Weight Assessment of Some Accessory Digestive Organs in the Adult African Giant Pouched Rat (Cricetomys gambianus, Waterhouse-1840)

The African giant pouched rat is a wild rodent of the Muridae family that is predominant in Africa, south of Sahara (Rosevear, 1969). They are adaptable to several environmental conditions including lowlands and highlands (Bigalke, 1964). The rats are widely distributed in all parts of Nigeria, where they are consumed as 'bushmeat'. The smoked carcasses of the rodent are often seen in village markets. Attempts have been made to breed and rear the rats in captivity, for food (Ajayi, 1975). For effective breeding and domestication, there is a need to quantify the digestive organs of the adult African giant pouched rat. This will give an insight into the efficiency of their digestive system, the knowledge of which may be employed in the breeding programmes, or as animal models for feed formulation and nutrient trials. This study was initiated based on the paucity of literature on the gross morphometry of accessory digestive organs in the adult African giant pouched rat. The study was aimed at determining the weights of the liver, gall bladder and pancreas in adult African giant pouched rats in both absolute and relative terms, and to compare the results with what has been reported in other rodents

Comparative Osteometric Study of Long Bones in Yankasa Sheep and Red Sokoto Goat

A morphometric study was undertaken on the long bones in two predominant breeds of small ruminant in Northern Guinea Savanna zone of Nigeria, to determine their anatomical differences, and thus, provide a means of differentiating the remains of these two species duringzooarchaeological studies and gross anatomy practical session. The pelvic and pectoral limbs from 15 Yankasa sheep and 15 Red Sokoto goats of both sexes were used for this study. The long bones of the pectoral limbs considered were the humerus, radius, ulna and metacarpal III whilethose of the pelvic limbs were the femur, tibia and metatarsal III. Parameters considered were the mean weights, lengths and diameters of the proximal extremity, mid-shaft and distal extremities of these bones. There was a significant difference (p 0.05). Factors that may be responsible for these differences were discussed. It was concluded that the bones of the Yankasa sheep and Red Sokoto goat can be differentiated by the disparity in the length of the long bones or the disparity in the entire morphometry of the tibia bones

Decaying Dark Matter in the Supersymmetric Standard Model with Freeze-in and Seesaw mechanims

Inspired by the decaying dark matter (DM) which can explain cosmic ray anomalies naturally, we consider the supersymmetric Standard Model with three right-handed neutrinos (RHNs) and R-parity, and introduce a TeV-scale DM sector with two fields \phi_{1,2} and a $Z_3$ discrete symmetry. The DM sector only interacts with the RHNs via a very heavy field exchange and then we can explain the cosmic ray anomalies. With the second right-handed neutrino N_2 dominant seesaw mechanism at the low scale around 10^4 GeV, we show that \phi_{1,2} can obtain the vacuum expectation values around the TeV scale, and then the lightest state from \phi_{1,2} is the decay DM with lifetime around \sim 10^{26}s. In particular, the DM very long lifetime is related to the tiny neutrino masses, and the dominant DM decay channels to \mu and \tau are related to the approximate \mu-\tau symmetry. Furthermore, the correct DM relic density can be obtained via the freeze-in mechanism, the small-scale problem for power spectrum can be solved due to the decays of the R-parity odd meta-stable states in the DM sector, and the baryon asymmetry can be generated via the soft leptogensis.Comment: 24 pages,3 figure

Right-handed Sneutrino Dark Matter in Supersymmetric B-L Model

We show that the lightest right-handed sneutrino in TeV scale supersymmetric B-L model with inverse seesaw mechanism is a viable candidate for cold dark matter. We find that it accounts for the observed dark matter relic abundance in a wide range of parameter space. The spin-independent cross section of B-L right-handed sneutrino is consistent with the recent results CDMS II and XENON experiments and it is detectable in future direct detection experiments. Although the B-L right-handed sneutrinos annihilate into leptons, the PAMELA results can not be explained in this model unless a huge boost factor is considered. Also the muon flux generated by B-L right-handed sneutrino in the galactic center is smaller than Super-Kamiokande's upper bound.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures; version accepted for publication in Journal of High Energy Physic

