Nih 31 diet

Male A/J mice (age 4–6 weeks) were purchased from Jackson Laboratories (Bar Harbor, ME) and housed in an Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) International - specific pathogen-free, environmentally-controlled facility. All mice were free of endogenous pathogens including viruses, bacteria, mycoplasmas, and parasites. Mice were housed in groups of two in ventilated cages and provided high-efficiency particulate filtered air under a controlled light cycle (12 h light/12 h dark) at a standard temperature (22°–24 °C) and 30%–70% relative humidity. Animals were acclimated to the animal facility for one week before beginning the experimental protocol and allowed access to a conventional diet (6% irradiated NIH-31 Diet, Envigo RMS, Inc.; Madison, WI) and tap water ad libitum. Male mice were chosen for this study in lieu of females because welding is a male-dominated profession. Approximately ~95% of welders are male according to the American Welding Society (https://weldingworkforce-data.com). All procedures were performed using protocols approved by the Centers for Disease Control Morgantown Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

Male A/J mice, 4–5 weeks of age, were purchased from Jackson Laboratories (Bar Harbor, ME) and housed in an Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care-Accredited, specific pathogen-free, environmentally controlled facility. All mice were free of endogenous viral pathogens, parasites, mycoplasmas, Helicobacter, and CAR bacillus. Mice were housed in groups of five in ventilated cages and provided high-efficiency particulate filtered air under a controlled light cycle (12 h light/12 h dark) at a standard temperature (22–24 °C) and 30–70% relative humidity. Animals were acclimated to the animal facility for 1 week and allowed access to a conventional diet (6% irradiated NIH-31 Diet, Envigo RMS, Inc., Madison, WI) and tap water ad libitum. All procedures were performed using protocols approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.