Pups from each group were sexed and weaned at 3 weeks of age and separated into groups of 2–3. Body weight was recorded from week 3 forward to reduce early life handling stress which has been shown to impact HPA-axis, which may skew results [25 (link)]. Blood pressure measurements were recorded using the non-invasive volume blood pressure system CODA 8 (Kent Scientific, Torrington, CT, USA) as depicted previously [6 (link),7 (link)]. The CODA 8 high throughput system involves the animal being placed into a plexiglass tube and gentle warming on the warming pad provided. Pups were acclimated to restraint and the blood pressure system for a week before measurements (week 3) and for 10 min prior to recording each day’s measurements. Blood pressure was measured thrice a week from weeks 4–14, as previously described [6 (link),7 (link)]. Care was taken to ensure measurements were taken prior to any husbandry practices and between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. to prevent natural diurnal fluctuations in blood pressure.
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