Use of tetrahydrozoline for chemical submission.

Background: We report two cases of drug-facilitated sexual assault which presented with CNS depression rendering the victims vulnerable to sexual assault and unable to recall the events surrounding the crimes. In each tetrahydrozoline (THZ) was quantified.

Case Report: Case #1 ingested an unknown amount of eye drops containing THZ mixed with alcoholic beverages.

Production of porous silica microparticles by membrane emulsification.

A method for the production of near-monodispersed spherical silica particles with controllable porosity based on the formation of uniform emulsion droplets using membrane emulsification is described. A hydrophobic metal membrane with a 15 μm pore size and 200 μm pore spacing was used to produce near-monodispersed droplets, with a mean size that could be controlled between 65 and 240 μm containing acidified sodium silicate solution (with 4 and 6 wt % SiO(2)) in kerosene. After drying and shrinking, the final silica particles had a mean size in the range between 30 and 70 μm.

The Use of Over-The-Counter Medications to Facilitate Sexual Assault.

Over-the-counter drugs are medications that are available without the requirement of a prescription. They are considered relatively safe and well-tolerated when taken in accordance with the dosing instructions on the package label. However, when taken alone or in combination with other drugs, they possess pharmacological properties that have the potential to facilitate sexual assault.

Antimicrobial activity of doripenem tested against prevalent Gram-positive pathogens: results from a global surveillance study (2003-2007).

Doripenem is a broad-spectrum parenteral carbapenem recently approved in the United States for treatment of complicated urinary tract and intra-abdominal infections. Although pronounced doripenem antimicrobial activity against various Gram-negative pathogens, including anaerobes, has been confirmed, limited information has been forthcoming on the activity of this agent against leading Gram-positive species. We evaluated the activity of doripenem using reference broth microdilution procedures against a large collection of staphylococci, enterococci, and streptococci collected as part of a global (North America, 43.

Preparation and characterization of PLGA particles for subcutaneous controlled drug release by membrane emulsification.

Uniformly sized microparticles of poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic) (PLGA) acid, with controllable median diameters within the size range 40-140 microm, were successfully prepared by membrane emulsification of an oil phase injected into an aqueous phase, followed by solvent removal. Initially, simple particles were produced as an oil in water emulsion, where dichloromethane (DCM) and PLGA were the oil phase and water with stabiliser was the continuous phase. The oil was injected into the aqueous phase through an array type microporous membrane, which has very regular pores equally spaced apart, and two different pore sizes were used: 20 and 40 microm in diameter.