Disposable and sensitive electrochemical magneto-immunosensor for point-of-care HCV diagnostics: Targeting HCVcAg, the active viremia biomarker, in patient samples.

Early detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is crucial for eliminating this silent killer, especially in resource-limited settings. HCV core antigen (HCVcAg) represents a promising alternative to the current "gold standard" HCV RNA assays as an active viremia biomarker. Herein, a highly sensitive electrochemical magneto-immunosensor for the HCVcAg was developed.

Brief report: Chronic murine schistosomiasis causes aberrant hemostasis.

Schistosomiasis afflicts >250 million people worldwide, leading to an annual loss of >3 million disability-adjusted life years. Schistosoma mansoni causes intestinal schistosomiasis with parasite eggs either transversing intestinal tissue or lodging within the liver and other organs, causing intestinal hemorrhage and liver pathology. Large (∼1 cm) adult worms survive for years within blood vessels, but we lack a clear understanding of their impact on hemostasis.

An multi-organ microphysiological system (MPS) to investigate the gut-to-brain translocation of neurotoxins.

The death of dopamine-producing neurons in the substantia nigra in the base of the brain is a defining pathological feature in the development of Parkinson's disease (PD). PD is, however, a multi-systemic disease, also affecting the peripheral nervous system and gastrointestinal tract (GIT) that interact via the gut-brain axis (GBA). Our dual-flow GIT-brain microphysiological system (MPS) was modified to investigate the gut-to-brain translocation of the neurotoxin trigger of PD, 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP), and its impact on key GIT and brain cells that contribute to the GBA.

Gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) post-mortem findings from December 2018 through 2021 during the Unusual Mortality Event in the Eastern North Pacific.

Beginning in December 2018, increased numbers of gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) strandings were reported along the west coast of Mexico, the United States, and Canada, prompting declaration of a gray whale Unusual Mortality Event (UME) by the United States National Marine Fisheries Service. Although strandings declined in 2020 and 2021 from a peak in 2019, the UME is still ongoing as of fall 2023. Between 17 December 2018 and 31 December 2021, 503 animals stranded along the west coast of North America, with 226 strandings in Mexico, 71 in California, 12 in Oregon, 56 in Washington, 21 in British Columbia, and 117 in Alaska.