While investigating certain aspects of animal physiology, neurology or behavior, research scientists sometimes must limit the amount of food or water provided to animals used in a study. Such limitations can negatively impact the health and welfare of laboratory animals by, for example, causing them to experience distress or pain. The author discusses the veterinary and regulatory concerns that laboratory personnel should consider when limiting food or water given to research animals. He concludes that by adequately addressing the needs of animals receiving less food or water than required by regulation, researchers will improve both animal care and scientific study results.

Mice were fed an agar-based diet without an additional source of water for 5 weeks. In comparison with a similar group of mice fed a commercial diet and water ad libitum, there were no significant changes in bodyweight.

Copper is an essential element and also produces adverse health consequences when overloaded. Food and water are the main sources of copper intake, however few studies have been conducted to investigate the difference between the ways of its intake in water and food in animals. In this study, copper was fed to mice with food as well as water (two groups: water and diet) for three months at concentrations of 6, 15 and 30 ppm. The copper concentration in water was adjusted for keeping the same amount during its intake in food. The experimental studies show a slow growth rate, lower hepatic reduced glutathione (GSH)/superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and higher serum ‘free’ copper in the water group. The brain's soluble amyloid-beta 1-42 (Aβ₄₂) of the water group was significantly higher than that of the diet group at the levels of 6 and 15 ppm. In conclusion, copper in the water group significantly increased the soluble Aβ₄₂ in the brain and the ‘free’ copper in the serum, decreased the growth rate and hepatic GSH/SOD activity. The research studies carried out suggest that the copper in water is more ‘toxic’ than copper in diet and may increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

The food remains of Neomys fodiens (particularly trichopteran larvae, Gastropoda and Amphibia) found on the banks of ponds and small creeks in Lower Austria are described. Characteristic bite marks, the manner of opening the cases and shells, as well as data on feeding patterns are presented. Food caches mainly consisted of caddis fly larvae and snails, but also contained non-palatable items which shrews apparently had confused with real prey and retrieved. The composition of the caches varied seasonally, showing a marked mid-summer decline and a shift in the proportion of Trichoptera and Mollusca in late summer and autumn. Shrews employed particular methods when breaking snail shells and opening caddis fly cases, and in the consumption of vertebrate carcasses.

²H/¹H ratios in animal biomass reflect isotopic input from food and water. A 10-week controlled laboratory study raised 48 mice divided in two generations (8 mothers Mus musculus and their offspring). The mice were divided into four groups based on the combination of ²H, ¹³C, ¹⁵N-enriched and non-enriched food and water. Glycine, the most common amino acid in bone collagen, carried the ²H, ¹³C, ¹⁵N-isotopic spike in food. ANOVA data analysis indicated that hydrogen in food accounted for ∼81 % of the hydrogen isotope inventory in collagen whereas drinking water hydrogen contributed ∼17 %. Air humidity contributed an unspecified amount. Additionally, we monitored ¹³C and ¹⁵N-enrichment in bone collagen and found strong linear correlations with the ²H-enrichment. The experiments with food and water indicate two biosynthetic pathways, namely (i) de novo creation of non-essential amino acids using hydrogen from water, and (ii) the integration of essential and non-essential amino acids from food. The lower rate of isotope uptake in mothers’ collagen relative to their offspring indicates incomplete bone collagen turnover after ten weeks. The variance of hydrogen stable isotope ratios within the same cohort may limit its usefulness as a single sample proxy for archaeological or palaeoenvironmental research.

The identification of CN– in water, seeds, and biological systems has, because of its high toxicity, attracted the increasing attention of many chemical industry researchers. In the work, a novel highly selective and reversible sensor, MMY, was shown to recognize CN– effectively. The color and fluorescent changes verified the interaction of MMY with CN–, and the fluorescence lifetime of MMY was also changed upon addition of CN–. A mode of interaction of MMY with CN– based on the results of various experiments was speculated. The LOD of MMY toward CN– was 9.4 × 10–¹⁰ M, lower than the concentration of CN– deemed acceptable by the WHO (World Health Organization) and the U.S. EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency). MMY showed good reversibility and reusability for detecting CN–. In addition, test slips and silica plates were both earned by ourselves, which were able to recognize CN– qualitatively. Additionally, MMY could recognize CN– in tap water quantitatively with the use of a smartphone APP. Interestingly, MMY was also used to detect CN– in seeds. It was valid to image CN– in Caenorhabditis elegans and mice with a vivid “turn-on” fluorescence. MMY thus can circulate in the bloodstream.

