Workflow to facilitate the detection of new psychoactive substances and drugs of abuse in influent urban wastewater.

The complexity around the dynamic markets for new psychoactive substances (NPS) forces researchers to develop and apply innovative analytical strategies to detect and identify them in influent urban wastewater. In this work a comprehensive suspect screening workflow following liquid chromatography - high resolution mass spectrometry analysis was established utilising the open-source InSpectra data processing platform and the HighResNPS library. In total, 278 urban influent wastewater samples from 47 sites in 16 countries were collected to investigate the presence of NPS and other drugs of abuse.

Clinical Manifestations and Genomic Evaluation of Melioidosis Outbreak among Children after Sporting Event, Australia.

Melioidosis, caused by the environmental gram-negative bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, usually develops in adults with predisposing conditions and in Australia more commonly occurs during the monsoonal wet season. We report an outbreak of 7 cases of melioidosis in immunocompetent children in Australia. All the children had participated in a single-day sporting event during the dry season in a tropical region of Australia, and all had limited cutaneous disease.

Investigation and Resolution of Interference in the LC-QTOF-MS Detection of 4-MePPP.

An interference resulting in the false-positive detection of the synthetic cathinone 4-MePPP in urine was suspected following the recent addition of 4-MePPP spectral data to an LC-QTOF-MS drug library. Although positive detection criteria were achieved, it was noted that all urine samples suspected of containing 4-MePPP also concurrently contained high levels of tramadol and its associated metabolites. Using QTOF-MS software elucidation tools, candidate compounds for the suspected interference were proposed.

Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry: A Paradigm Shift in Toxicology Screening Applications.

The screening of biological samples for the presence of illicit or legal substances is an important frontline tool in both clinical and forensic toxicology. In the clinical setting, drug screening is a useful tool for the clinician in improving patient care and guiding treatment. Analytical approaches for the screening of drugs in biological samples are extensive and well documented, though many rapid screening techniques often lack appropriate sensitivity and specificity, requiring careful clinical interpretation.

An electrophysiological signal that precisely tracks the emergence of error awareness.

Recent electrophysiological research has sought to elucidate the neural mechanisms necessary for the conscious awareness of action errors. Much of this work has focused on the error positivity (Pe), a neural signal that is specifically elicited by errors that have been consciously perceived. While awareness appears to be an essential prerequisite for eliciting the Pe, the precise functional role of this component has not been identified.