Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Leflunomide Treatment Does Not Protect Neural Cells Following Oxygen-Glucose Deprivation (OGD) In Vitro (2024)
Journal Article
Curel, C. J. M., Nobeli, I., & Thornton, C. (2024). Leflunomide Treatment Does Not Protect Neural Cells Following Oxygen-Glucose Deprivation (OGD) In Vitro. Cells, 13(7), 631. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells13070631

Neonatal hypoxia-ischemia (HI) affects 2-3 per 1000 live births in developed countries and up to 26 per 1000 live births in developing countries. It is estimated that of the 750,000 infants experiencing a hypoxic-ischemic event during birth per year,... Read More about Leflunomide Treatment Does Not Protect Neural Cells Following Oxygen-Glucose Deprivation (OGD) In Vitro.

Lifting laboratory rats: a survey of methods, handlers’ reasons and concerns, and rat behavioural responses (2023)
Journal Article
Burn, C., Camacho, T., & Hockenhull, J. (2023). Lifting laboratory rats: a survey of methods, handlers’ reasons and concerns, and rat behavioural responses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 268, Article 106077. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2023.106077

Lifting mice by the tail is of animal welfare and scientific concern, but rat lifting methods are little researched, potentially differing from mice. Using an online questionnaire we explored different methods for lifting laboratory rats, alongside h... Read More about Lifting laboratory rats: a survey of methods, handlers’ reasons and concerns, and rat behavioural responses.

Ear health and quality of life in pet rabbits of differing ear conformations: a UK questionnaire survey of signalment risk factors and effects on rabbit welfare and behaviour (2023)
Journal Article
Chivers, B., Keeler, M., & Burn, C. (2023). Ear health and quality of life in pet rabbits of differing ear conformations: a UK questionnaire survey of signalment risk factors and effects on rabbit welfare and behaviour. PLoS ONE, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0285372

The impacts of ear disease on animal welfare and behaviour are little documented. Ear disease may be common in rabbits, but difficult to recognise, and lop-ears have previously been indicated as a risk factor for ear disease. We aimed to better under... Read More about Ear health and quality of life in pet rabbits of differing ear conformations: a UK questionnaire survey of signalment risk factors and effects on rabbit welfare and behaviour.

Ear disease in pet rabbits: owner-reported data from a UK survey 2021-2022 (2023)
Dataset
Chivers, B., Keeler, M., & Burn, C. (in press). Ear disease in pet rabbits: owner-reported data from a UK survey 2021-2022. [Dataset]

Methods, analysis and interpretation of these data are published in Chivers, B. D., Keeler, M. R. D., and Burn, C. C. (2023) Ear health and quality of life in pet rabbits of differing ear conformations: a UK survey of owner-reported signalment risk... Read More about Ear disease in pet rabbits: owner-reported data from a UK survey 2021-2022.

Individual Monitoring of Activity and Lameness in Conventional and Slower-Growing Breeds of Broiler Chickens Using Accelerometers (2023)
Journal Article
Pearce, J., Chang, Y. R., & Abeyesinghe, S. (2023). Individual Monitoring of Activity and Lameness in Conventional and Slower-Growing Breeds of Broiler Chickens Using Accelerometers. Animals, 13(9), 1432. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13091432

Accelerometers are increasingly being investigated to detect animal behaviour as a method for monitoring individual welfare that overcomes manual challenges associated with time, re-source, and discrete sampling. We investigated the effects of broile... Read More about Individual Monitoring of Activity and Lameness in Conventional and Slower-Growing Breeds of Broiler Chickens Using Accelerometers.

Expert assessment of the impact of ship-strikes on cetacean welfare using the Welfare Assessment Tool for Wild Cetaceans (2023)
Journal Article
Rae, F., Nicol, C., & Simmonds, M. (2023). Expert assessment of the impact of ship-strikes on cetacean welfare using the Welfare Assessment Tool for Wild Cetaceans. Animal Welfare Journal, 32, Article e18. https://doi.org/10.1017/awf.2023.7

Human activities are increasingly impacting our oceans and the focus of attention tends to be on their environmental impacts, rather than consequences for animal welfare. Global shipping density has quadrupled since 1992. Unsurprisingly, increased le... Read More about Expert assessment of the impact of ship-strikes on cetacean welfare using the Welfare Assessment Tool for Wild Cetaceans.