Noroviruses (genogroup I (NoV GI) and genogroup II (NoV GII)) and the hepatitis A virus (HAV) are frequently involved in foodborne infections worldwide. They are mainly transmitted via the fecal–oral route, direct person-to-person contact or consumption of contaminated water and foods. In food virology, detection methods are currently based on identifying viral genomes using real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-qPCR). One of the general requirements for detecting these viruses in food involves the use of a process control virus to monitor the quality of the entire viral extraction procedure as described in the ISO/TS 15216-1 and 15216-2 standards published in 2013. The selected process control virus should have similar morphological and physicochemical properties as the screened pathogenic virus and thus have the potential to provide comparable extraction efficiency.The aim of this study was to determine which virus should be used for process control, murine norovirus (MNV-1) or Mengovirus, when testing for the presence of HAV, NoV GI and NoV GII in bottled water, lettuce and semi-dried tomatoes. Food samples were spiked with HAV, NoV GI or NoV GII alone or in the presence of MNV-1 or Mengovirus. Recovery rates of each pathogenic virus were compared to those of both process control viruses using a multiple comparison procedure. Neither process control virus influenced the recovery of pathogenic virus regardless of the type of food matrix. MNV-1 was the most appropriate virus for validating the detection of HAV and NoV GII in all three food matrices as well as NoV GI in lettuce. Mengovirus proved to be the most appropriate control for NoV GI detection in bottled water and semi-dried tomatoes.The process control virus is essential for validating viral detection in food and the choice of virus depends on food type and the screened pathogenic virus.

Hydrogen isotope (δ²H) analysis has been routinely used as an ecological tracer for animal movement and migration, yet a biochemical understanding of how animals incorporate this element in the synthesis of tissues is poorly resolved. Here, we apply a new analytical tool, amino acid (AA) δ²H analysis, in a controlled setting to trace the influence of drinking water and dietary macromolecules on the hydrogen in muscle tissue. We varied the δ²H of drinking water and the proportions of dietary protein and carbohydrates with distinct hydrogen and carbon isotope compositions fed to house mice among nine treatments. Our results show that hydrogen in the non-essential (AANESS) and essential (AAESS) AAs of mouse muscle is not readily exchanged with body water, but rather patterns among these compounds can be described through consideration of the major biochemical pathway(s) used by organisms to synthesize or route them from available sources. Dietary carbohydrates contributed more hydrogen than drinking water to the synthesis of AANESS in muscle. While neither drinking water nor dietary carbohydrates directly contributed to muscle AAESS, we did find that a minor but measurable proportion (10–30%) of the AAESS in muscle was synthesized by the gut microbiome using hydrogen and carbon from dietary carbohydrates. δ²H patterns among individual AAs in mice muscle are similar to those we previously reported for bacteria, which provides additional support that this approach may allow for the simultaneous analysis of different AAs that are more influenced by drinking water (AANESS) versus dietary (AAESS) sources of hydrogen.

Genetically diabetic (type II) KK-Ay mice, male and 5 wk of age, were divided into four groups and fed test diets containing 2(2F). 5(5F). 10(10F), or 20(20F)% fat for 4 wk. and then the 5F group and one-half of the 20F group continued to be fed the corresponding diet and the other half of the latter group was given the 20F (20FHWE) diet with 5% hot-water extracts (HWE) from woody ear (Auricularia auricula-judae Quel.) for a further 3 wk. Remarkable changes in body weight were unfound among the dietary groups. The food intake generally decreased according to the increase in dietary fat content, but the energy expenditure was hardly different among the dietary groups except for the 20FHWE group. That of the 20FHWE group was further decreased compared to the 20F group. Water consumption dropped in the order of the 20F. 5F, and 20FHWE groups. The plasma glucose concentration was the highest in the 20F group, followed in order by the 10F and 5F groups, and the lowest in the 2F and 20FHWE groups. The contents of dietary fat were most positively correlated with the plasma glucose level. The present results using KK-Ay mice confirm that dietary fat levels control postprandial glycaemia. and suggest that the hypoglycemic effect of HWE is primarily caused by a reduction in food ingestion.