Welcome to this issue of ATLA, my first as the new editorin-chief. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Michael Balls for all of his hard work and dedication to the journal for over 30 years. This demonstrates his true commitment, and I can state from the outset my tenure will not match his record! I would like to thank Susan Trigwell and Rita Seabra for their work in ensuring the continuity and quality of the journal. I also appreciate the effort of both current and former associate editors, editorial board members, contributors and SAGE Publishing in supporting and promoting the journal. I look forward to working with all of you as the journal evolves in this new chapter. For more information on forthcoming plans for the journal, please refer to the Comment article in this issue: A Journey to Replacement and the Inevitable Question. This includes a personal perspective on animal use and opportunities for the future. Whilst full replacement of the use of animals in experiments is recognised as a long-term goal, currently advances in medical science still require the use of animals, or animal-derived material. Where such experiments are necessary, optimisation of animal welfare (both during and after the procedures), is an obligatory consideration — as is ensuring that maximum information is derived from the experiments undertaken, and that they are the most appropriate experiments for answering the particular question posed. In this issue, these topics are examined from three complementary perspectives: (i) the appropriate use and interpretation of animal models; (ii) replacing the use of animal-derived material, where possible; and (iii) ensuring the welfare of animals postexperimentation. My own background is in developing and evaluating in silico models. The question as to what can be considered to be a ‘valid’ in silico model has often been raised. All models are surrogates for the system of interest, and with correct interpretation they can provide relevant information. However, caution needs to be exercised to ensure that the model is appropriately applied and results correctly interpreted, without extrapolating beyond the bounds of the model. Although a model may not have been formally ‘validated’, it can still yield important information — providing that its suitability for a given purpose has been established. Herein, Stanford provides an in-depth discussion of the use and misuse of animalbased ‘models’ for psychiatric disorders, as well as the limitations of translation of preclinical studies based on these models to humans, in what is clearly one of the most challenging areas of medicine in which to develop models. King et al. describe a proof-of-concept study, in which modified human erythrocytes were shown to be a suitable alternative to animal-derived erythrocytes for the evaluation of complement activity, under optimised pretreatment conditions. The overall method, being a partial replacement of the use of animal-derived material, demonstrates the incremental progression towards replacing the use of animals. Finally, Hänninen and Norring report the results of a project to investigate issues surrounding the re-homing of Beagles (as opposed to euthanasia) at the end of their use in experiments. The benefits, not only for the dogs but also for their caretakers, are described and recommendations given with regard to advanced planning for eventual re-homing, in order to improve successful outcomes. This issue of ATLA aptly exemplifies the breadth of topics concerning experimental animal use: from the development of animal alternatives, through the correct use and interpretation of the current animal models, to the ultimate re-homing of the animals used. As such, this issue reflects the truly multidisciplinary nature of the journal and the various perspectives of those concerned with animal use and the quest for alternatives.

中文翻译：

---

社论

欢迎阅读本期 ATLA，这是我第一次担任新主编。我想借此机会感谢 Michael Balls 30 多年来为该杂志所做的所有辛勤工作和奉献。这表明了他的真正承诺，我可以从一开始就声明我的任期与他的记录不符！我要感谢 Susan Trigwell 和 Rita Seabra 在确保期刊的连续性和质量方面所做的工作。我也感谢现任和前任副主编、编辑委员会成员、撰稿人和 SAGE Publishing 为支持和推广该期刊所做的努力。随着期刊在这个新篇章中的发展，我期待着与你们所有人合作。有关该期刊未来计划的更多信息，请参阅本期的评论文章：替代之旅和不可避免的问题。这包括对动物使用和未来机会的个人观点。虽然在实验中完全取代动物的使用被认为是一个长期目标，但目前医学科学的进步仍然需要使用动物或动物衍生材料。如果需要进行此类实验，则必须考虑优化动物福利（在程序期间和之后）——确保从所进行的实验中获得最大的信息，并且它们是回答特定问题的最合适的实验构成。在本期中，这些主题从三个互补的角度进行了研究：(i) 动物模型的适当使用和解释；(ii) 在可能的情况下替代使用动物源性材料；(iii) 确保实验后动物的福利。我自己的背景是开发和评估计算机模型。关于什么可以被认为是“有效”的计算机模型的问题经常被提出。所有模型都是感兴趣系统的替代品，通过正确的解释，它们可以提供相关信息。但是，需要谨慎行事以确保正确应用模型并正确解释结果，而不会外推超出模型范围。尽管模型可能没有经过正式“验证”，但它仍然可以产生重要信息——前提是已经确定了它对给定目的的适用性。在此，斯坦福大学深入讨论了基于动物的精神疾病“模型”的使用和误用，以及将基于这些模型的临床前研究转化为人类的局限性，这显然是开发模型最具挑战性的医学领域之一。国王等人。描述了一项概念验证研究，其中在优化的预处理条件下，修饰的人类红细胞被证明是动物源红细胞的合适替代品，用于评估补体活性。整体方法是部分替代动物源材料的使用，证明了替代动物使用的渐进式进展。最后，Hänninen 和 Norring 报告了一个项目的结果，该项目旨在调查比格犬在实验结束时重新归巢（而不是安乐死）的问题。不仅对狗而且对它们的看护人的好处，描述并给出了关于最终重新安置的高级规划的建议，以改善成功的结果。本期 ATLA 恰如其分地体现了有关实验动物使用主题的广泛性：从动物替代品的开发，到当前动物模型的正确使用和解释，到所用动物的最终重新归巢。因此，本期反映了该期刊真正的多学科性质以及关注动物使用和寻求替代品的人的各种观点。通过对现有动物模型的正确使用和解读，最终实现所用动物的重新归巢。因此，本期反映了该期刊真正的多学科性质以及关注动物使用和寻求替代品的人的各种观点。通过对现有动物模型的正确使用和解读，最终实现所用动物的重新归巢。因此，本期反映了该期刊真正的多学科性质以及关注动物使用和寻求替代品的人的各种观点。