Ultrafast Detection of Arsenic Using Carbon-Fiber Microelectrodes and Fast-Scan Cyclic Voltammetry.

Arsenic contamination poses a significant public health risk worldwide, with chronic exposure leading to various health issues. Detecting and monitoring arsenic exposure accurately remains challenging, necessitating the development of sensitive detection methods. In this study, we introduce a novel approach using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) coupled with carbon-fiber microelectrodes (CFMs) for the electrochemical detection of As.

Land disposal of dredged sediments from an urbanized tropical lagoon: toxicity to soil fauna.

Urban tropical lagoons are commonly impacted by silting, domestic sewage and industrial wastes and the dredging of their sediments is often required to minimize environmental impacts. However, the ecological implications of land disposal of dredged sediments are still poorly investigated in the tropics. Aiming to contribute to filling this gap, an ecotoxicological evaluation was conducted with dredged sediments from Tijuca Lagoon (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) using different lines of evidence, including soil and sediment characterization, metal determination, and acute and avoidance bioassays with Eisenia andrei.

Gold Nanoparticle-Modified Carbon-Fiber Microelectrodes for the Electrochemical Detection of Cd via Fast-Scan Cyclic Voltammetry.

Neurotoxic heavy metals, such as Cd, pose a significant global health concern due to their increased environmental contamination and subsequent detrimental health hazards they pose to human beings. These metal ions can breach the blood-brain barrierblood-brain barrier, leading to severe and often irreversible damage to the central nervous system and other vital organs. Therefore, developing a highly sensitive, robust, and rapid in vivo detection method for these hazardous heavy metal ions is of the utmost importance for early detection, thus initiating timely therapeutics.

Ecological risk assessment of metal and hydrocarbon pollution in sediments from an urban tropical estuary: Tijuca lagoon (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).

Urban tropical lagoons are often impacted by eutrophication, metal, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination, but the toxicity of their bottom sediments is still poorly investigated in South America. Aiming to contribute to filling this gap, a sediment quality assessment was conducted in the Tijuca Lagoon (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) using different lines of evidence (LOEs) including sediment characterization, determination of metals and PAHs, and acute toxicity testing with burrowing amphipods (Tiburonella viscana). Mud and organic matter contents played a crucial role in contaminant distribution along the lagoon.

GREM1 is required to maintain cellular heterogeneity in pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) shows pronounced epithelial and mesenchymal cancer cell populations. Cellular heterogeneity in PDAC is an important feature in disease subtype specification, but how distinct PDAC subpopulations interact, and the molecular mechanisms that underlie PDAC cell fate decisions, are incompletely understood. Here we identify the BMP inhibitor GREM1 as a key regulator of cellular heterogeneity in pancreatic cancer in human and mouse.