Testing Protocol

Transfer mice are to the testing room for acclimation two days prior to performing uroflowmetry.
Prepare sweetened water by dissolving glucose (final concentration: 3%. Sigma, Cat. no. 50-99-7) and saccharin (final concentration 0.125 %. Acros, Cat. no. 82385-42-0) in drinking water. Load water bottle with 60 ml solution per mouse. Mice receive the sweetened water two days prior to and during testing.
Weigh mice and place mice individually in the metabolic cage. Remember to put cage cover onto the cage. We typically test mice between 11 am and 1 pm for 2 hours. Testing can be extended to 4 hours, if desired.
Place waste collecting plate on the balance (~7 x 7 inch square of plexiglass).
Tare the balance to account for weight of waste collection plate and put the front panel onto the enclosure to prevent fluctuations in recording caused by airflow in the room.
To start recording, go to computer and open PuTTY.
Select Raspberry Pi unit that is used for recording. If multiple units are used simultaneously, repeat steps 7-10.
Click open.
A recording session window will pop up. We use the default password: raspberry.
After typing password, hit enter and recording will start immediately.
When testing is completed, simply close the session and data are saved automatically.
Remove the front panel from enclosure. Take mice out from metabolic cages and return mice to their original cages.
Clean the metabolic cages using 70 % alcohol and water.