Montelukast reduces grey matter abnormalities and functional deficits in a mouse model of inflammation-induced encephalopathy of prematurity (2022)
Journal Article
Yates, A., Kislitsyna, E., Alfonso Martin, C., Zhang, J., Sewell, A., Goikolea-Vives, A., …Stolp, H. (in press). Montelukast reduces grey matter abnormalities and functional deficits in a mouse model of inflammation-induced encephalopathy of prematurity. Journal of Neuroinflammation, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12974-022-02625-5

Encephalopathy of prematurity (EoP) affects approximately 30% of infants born

Pet owner perception of ferret boredom and consequences for housing, husbandry, and environmental enrichment (2022)
Journal Article
Dancer, A., Diez Leon, M., Bizley, J., & Burn, C. (2022). Pet owner perception of ferret boredom and consequences for housing, husbandry, and environmental enrichment. Animals, 12(23), Article 3262. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12233262

Boredom is a potential chronic but overlooked animal welfare problem. Caused by monotony, sub-optimal stimulation, and restrictive housing, boredom can therefore affect companion animals, particularly those traditionally caged, such as ferrets. We su... Read More about Pet owner perception of ferret boredom and consequences for housing, husbandry, and environmental enrichment.

Piling behaviour in British layer flocks: Observations and farmers' èxperiences (2022)
Journal Article
Winter, J., Stratmann, A., Toscano, M. J., Cardwell, J. M., & Nicol, C. J. (2022). Piling behaviour in British layer flocks: Observations and farmers' èxperiences. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 253, Article 105686. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105686

Smothering of laying hens, defined as death due to suffocation when hens tightly pile together in layer barns, is a well-known problem affecting the British loose-housed layer industry. However, knowledge about mechanisms contributing to piling in Br... Read More about Piling behaviour in British layer flocks: Observations and farmers' èxperiences.

Sentience in decapod crustaceans: A general framework and review of the evidence. Animal Sentience 32(1) (2022)
Journal Article
Crump, A., Browning, H., Schnell, A., Burn, C., & Birch, J. (2022). Sentience in decapod crustaceans: A general framework and review of the evidence. Animal Sentience 32(1). Animal Sentience, 32, Article 407. https://doi.org/10.51291/2377-7478.1691

We outline a framework for evaluating scientific evidence of sentience, focusing on pain experience. It includes eight neural and cognitive-behavioural criteria, with confidence levels for each criterion reflecting the reliability and quality of the... Read More about Sentience in decapod crustaceans: A general framework and review of the evidence. Animal Sentience 32(1).

Assessing Animal Welfare: A triangulation of preference, judgement bias and other candidate welfare indicators (2022)
Journal Article
Paul, E., Browne, W., Mendl, M., Caplen, G., Trevarthen, A., Held, S., & Nicol, C. (2022). Assessing Animal Welfare: A triangulation of preference, judgement bias and other candidate welfare indicators. Animal Behaviour, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.02.003

To assess the welfare of captive animals, validated measures – so called “welfare indicators” - are required. We used a triangulation approach to investigate the extent to which different measures converged to provide corroborating evidence of welfar... Read More about Assessing Animal Welfare: A triangulation of preference, judgement bias and other candidate welfare indicators.

Housing and Environmental Enrichment of the Domestic Ferret: A Multi-Sector Survey (2022)
Journal Article
Dancer, A. M., Díez-León, M., Bizley, J. K., & Burn, C. C. (2022). Housing and Environmental Enrichment of the Domestic Ferret: A Multi-Sector Survey. Animals, 12, Article 1065. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12091065

Ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) are kept and used in multiple sectors of society, but little is known about how they are housed and what environmental enrichment (EE) they may benefit from. We aimed to help guide caretakers about what housing and EE... Read More about Housing and Environmental Enrichment of the Domestic Ferret: A Multi-Sector Survey.

Mitochondrial Dynamics in the Neonatal Brain -a potential target following injury? (2022)
Journal Article
Jones, A., & Thornton, C. (2022). Mitochondrial Dynamics in the Neonatal Brain -a potential target following injury?. Bioscience Reports, https://doi.org/10.1042/BSR20211696

The impact of birth asphyxia and its sequelae, hypoxic-ischaemic brain injury, is long lasting and significant, both for the infant and for their family. Treatment options are limited to therapeutic hypothermia, which is not universally successful an... Read More about Mitochondrial Dynamics in the Neonatal Brain -a potential target following injury?.

