Overview of systematic toxicological analysis strategies and their coverage of substances in forensic toxicology.

Systematic toxicological analysis (STA) is the process of using an adequate analytical methodology to detect and identify as many potentially toxicologically relevant compounds as possible in biological samples. STA is an important part of everyday routine work within forensic toxicology, and several methods for STA have frequently been published and reviewed independently. However, the many drugs and other substances involved, as well as the constant emergence of new ones, may pose a major challenge in STA, which often demands a strategy involving multiple analytical methods in parallel.

Concentrations of citalopram and escitalopram in postmortem hair segments.

Hair analysis can provide information regarding previous drug intake and use patterns, as the drugs consumed are incorporated into the hair. Therefore, reference values for drugs in hair are valuable in forensic investigations, especially when evaluating drug intake and assessing drug tolerance. The aim of the study was to determine concentrations of citalopram, escitalopram, and their primary metabolites in hair segments from deceased individuals with mental illness.

A Systematic Review of Metabolite-to-Drug Ratios of Pharmaceuticals in Hair for Forensic Investigations.

After ingestion, consumed drugs and their metabolites are incorporated into hair, which has a long detection window, ranging up to months. Therefore, in addition to conventional blood and urine analyses, hair analysis can provide useful information on long-term drug exposure. Meta-bolite-to-drug (MD) ratios are helpful in interpreting hair results, as they provide useful information on drug metabolism and can be used to distinguish drug use from external contamination, which is otherwise a limitation in hair analysis.

Concentrations of aripiprazole and dehydroaripiprazole in hair segments from deceased individuals with mental disorders.

Segmental hair analysis provides information regarding previous long-term drug exposure, which is useful in the evaluation of cause of death for individuals with mental disorders. The aim was to analyze postmortem concentrations of the antipsychotic drug aripiprazole and its active metabolite dehydroaripiprazole in hair segments from individuals with known aripiprazole intake. Hair samples were collected during autopsy.

Vaginal Microbiota and In Vitro Fertilization Outcomes: Development of a Simple Diagnostic Tool to Predict Patients at Risk of a Poor Reproductive Outcome.

Background: Female reproductive tract microbiota may affect human reproduction. The current study considered whether a more detailed characterization of the vaginal microbiota could improve prediction of risk of poor reproductive outcome in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Methods: Vaginal samples from 120 patients undergoing IVF were sequenced using the V4 region of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene with clustering of Gardnerella vaginalis genomic clades.

Abnormal vaginal microbiota may be associated with poor reproductive outcomes: a prospective study in IVF patients.

Study Question: What is the diagnostic performance of qPCR assays compared with Nugent scoring for abnormal vaginal microbiota and for predicting the success rate of IVF treatment?

Summary Answer: The vaginal microbiota of IVF patients can be characterized with qPCR tests which may be promising tools for diagnosing abnormal vaginal microbiota and for prediction of clinical pregnancy in IVF treatment.

What Is Known Already: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common genital disorder with a prevalence of approximately 19% in the infertile population. BV is often sub-clinical with a change of the vaginal microbiota from being Lactobacillus spp.

Stem cells for obstetricians and gynecologists.

Stem cells are a subject of immense research interest, and may in the not too far future provide the basis for a number of new therapies aimed at substituting damaged or lacking cells, tissues, and even organs. A number of stem cell types have been identified, including embryonal stem cells, umbilical cord blood stem cells, and bone marrow stem cells. Two of the most promising stem cell types, embryonal stem cells and umbilical cord blood stem cells, are obtained from sources within the field of gynecology and obstetrics, namely fertility clinics performing in-vitro fertilization, and labor wards, respectively.

Quantitation and gompertzian analysis of tumor growth.

Human tumor xenografts in immune-deficient animals are used to establish tumor growth curves and for studying the effect of experimental therapy on tumor growth. In this review we describe a method for making serial measurements of tumor size in the nude mouse model as well as methods used to transform the experimental data into useful growth curves. A transformed Gompertz function is used as the basis for calculating relevant parameters pertaining to tumor growth and response to therapy.

Absence of human placental lactogen and placental growth hormone (HGH-V) during pregnancy: PCR analysis of the deletion.

Human placental lactogen (HPL) is produced in large amounts in normal pregnancies. We report a pregnancy with complete lack of HPL and the placental variant of the human growth hormone HGH-V. The pregnancy resulted in a severely growth-retarded but otherwise normal male baby.

Acquired TGF beta 1 sensitivity and TGF beta 1 expression in cell lines established from a single small cell lung cancer patient during clinical progression.

Three small cell lung cancer cell lines established from a single patient during longitudinal follow-up were examined for in vitro expression of TGF beta and TGF beta receptors, i.e. the components of an autocrine loop.

Growth suppression by transforming growth factor beta 1 of human small-cell lung cancer cell lines is associated with expression of the type II receptor.

Nine human small-cell lung cancer cell lines were treated with transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta 1). Seven of the cell lines expressed receptors for transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta-r) in different combinations between the three human subtypes I, II and III, and two were receptor negative. Growth suppression was induced by TGF-beta 1 exclusively in the five cell lines expressing the type II receptor.

