Toxoplasma gondii infection triggers chronic cachexia and sustained commensal dysbiosis in mice.

Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite with a predation-mediated transmission cycle between rodents and felines. Intermediate hosts acquire Toxoplasma by eating parasite cysts which invade the small intestine, disseminate systemically and finally establish host life-long chronic infection in brain and muscles. Here we show that Toxoplasma infection can trigger a severe form of sustained cachexia: a disease of progressive lean weight loss that is a causal predictor of mortality in cancer, chronic disease and many infections.

MODULAR ANALYTICS: A New Approach to Automation in the Clinical Laboratory.

MODULAR ANALYTICS (Roche Diagnostics) (MODULAR ANALYTICS, Elecsys and Cobas Integra are trademarks of a member of the Roche Group) represents a new approach to automation for the clinical chemistry laboratory. It consists of a control unit, a core unit with a bidirectional multitrack rack transportation system, and three distinct kinds of analytical modules: an ISE module, a P800 module (44 photometric tests, throughput of up to 800 tests/h), and a D2400 module (16 photometric tests, throughput up to 2400 tests/h). MODULAR ANALYTICS allows customised configurations for various laboratory workloads.

Increasing Efficiency and Quality by Consolidation of Clinical Chemistry and Immunochemistry Systems with MODULAR ANALYTICS SWA.

MODULAR ANALYTICS Serum Work Area (in USA Integrated MODULAR ANALYTICS, MODULAR ANALYTICS is a trademark of a member of the Roche Group) represents a further approach to automation in the laboratory medicine. This instrument combines previously introduced modular systems for the clinical chemistry and immunochemistry laboratory and allows customised combinations for various laboratory workloads. Functionality, practicability, and workflow behaviour of MODULAR ANALYTICS Serum Work Area were evaluated in an international multicenter study at six laboratories.

Multicentre performance evaluation of the E170 module for modular analytics.

The E170 module was evaluated at 13 sites in an international multicentre study. The objective of the study was to assess the analytical performance of 49 analytes, and to collect feedback on the system's reliability and practicability. The typical, within-run coefficients of variation (CVs) for most of the quantitative assays ranged between 1 and 2% while a range of 2-4% was achieved with the infectious disease methods.