The effect of hard pecking enrichment during rear on feather cover, feather pecking behaviour and beak length in beak-trimmed and intact-beak laying hen pullets. (2022)
Journal Article
Baker, P. E., Nicol, C. J., & Weeks, C. A. (2022). The effect of hard pecking enrichment during rear on feather cover, feather pecking behaviour and beak length in beak-trimmed and intact-beak laying hen pullets. Animals,

Injurious Pecking, commonly controlled by beak trimming (BT) is a widespread issue in laying hens associated with thwarted foraging. This controlled study compared the effect in intact and beak-trimmed pullets of providing pecking pans to 8 treatment... Read More about The effect of hard pecking enrichment during rear on feather cover, feather pecking behaviour and beak length in beak-trimmed and intact-beak laying hen pullets..

A founder mutation in EHD1 presents with tubular proteinuria and deafness (2022)
Journal Article
Russell, C., Issler, N., Afonso, S., Ziegler, C., Weissman, . I., Dumitriu, S., …Schilling, A. (in press). A founder mutation in EHD1 presents with tubular proteinuria and deafness. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology,

Background: The endocytic reabsorption of proteins in the proximal tubule requires a complex machinery and defects can lead to tubular proteinuria. The precise mechanisms of endocytosis and processing of receptors and cargo are incompletely unders... Read More about A founder mutation in EHD1 presents with tubular proteinuria and deafness.

A tunnel is not enough: Mice benefit from in-cage provision of a communal shelter as well as a handling tunnel (2021)
Journal Article
Burn, C., & Popat, R. (2021). A tunnel is not enough: Mice benefit from in-cage provision of a communal shelter as well as a handling tunnel. Animal Technology and Welfare, 20, 203-210

Mouse shelters can provide mice with security, help them thermoregulate, offer darkness to prevent damage to their eyes and enable climbing and gnawing opportunities. For laboratory mice, there is a vast array of commercially available cage furniture... Read More about A tunnel is not enough: Mice benefit from in-cage provision of a communal shelter as well as a handling tunnel.

Time to Loss of Behavioural and Brainstem Responses of Ducks Following Non-Stunned Slaughter (2021)
Journal Article
Gibson, T. (in press). Time to Loss of Behavioural and Brainstem Responses of Ducks Following Non-Stunned Slaughter. Animals, https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11123531

Non-stunned slaughter has been extensively described for other farmed species but there has been limited research on waterfowl. The study assessed 34 ducks in a non-stunned halal slaughter-house in Brazil for time to loss of consciousness using vario... Read More about Time to Loss of Behavioural and Brainstem Responses of Ducks Following Non-Stunned Slaughter.

On the importance of integrating comparative anatomy and One Health perspectives in anatomy education (2021)
Journal Article
Bhattacharjee, S., Davies, D. C., Mcgonnell, I. M., Holmes, J. M., Kilroy, D., Holland, J. C., & Reynolds, A. L. (2022). On the importance of integrating comparative anatomy and One Health perspectives in anatomy education. Journal of Anatomy, 240(3), 429-446. https://doi.org/10.1111/joa

As a result of many factors, including climate change, unrestricted population growth, widespread deforestation and intensive agriculture, a new pattern of diseases in humans is emerging. With increasing encroachment by human societies into wild doma... Read More about On the importance of integrating comparative anatomy and One Health perspectives in anatomy education.

Pandemic Puppies: Characterising motivations and behaviours of UK owners who purchased puppies during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic (2021)
Journal Article
Packer, R., Brand, C., Belshaw, Z., Pegram, C., Stevens, K., & O'Neill, D. (2021). Pandemic Puppies: Characterising motivations and behaviours of UK owners who purchased puppies during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic. Animals, 11(9), 2500. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11092500

Attempts to control the spread of coronavirus during the COVID-19 Pandemic included periods of ‘lockdown’ in the UK, where many households spent several months at home with limited external social contact. Data from diverse sources suggest unusually... Read More about Pandemic Puppies: Characterising motivations and behaviours of UK owners who purchased puppies during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic.