Assessment of the stability of DNA in specimens collected under conditions for drug testing-A pilot study.

For forensic biological sample collections, the specimen donor is linked solidly to his or her specimen through a chain of custody (CoC) sometimes referenced as a chain of evidence. Rarely, a donor may deny that a urine or oral fluid (OF) specimen is his or her specimen even with a patent CoC. The goal of this pilot study was to determine the potential effects of short-term storage on the quality and quantity of DNA in both types of specimen under conditions that may be encountered with employment-related drug testing specimens.

Detection and quantification of codeine-6-glucuronide, hydromorphone-3-glucuronide, oxymorphone-3-glucuronide, morphine 3-glucuronide and morphine-6-glucuronide in human hair from opioid users by LC-MS-MS.

Current hair testing methods that rely solely on quantification of parent drug compounds are unable to definitively distinguish between drug use and external contamination. One possible solution to this problem is to confirm the presence of unique drug metabolites that cannot be present through contamination, such as phase II glucuronide conjugates. This work demonstrates for the first time that codeine-6-glucuronide, hydromorphone-3-glucuronide, oxymorphone-3-glucuronide, morphine-3-glucuronide and morphine-6-glucuronide are present at sufficient concentrations to be quantifiable in hair of opioid users and that their concentrations generally increase as the concentrations of the corresponding parent compounds increase.

The redesigned Forensic Research/Reference on Genetics-knowledge base, FROG-kb.

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A Control Theory Model of Smoking.

We present a heuristic control theory model that describes smoking under restricted and unrestricted access to cigarettes. The model is based on the allostasis theory and uses a formal representation of a multiscale opponent process. The model simulates smoking behavior of an individual and produces both short-term ("loading up" after not smoking for a while) and long-term smoking patterns (e.

Reports of Adverse Events Associated with Use of Novel Psychoactive Substances, 2013-2016: A Review.

Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) represent significant analytical and interpretive challenges to forensic and clinical toxicologists. Timely access to case reports and reports of adverse incidents of impairment or toxicity is imperative to clinical diagnosis and treatment, as well as to interpretation of forensic results. Delays in identifying the presence of a novel intoxicating agent have significant consequences for public health and public safety.

The Role of the State Health Laboratories in Advancing Health Equity.

While laboratories play an important and recognized role in many public health programs that require surveillance of disease spread or monitoring of environmental conditions, the role of public laboratories in assessing and advancing health equity is not well understood. Yet, public laboratories collect, provide or generate much of the data used to determine health equity status and monitor heath equity trends in multiple settings and disciplines. RI State Health Laboratories, a division of the RI Department of Health, operates programs that help measure and address health disparities.

Cultural inter-population differences do not reflect biological distances: an example of interdisciplinary analysis of populations from Eastern Adriatic coast.

Aim: To compare the population group from the Šopot graveyard with population groups from traditional Croatian medieval graveyards by using anthropological, craniometrics, and mitochondrial (mtDNA) analysis and to examine if the cultural differences between population groups reflect biological differences.

Methods: We determined sex, age at death, pathological, and traumatic changes of skeletal remains from the Šopot graveyard and compared them with a cumulative medieval sample from the same region. We also performed principal component analysis to compare skeletal remains from Šopot with those from Ostrovica and other Central European samples according to 8 cranial measurements.

Cocaine analytes in human hair: evaluation of concentration ratios in different cocaine sources, drug-user populations and surface-contaminated specimens.

Hair specimens were analyzed for cocaine (COC), benzoylecgonine (BE), cocaethylene (CE) and norcocaine (NCOC) by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Drug-free hair was contaminated in vitro with COC from different sources with varied COC analyte concentrations. Results were compared to COC analyte concentrations in drug users' hair following self-reported COC use (Street) and in hair from participants in controlled COC administration studies (Clinical) on a closed clinical research unit.

Evaluation of the 20% D-methamphetamine requirement for determining illicit use of methamphetamine in urine.

In urine drug testing, enantiomer analysis is used to determine whether a positive methamphetamine result could be due to use of an over-the-counter (OTC) nasal inhaler containing L-methamphetamine. D-methamphetamine at more than 20% of the total is considered indicative of a source other than an OTC product. This interpretation is based on a 1991 Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Technical Advisory.

Future perspectives of personalized oncology.

Based upon an individual's molecular make-up, personalized molecular medicine provides information regarding the origin of disease, its treatment and progression, while personalized molecular pharmacology advises on drug prescription and patient response to it, thus ensuring drug effectiveness and preventing drug toxicity or lack of response. Interindividual differences in drug responses are mostly due to structural variation in parts of genome, e.g.

A comparison of the validity of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis of urine samples II: amphetamine, methamphetamine, (±)-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine, (±)-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, (±)-3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine, phencyclidine, and (±)-11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol.

On November 25, 2008, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services posted a final notice in the Federal Register authorizing the use of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) and other technologies in federally regulated workplace drug testing (WPDT) programs.

A comparison of the validity of gas chromatography- mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography- tandem mass spectrometry analysis of urine samples for morphine, codeine, 6-acetylmorphine, and benzoylecgonine.

On November 25, 2008, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services posted a final notice in the Federal Register authorizing the use of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) and other technologies in federally regulated workplace drug testing (WPDT) programs.

Hair Testing for Drugs - Challenges for Interpretation.

While testing hair for drugs of abuse has become more widely used in the past 30 years, significant challenges still remain to the interpretation of the results from these tests. Of primary concern is the likelihood of unwitting contamination from the environment producing a result indicative of drug use. It is imperative that this possibility be controlled and understood so that results from hair testing can be appropriately interpreted.

A Decade Revisited - Forensic and Clinical Applications of Hair Testing.

Hair testing for metals in clinical and forensic applications began in the 1950s whereas drugs of abuse testing in hair did not begin until the early 1980s. Hair testing has continued to develop as indicated by the publication of more than 300 scientific manuscripts focusing on applications of hair analysis in the past 10 years alone. This review describes many disciplines of hair testing cited in journals and books over the past decade including forensic drug screening, clinical testing, death investigations, and the potential use of newer applications such as reinstatement of driving privileges, detection of doping agents, and testing for drugs used in a criminal act.

Specimen Adulteration and Substitution in Workplace Drug Testing.

Throughout the history of workplace drug testing, individuals have attempted to subvert their drug test results to mask their use of illegal drugs. Urine workplace specimens have been subject to tampering, from early attempts involving household chemicals and simple dilution or substitution to current attempts using the multitude of readily available commercial adulteration and substitution products. The manufacturers of such products continue to alter product composition or develop new products to bypass detection procedures and policies implemented by drug testing laboratories and regulatory agencies.

Morphological changes in human head hair subjected to various drug testing decontamination strategies.

Morphological changes in hair subjected to decontamination protocols were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) as part of the National Laboratory Certification Program's (NLCP) efforts to develop proficiency testing materials in support of Federal Workplace Drug Testing programs. Hair from five different donors was evaluated. Hair samples were subjected to three decontamination protocols: (1) aqueous phosphate buffer, (2) methanol or (3) methylene chloride as models for aqueous, alcohol and polar organic solvent protocols, respectively.

Occupational exposure to methamphetamine in workers preparing training AIDS for drug detection dogs.

As a part of ongoing testing of personnel preparing training aids for drug detection dogs at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service Regional Forensic Laboratory, personnel handling methamphetamine (MTH) were subject to voluntary urine drug testing. This provided a model of potential unwitting or environmental exposure contribution to MTH concentrations in urine. Urine samples were collected from multiple individuals on the day before, the day of, and the day after the individuals had handled up to 500-g quantities of MTH during the assembly of training aids.

External contamination of hair with cocaine: evaluation of external cocaine contamination and development of performance-testing materials.

The National Laboratory Certification Program undertook an evaluation of the dynamics of external contamination of hair with cocaine (COC) while developing performance testing materials for Federal Drug-Free Workplace Programs. This characterization was necessary to develop performance materials that could evaluate the efficacy of hair testing industry's decontamination procedures. Hair locks (blonde to dark brown/black) from five different individuals were contaminated with cocaine HCl.

Extraction and analysis of clonazepam and 7-aminoclonazepam in whole blood using a dual internal standard methodology.

In this paper, a simple and robust method for the determination of clonazepam and its primary metabolite (7-aminoclonazepam) in whole blood is described. Clonazepam (klonopin) is a popular prescription drug that has been implicated in the field of drug facilitated sexual assaults (DFSA). Clonazepam, 7-aminoclonazepam and the internal standards (deuterated analogues for GC-MS analysis and nitrazepam for analysis by LC-PDA/GC-MS) were spiked into blood samples.

Evaluation of solid-phase sorbents for the analysis of ropinirole in whole blood.

In this paper, the extraction and analysis of ropinirole from whole blood using solid-phase cartridges is presented. Previously published methods for the analysis of this drug have employed plasma samples using C(18) cartridges. Liquid-liquid extraction has been employed for analysis of postmortem samples.

Extraction and analysis of flunitrazepam/7-aminoflunitrazepam in blood and urine by LC-PDA and GC-MS using butyl SPE columns.

The forensic toxicology community has recognized flunitrazepam and its metabolite (7-aminoflunitrazepam) as compounds of concern for several years. In this procedure, the analytes were extracted from whole blood and urine onto single mode solid phase cartridges (butyl) using nitrazepam as an internal standard. The columns were washed with distilled water and hexane.

Modified cardiectomy: documenting sudden cardiac death in hearts selected for valve allograft procurement.

Medical examiners frequently deny requests by tissue procurement organizations for heart valves intended for allograft transplantation. Most of these denials are in cases of sudden apparent natural death, often where a cardiac cause is suspected. The basis of denial in these cases is that the heart must be removed and the valves procured off site under sterile conditions.

Airway obstruction by a ball.

A toddler died as the result of choking on a toy ball that occluded his upper airway. The size of this toy was within the federal safety standards for use by children under the age of three years. Though it has been recognized since 1987 that the minimum safe diameter set by the Federal Hazardous Substances Act may be too small, no change has been made to the regulation (1).

The development of forensic medicine in the United Kingdom from the 18th century.

Forensic medicine in the United Kingdom includes both forensic pathology and clinical forensic medicine on the living. It began at the end of the 18th century, long after its development in Germany, Italy, France, and other countries in Europe. Initial beginnings were in Scotland, where a program began at the University of Edinburgh with the establishment of a chair in Forensic Medicine by Prof.