Neural Circuits Underlying Rodent Sociality: A Comparative Approach

All mammals begin life in social groups, but for some species, social relationships persist and develop throughout the course of an individual’s life. Research in multiple rodent species provides evidence of relatively conserved circuitry underlying social behaviors and processes such as social recognition and memory, social reward, and social approach/avoidance. Species exhibiting different complex social behaviors and social systems (such as social monogamy or familiarity preferences) can be characterized in part by when and how they display specific social behaviors. Prairie and meadow voles are closely related species that exhibit similarly selective peer preferences but different mating systems, aiding direct comparison of the mechanisms underlying affiliative behavior. This chapter draws on research in voles as well as other rodents to explore the mechanisms involved in individual social behavior processes, as well as specific complex social patterns. Contrasts between vole species exemplify how the laboratory study of diverse species improves our understanding of the mechanisms underlying social behavior. We identify several additional rodent species whose interesting social structures and available ecological and behavioral field data make them good candidates for study. New techniques and integration across laboratory and field settings will provide exciting opportunities for future mechanistic work in non-model species

The histomorphology of the African palm squirrel (Epixerus ebii) lacrimal gland.

The histomophology of the dorso-lateral lacrimal gland of the African Palm Squirrel –Epixerus ebii, was investigated to establish its normal histology. The grossly almond shaped organ appeared as a pink coloured U-shaped structure with lobules on low magnification. The organ was coated by thin connective tissue fibres. The lobules averaging seven in number contained tubuloalveoalar glands. The cells of the glands were typically serous cells with low columnar shape containing basally located ovoid to spherical nucleus. While some gland acini lumen contained foamy eosinophilic secretions, other acini contained foamy eosinophilic secretions with basophilic materials. These acini were designated types I and II respectively. Periodic acid Schiff reaction revealed that the basement membrane were PAS positive while the gland secretions were poorly PAS positive. This data will fill the knowledge gap and aid biologists’, comparative anatomists’ in further investigative research, while it will be of interest to wildlife clinicians in this species disease management

Strengthening the community health program in Liberia: Lessons learned from a health system approach to inform program design and better prepare for future shocks

Background: Arising from the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak, the 2015- 2021 Investment Plan aimed to improve the health status of the Liberian population through building a resilient health system that contributes to achieving equitable health outcomes. Recognizing the significance of community participation in overcoming the EVD outbreak, strengthening community systems emerged as one of the most important strategies for bridging the gap in accessing primary health care (PHC) services. This study reviewed the community health policy development process in order to draw lessons from the health system strengthening efforts in Liberia post-EVD crisis. Methods: A government-led health system analysis approach was applied to assess, review and revise the community health program in Liberia. The mixed method approach combines the use of an adapted tool to assess bottlenecks and solutions during workshops, a qualitative survey (key informant interviews and focus group discussions) to assess perceptions of challenges and perspectives from different stakeholders, and an inter-agency framework – a benchmarks matrix – to jointly review program implementation gaps using the evidence compiled, and identify priorities to scale up of the community program. Results: Stakeholders identified key health system challenges and proposed policy and programmatic shifts to institutionalize a standardized community health program with fit for purpose and incentivized community health assistants to provide PHC services to the targeted populations. The community health program in Liberia is currently at the phase of implementation and requires strengthened leadership, local capacities, and resources for sustainability. Lessons learned from this review included the importance of: establishing a coordination mechanism and leveraging partnership support; using a systems approach to better inform policy shifts; strengthening community engagement; and conducting evidence-based planning to inform policy-makers. Conclusions: This article contributes toward the existing body of knowledge about policy development processes and reforms on community health in Liberia, and most likely other African settings with weak health systems. Community-based systems will play an even bigger role as we move toward building resilience for future shocks and strengthening PHC, which will require that communities be viewed as actors in the health system rather than just clients of health services.</p