Growth-inhibition and change in morphology and motility of sclc cell-lines by hepatocyte growth-factor scatter factor.

Expression of the c-met proto-oncogene is common iii small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cell lines. The product of this proto-oncogene is the receptor for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), also known as scatter factor (SF) and hepatopoietin A. We examined the effect of HGF/SF on 8 SCLC cell lines of which six expressed c-Met and 2 control cell lines did not.

Expression of transforming growth factor beta (TGF beta) receptors and expression of TGF beta 1, TGF beta 2 and TGF beta 3 in human small cell lung cancer cell lines.

A panel of 21 small cell lung cancer cell (SCLC) lines were examined for the presence of Transforming growth factor beta receptors (TGF beta-r) and the expression of TGF beta mRNAs. By the radioreceptor assay we found high affinity receptors to be expressed in six cell lines. scatchard analysis of the binding data demonstrated that the cells bound between 4.

Expression of myc family oncoproteins in small-cell lung-cancer cell lines and xenografts.

A number of genes have altered activity in small-cell lung cancer (SCLC), but especially genes of the myc family (c-myc, L-myc and N-myc) are expressed at high levels in SCLC. Most studies have explored expression at the mRNA level, whereas studies of myc family oncoprotein expression are sparse. WE examined the expression of myc proto-oncogenes at the mRNA and protein level in 23 cell lines or xenografts.

Expression of the proto-oncogenes c-met and c-kit and their ligands, hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor and stem cell factor, in SCLC cell lines and xenografts.

We examined a panel of 25 small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cell lines and nude mouse xenografts for expression of the proto-oncogenes c-met and c-kit, and for expression of the corresponding ligands, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) (also known as scatter factor (SF)), and stem cell factor (SCF), respectively. Expression of mRNA was detected by Northern blotting, and c-met and c-kit protein expression was detected by Western blotting and immunocytochemistry. c-met and c-kit mRNA was expressed in 22 of the examined cell lines or xenografts, and coexpression of the two proto-oncogenes was observed in 20 tumours.

Stimulus-dependent secretion of plasma proteins from human neutrophils.

In search for matrix proteins released from secretory vesicles of human neutrophils, a prominent 67-kD protein was identified in the extracellular medium of neutrophils stimulated by the chemotactic peptide, FMLP. The protein was purified to apparent homogeneity and partially sequenced. The sequence of the first 32 NH2-terminal amino acids was identical to the sequence of albumin.

Northern and Southern blot analysis of human RNA and DNA in autopsy material.

Fresh biopsy material for molecular biological investigations is not obtainable from all relevant normal human tissues. We studied the feasibility of using RNA and DNA from autopsies for Northern and Southern blot analysis. Tissue samples from seven organs were obtained from 10 autopsies performed 21-118 h postmortem.

Expression of the epidermal growth factor receptor in human small cell lung cancer cell lines.

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor expression was evaluated in a panel of 21 small cell lung cancer cell lines with radioreceptor assay, affinity labeling, and Northern blotting. We found high-affinity receptors to be expressed in 10 cell lines. Scatchard analysis of the binding data demonstrated that the cells bound between 3 and 52 fmol/mg protein with a KD ranging from 0.

Expression of cadherin and NCAM in human small cell lung cancer cell lines and xenografts.

Tumour cell adhesion, detachment and aggregation seem to play an important part in tumour invasion and metastasis, and numerous cell adhesion molecules are expressed by tumour cells. Several families of cell-cell adhesion molecules have been described, of which two groups are particularly well characterised, the cadherin family and the Ig superfamily member, neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM). We investigated expression of these two adhesion molecule families in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cell lines and xenografts by immunoblotting.

Radiosensitivity of small-cell lung cancer xenografts compared with activity of c-myc, N-myc, L-myc, c-raf-1 and K-ras proto-oncogenes.

Oncogenes of the myc family c-raf-1 and K-ras have been reported to modulate radiosensitivity. We examined the possible relationship between in vivo radiosensitivity to single-dose irradiation with 3-10 Gy, and activity of these proto-oncogenes in 2 sets of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) xenografts, the CPH and the GLC series. CPH-54A and CPH-54B are in vitro-derived subclones of a SCLC cell line, while the GLC tumours were established as cell lines from a patient during longitudinal follow-up.

Presence of nerve fiber collaterals from the sympathetic arteriolar plexus the concomitant venules in dog skeletal muscle.

Previous studies with the local 133Xenon washout method of the local regulation of blood flow in peripheral tissues in man gave evidence for a local veno-arteriolar sympathetic axon reflex which constricts arterioles when the venous transmural pressure is increased 25 mm Hg or more. The present study with the formaldehyde induced histofluorescence technique applied to skeletal muscle biopsies from dogs showed a dense plexus of noradrenergic sympathetic fibers around arterioles. Venules were generally devoid of these fibers.

Abnormalities in structure and expression of the retinoblastoma gene in small cell lung cancer cell lines and xenografts in nude mice.

The putative retinoblastoma gene (Rb) is a tumor suppressor gene which is believed to cause retinoblastomas when both alleles are inactivated, leading to lack of the encoded Mr 110,000-116,000 phosphoprotein. Inactivation of the Rb gene has also been found in several other tumor types, including small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Absence of the 4.