The Extended One-Generation Reproductive Toxicity Study (EOGRTS) is a standard information requirement under Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and restriction of Chemicals (REACH) in Europe. Inclusion of an F2 generation is considered useful if this impacts hazard identification or when it provides additional information altering the reproductive or developmental No Observed Adverse Effect Level (NOAEL) and subsequent risk assessment. In this retrospective analysis the added value of the F2 generation in 24 EOGRTS was evaluated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOpioid abuse is a leading cause of drug-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. It has been suggested that the age of opiate users in Australia is rising. To evaluate this further in a local population, toxicology and pathology case files from Forensic Science SA, Adelaide, South Australia, were examined for all cases with lethal opioid levels from 2000 to 2019 ( = 499; M:F 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhile postmortem (PM) toxicology results provide valuable information towards ascertaining both the cause and manner of death in coronial cases, there are also significant difficulties associated with the interpretation of PM drug levels. Such difficulties are influenced by several pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic factors including PM redistribution, diffusion, site-to-site variability in drug levels, different drug properties and metabolism, bacterial activity, genetic polymorphisms, tolerance, resuscitation efforts, underlying conditions, and the toxicity profile of cases (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAirborne triazole-resistant spores of the human fungal pathogen are a significant human health problem as the agricultural use of triazoles has been selecting for cross-resistance to life-saving clinical triazoles. However, how to quantify exposure to airborne triazole-resistant spores remains unclear. Here, we describe a method for cost-effective wide-scale outdoor air sampling to measure both spore abundance as well as antifungal resistance fractions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Forensic Med Pathol
June 2024
Methadone is one of the most common medications currently prescribed for the treatment of opioid use disorders (OUDs). While methadone maintenance programs (MMPs) have been highly successful in the management and treatment of OUDs resulting in a reduced number of fatalities, the risk of overdose/toxicity remains. The current study was undertaken to analyze trends in overdoses attributed to prescribed and diverted methadone in South Australia (SA) between 2000 and 2019.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFForensic Sci Med Pathol
September 2023
Accurate estimates of population drug use and an understanding of the factors that influence substance choice are essential for the development of appropriate and targeted prevention strategies and campaigns. This review aims to provide an overview of the socioeconomic and psychosocial factors that influence substance use patterns within the Australian population through exploration of current and historical examples of substance misuse. Australia's comparatively large online drug market is reflective of the country's relative geographic isolation and high local drug prices.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTapentadol is a relatively new synthetic opioid analgesic prescribed for the management of moderate to severe pain. While tapentadol has been shown to be more effective than traditional opioid analgesics, it still carries the risk of addiction, abuse, and misuse. In Australia, tapentadol has become one of the top five most commonly prescribed opioid drugs, with prescriptions increasing by approximately 150,000 each year since it first became available.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough it is known that elderly pedestrians are at increased risk of injury and death from vehicle crashes the specific pattern of lethal injuries related to age has not been extensively studied. Data on the numbers of pedestrian fatalities and ages were obtained from 1990 to 2020 from the Traffic Accident Reporting System, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia and detailed autopsy data on fatal pedestrian crashes from the pathology database at Forensic Science SA, Adelaide, South Australia from 2000 to 2020. Fatal injuries were separated into the following regions: head/face, spine, chest, abdomen and limbs/skeleton.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA study was undertaken to determine what injuries are associated with the wearing of seat belts and if the presence of cutaneous seat belt markings observed on victims of lethal vehicle crashes increased the likelihood of underlying injury. Autopsy reports from the files at Forensic Science South Australia were reviewed for all fatal motor vehicle crashes from January 2014 to December 2018. A total of 173 cases were included for analysis with 127 occupants wearing seat belts at the time of impact (73.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Forensic Med Pathol
December 2022
