Fish as environmental sentinels for metal contaminants of human health concern in the Lower Mississippi River Basin.

Industrial expansion and population growth have lowered water quality, polluting aquatic ecosystems world-wide. Metal pollution in the rivers across the United States are a major health concern. The level of metal contamination in fish from the Lower Mississippi River Basin and their threat to public health were last evaluated 20 years ago.

Internal and external spatial analysis of trace elements in local crayfish.

Pollution in urban environments is a major health concern for humans as well as the local wildlife and aquatic species. Anthropogenic waste and discharge from storm drainage accumulate nutrients and environmental contaminants in local water systems. Locating contaminated sites using water samples over the vast landscape is a daunting task.

Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibody in Mississippi White-Tailed Deer.

Early detection and monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 infections in animal populations living in close proximity to humans is crucial for preventing reverse zoonosis of new viral strains. Evidence accumulated has revealed widespread SARS-CoV-2 infection among white-tailed deer (WTD), () populations in the United States except in the southeast region. Therefore, the objective was to conduct surveillance for evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among WTD in Mississippi.

Identifying Potential Super-Spreaders and Disease Transmission Hotspots Using White-Tailed Deer Scraping Networks.

White-tailed deer (, WTD) spread communicable diseases such the zoonotic coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which is a major public health concern, and chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal, highly contagious prion disease occurring in cervids. Currently, it is not well understood how WTD are spreading these diseases. In this paper, we speculate that "super-spreaders" mediate disease transmission via direct social interactions and indirectly via body fluids exchanged at scrape sites.

Expression of Drosophila Matrix Metalloproteinases in Cultured Cell Lines Alters Neural and Glial Cell Morphology.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are zinc- and calcium- dependent endopeptidases that play pivotal roles in many biological processes. The expression of several MMPs in the central nervous system (CNS) have been shown to change in response to injury and various neurological/neurodegenerative disorders. While extracellular MMPs degrade the extracellular matrix (ECM) and regulate cell surface receptor signaling, the intracellular functions of MMPs or their roles in CNS disorders is unclear.