Cerebellar and Olfactory Bulb Perturbations Induced by Vanadium Neurotoxicity in the African Giant Rat (Cricetomys gambianus, Waterhouse).

The African giant rat, AGR (Cricetomys gambianus) is a unique rodent known for its keen sense of smell which has enabled its use in the diagnosis of tuberculosis and demining activities in war torn countries. This keen sense of smell and the ability to navigate tight spaces are skills modulated by the olfactory bulb and cerebellum. While the brain is generally susceptible to environmental pollutants such as heavy metals, vanadium has predilection for these two brain regions.

Neuropathological profile of the African Giant Rat brain (Cricetomys gambianus) after natural exposure to heavy metal environmental pollution in the Nigerian Niger Delta.

Pollution by heavy metals is a threat to public health because of the adverse effects on multiple organ systems including the brain. Here, we used the African giant rat (AGR) as a novel sentinel host to assess the effect of heavy metal accumulation and consequential neuropathology upon the brain. For this study, AGR were collected from distinct geographical regions of Nigeria: the rain forest region of south-west Nigeria (Ibadan), the central north of Nigeria (Abuja), and in oil-polluted areas of south Nigeria (Port-Harcourt).

Permanent Tooth Eruption Patterns in Nigerian Local Pigs.

Pigs are diphyodonts with heterodont dentition and have been used in studies involving teeth and jawbone regeneration, and dental implants. Patterns of tooth eruption are used to age animals and determine the effects of environmental and genetic influences on occurrence of variations. As with other species, variations exist in the tooth eruption pattern in pigs.

Astrocytes and Microglia in Stress-Induced Neuroinflammation: The African Perspective.

Africa is laden with a youthful population, vast mineral resources and rich fauna. However, decades of unfortunate historical, sociocultural and leadership challenges make the continent a hotspot for poverty, indoor and outdoor pollutants with attendant stress factors such as violence, malnutrition, infectious outbreaks and psychological perturbations. The burden of these stressors initiate neuroinflammatory responses but the pattern and mechanisms of glial activation in these scenarios are yet to be properly elucidated.

An alternate prospect in detecting presymptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers through odor differentiation by HeroRATs.

The need for a cheap, ubiquitous, sensitive, rapid, noninvasive means of screening large numbers of presymptomatic and asymptomatic samples at departure or arrival into ports of countries, high-risk areas, and within communities forms the subject of this review. The widely used diagnostic test for the SARS-CoV 2 is the real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay while antibody-based techniques are being introduced as supplemental tools, but the lack of specialized nucleic acid extraction and amplification laboratories hampers/slows down timely large-scale testing. The use of animals with sensitive olfactory cue as an alternate testing model could serve as an alternative to detect COVID-19 in the saliva of carriers.

Morphological Characterization of the Developing Greater Cane Rat (Thryonomys swinderianus) Brain.

Developmental mode along the altricial-precocial spectrum is well known to be influenced by brain development and maturation. The greater cane rat (GCR) is an indigenous precocial African rodent with uncommon phenotypes and life traits. This study was therefore designed to characterize and describe distinctive external developmental features in the prenatal GCR brain across the entire gestational length using the emergence and differentiation of external features of the brain vesicles.

Cytoarchitecture of the Hippocampal Formation in the African Giant Rat (Cricetomys gambianus, Waterhouse).

The African Giant Rat, AGR is an indigenous nocturnal rodent noted for its unique olfactory and cognitive abilities. They have been deployed more recently in the detection of landmines and diagnosis of tuberculosis - two scourges that have had a tremendous negative impact on the African landscape. This olfactory-aided cognition has been linked to the hippocampus.

Developmental horizons in the pre-natal development of the Greater cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus).

The Greater cane rat (GCR, Thyronomys swinderianus) is a precocial rodent predominantly found within Africa. Economic and scientific interests have led to several research efforts towards the domestication and better understanding of the biology and development of this rodent. Despite these efforts, information on the pre-natal development of this rodent is currently lacking.

Peripheral axonopathy in sciatic nerve of adult Wistar rats following exposure to vanadium.

Depletion of myelin and neurobehavioural deficits are indications that vanadium crosses the blood-brain barrier and such neurotoxic effects of vanadium on the brain of Wistar rats have been elucidated. The effect however on the peripheral nerves, is yet to be reported. Thus, this work was designed to evaluate the axonal and myelin integrity of sciatic nerves in Wistar rats following exposure to vanadium.

Astrocyte morphology, heterogeneity, and density in the developing African giant rat (Cricetomys gambianus).

Astrocyte morphologies and heterogeneity were described in male African giant rats (AGR; Cricetomys gambianus, Waterhouse) across three age groups (five neonates, five juveniles, and five adults) using Silver impregnation method and immunohistochemistry against glial fibrillary acidic protein. Immunopositive cell signaling, cell size and population were least in neonates, followed by adults and juveniles, respectively. In neonates, astrocyte processes were mostly detected within the glia limitans of the mid and hind brain; their cell bodies measuring 32 ± 4.

The vertebral column, ribs, and sternum of the African giant rat (Cricetomys gambianus waterhouse).

Examined bones were obtained from eight adult African giant rats, Cricetomys gambianus Waterhouse. Animals used had an average body mass of 730.00 ± 41.