Gasoline (petrol) sniffing is a form of volatile substance misuse that is particularly prevalent within Australian indigenous communities. Although epidemiological studies have shown that gasoline sniffing has decreased over recent years, rates of gasoline sniffing deaths have not been widely reported. Therefore, a study was undertaken to assess the association between the implementation of low aromatic fuel (LAF) and gasoline sniffing deaths.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study was undertaken to review fatal cases of insulin overdose in South Australia (SA) over a 20-year period to assess rates and characteristics of insulin-related deaths among insulin-dependent diabetics and non-diabetics for all manners of death. Records from the National Coronial Information System (NCIS) and Forensic Science SA (FSSA) were searched for all cases of fatal insulin overdose in South Australia (SA) between 2000 and 2019. Collected variables included age, sex, cause of death, scene findings, manner of death, decedent medical and personal histories, biochemistry, toxicology, histopathology, and autopsy findings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInjuries from motor vehicle collisions are frequently encountered in routine forensic practice. While the most common lethal events involve blunt force trauma with injuries to the head and neck, chest, abdomen, pelvis and limbs, review of the literature and case files shows that a wide variety of other fatal situations can occur that may involve sharp force and penetrating trauma, incineration, drowning, asphyxia, organic diseases and combinations of these. The following overview details potential factors that may contribute to death following vehicle crashes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe following study was undertaken to determine if any specific occupant characteristics, crash factors, or associated injuries identified at autopsy could predict the occurrence or number of fractured ribs in adults. Data were accrued from the Traffic Accident Reporting System (TARS) and coronial autopsy reports from Forensic Science SA, Adelaide, South Australia, from January 2000 to December 2020. A total of 1475 motor vehicle fatalities were recorded in TARS between January 2000 and December 2020, and 1082 coronial autopsy reports were identified that corresponded to TARS fatal crash data.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo determine the role of cardiac disease in driver fatalities, a retrospective review of autopsy files at Forensic Science SA in Adelaide, Australia, was undertaken over a 13-year-period January 2005-December 2017 for individuals aged ≥ 40 years who had died while driving a motor vehicle. The incidence of significant coronary artery atherosclerosis (CAA) and cardiomegaly was evaluated with comparisons between drivers and a control group of passengers. Autopsy examinations were performed on 303 drivers and 72 passengers who died of trauma and on 63 drivers who died of a cardiac event while driving.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe incidence of how often a deep vein thrombosis is found in the calves of the legs at coronial postmortem examination is unclear. This study retrospectively examined postmortem examination reports from Australian Coronial investigations of sudden death resulting from pulmonary thromboembolism to determine the likelihood of dissection of the deep veins of calves of the legs revealing the source of a pulmonary thromboembolism. From 450 cases taken from the National Coronial Information System (NCIS) for 2016, the postmortem reports of 327 cases were reviewed to provide demographic details of victims of sudden death from pulmonary thromboembolism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDelivery of a peptide (APP96-110), derived from amyloid precursor protein (APP), has been shown to elicit neuroprotective effects following cerebral stroke and traumatic brain injury. In this study, the effect of APP96-110 or a mutant version of this peptide (mAPP96-110) was assessed following moderate (200 kdyn, (2 N)) thoracic contusive spinal cord injury (SCI) in adult Nude rats. Animals received a single tail vein injection of APP96-110 or mAPP96-110 at 30 minutes post-SCI and were then assessed for functional improvements over the next 8 weeks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPersistent organic pollutants (POPs) in biota are influenced by ecological, physiological, and physicochemical properties; however, there is a need for a better understanding about the interplay of these parameters on POP dynamics and fate. To address this, POPs in three Lake Erie freshwater fishes (freshwater drum, Aplodinotus grunniens; walleye, Sander vitreus; and white perch, Morone americana) with different feeding ecologies were assessed using life history characteristics and three stable isotopes (δ C, δ N, and δ S). Lipid normalized POP concentrations were in the range of past studies and were generally similar among the three species when all ages were combined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: A person-centred, biopsychosocial approach focused on self-management and a healthy lifestyle is recommended for managing non-specific low back pain (LBP).
Objective: What are the experiences of physiotherapists with regard to providing self-management support to people with non-specific LBP?
Design: Exploratory qualitative.
Methods: Fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with physiotherapists in the Netherlands using a semi-structured and pilot tested interview guide.
Motor vehicle driver fatalities (≥18 years) from the files at Forensic Science South Australia were reviewed from January 2008 to December 2018 for cases in which either positive blood sample for methamphetamine (MA) or an illegal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) >0.05g/100 ml were found. Three hundred driver deaths were found with MA detected in 28 cases (age range 21-62 years; ave.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTraumatic limb amputation is rare in occupants following a motor vehicle collision (MVC). A retrospective analysis of autopsy reports at Forensic Science South Australia (FSSA) over a 19 year period from January 2000 to December 2018 was performed to determine the incidence of limb amputation in lethal collisions and to identify predisposing factors. Only 18 cases (1.
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