were continuously reared at 18°C in hermetic boxes and in darkness except during the phases of feeding and medium changing. To produce onboard the MIR space station in live food in adequate quantity for the larval Pleurodeles growing, the mean number of Artemia nauplii was firstly defined on ground depending on larval stages of Pleurodeles development. Then, the optimal conditions of rearing in hermetic boxes were tested. Artemia salina cystae and sea salt were stocked without water in syringes up to three months. Cystae were activated with a physiological medium three days before use. The protocol of management of the syringes and distribution of food performed by a cosmonaut is described.

203
A preliminary study of the impact of stocking density on the behaviour of group housed Göttingen Minipigs.
by Thomas C. Krohn , Lars Ellegaard, Axel Kornerup Hansen

At present no studies have made attempts to determine the minimum floor space for group housed minipigs, although these are mobile animals with a certain need for space to carry out basic behaviour. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to find a method for evaluating the acceptable minimum space area for group-housed minipigs from a welfare point of view. Fifty-four male Göttingen Minipigs aged eight months were used for the study. The pigs were distributed in nine groups with six pigs in each at three different stocking densities: 0.27 m2 per pig, 0.44 m2 per pig and 0.52 m2 per pig. Each group in each density was observed twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon for 25 minutes each, and behaviour was registered by instantaneous sampling of observed data. No significant differences within any of the different behavioural categories could be observed between the three housing densities (p<0.05), and, therefore, additional space might have little influence on the behaviour of the minipig, while the construction and equipment of the pen might have a higher impact on the behaviour of the pig. The importance of bedding and enrichment objects for minipigs should, therefore, be clarified before any firm recommendations about the design of a pen for group housing of minipigs are given.

231
Effects of pre- or postoperative morphine and of preoperative ketamine in experimental surgery in rats, evaluated by pain scoring and c-fos expression.
by A. Rønn, K.M. Nørgaard, K. Lykkegaard & O. Svendsen

Pre-emptive analgesic treatment as a supplement to postoperative analgesic treatment should be beneficial by reducing wind-up and central sensitisation. Supporting evidence has been obtained in studies using animal models. However, results obtained from postoperative animal models and from human clinical studies are limited and conflicting. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of pre-emptive or postoperative administration of morphine with or without pre-emptive ketamine in a rat model for postoperative pain. Rats were treated with saline, morphine, ketamine or morphine and ketamine, 15 min before anaesthesia with halothane. Saline or morphine was administered about 3 min after closure of the surgical wound. Postoperative pain was measured by scoring pain behaviour and by quantification of the number of dorsal horn neurones expressing c-fos at two and eight hours after the surgical procedure. Two hours after surgery morphine irrespective of treatment regimen reduced the number of c-fos positive neurones to about 30 % of that of untreated rats. Ketamine had no effect. Trends reflecting the pattern of c-fos expression were obtained by pain scoring. Eight hours after surgery ketamine and ketamine + postoperative morphine reduced the c-fos expression to about 30 % of that of saline treated rats. Other treatments had no effect at this time point. The results do not support the theory, that pre-emptive analgesia is superior to postoperative analgesia in reducing postoperative pain.

244
Scand-LAS 2001 Second Announcement and call for abstracts of the 31'st Scand-LAS Annual Symposium and Educational Days in Aarhus, Denmark.

May 13-15, 2001

Animal Welfare and Comparative Medicine Improving Standards and Achievements

Radisson SAS Scandinavia Hotel Aarhus
DK-8000 Aarhus C
Denmark