GC-MS detection and characterization of thebaine as a urinary marker of opium use

The differentiation between legal and illegal opiate product use through the detection of marker compounds in urine is one of the most important subjects in forensic toxicology. Thebaine, an opium alkaloid, can be detected by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and has been suggested as a good marker of poppy seed use in differentiation from that of illicit heroin. In the present study, thebaine was targeted as a urinary marker of opium use because it is a major constituent of opium. Although thebaine lacks the conventional functional group, it was found to form a trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivative. This has made it possible to simultaneously detect thebaine together with morphine and codeine in the same urine sample to confirm opium use, thus saving time and cost of analysis while using less material. The TMS derivatization was found to enhance the stability and chromatographic properties of thebaine and to increase the sensitivity of its detection about 50-fold in comparison with that of the underivatized compound. Using the present method, thebaine was analyzed for a number of actual urine samples obtained from users of opium, illicit heroin, or codeine preparation. The results showed that thebaine is a useful opium-use marker subject to its oral administration.     

Mental illness stigma reduction interventions: review of intervention trials

This article reviews the literature evaluating the effectiveness of various stigma reduction interventions related to mental health illnesses. An integrated search of the English language literature from 1998 to May 2008 was done using CINAHL, Medline, PubMed, Scopus, and PsychINFO databases. The results of this review emphasize that experimental clinical trials hold promise for providing evidence-based data that can be used in mental health practice. Educational and contact-based strategies used in various stigma reduction programs resulted in the most durable gains in knowledge as well as positive attitudinal and behavioral changes needed to decrease the stigma associated with mental illness. Special stigma reduction programs are to be planned for adolescent and elderly targets. Future studies have yet to be designed to identify cost-effective stigma reduction programs. Moreover, interventional studies from different cultures are encouraged. Cross-cultural interventions need to be evaluated and modified to ensure providing culturally relevant interventions.     

Expression of Senescence and Apoptosis Biomarkers in Synchronous Bilateral Breast Cancer: A Case Report

Background: Synchronous bilateral breast cancer (SBBC) provides a special condition where two independent breast tumors are exposed to cancer pharmacotherapy within a uniform pharmacokinetic milieu. Both senescence and apoptosis are established responses to therapy; however, they have potentially variable contributions to the overall outcome of treatment, which are yet to be determined. Methods: In this report, we describe the clinicopathological picture of two SBBC cases that received standard anticancer treatment and assess their expression profile of several molecular hallmarks of senescence and apoptosis. Results: Our analysis identified that synchronous tumors have variable expression profiles of both senescence- and apoptosis-associated biomarkers, despite comparable pathological responses to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and current survival rates. Conclusions: Our results highlight the variable expression of senescence- and apoptosis-associated markers in breast tumors (despite the shared somatic genetic background) and invites a large-scale assessment of both senescence and apoptosis in breast cancer tissue in vivo and their contribution to the pathological response and overall survival.     

Resilience and Mental Health Among Syrian Refugee Children in Jordan

Refugee populations are at high risk of experiencing trauma and developing negative mental health outcomes. The resilience of Syrian refugee children is not well established as far as modifying the association between trauma and mental illness. A total of 339 Syrian refugee children aged 10 to 17 were surveyed to assess resilience, depression and history of trauma. All children reported exposure to at least one traumatic event, 48.6% reported exposure to highly salient traumatic events such as being held hostage, kidnapping or imprisonment. High rates of suicidal ideation and depression symptomatology were found. Resilience was strongly inversely related to depression. Relational support was found to be the most protective resilience factor and was the most highly correlated with less depressive symptomatology. Empowering children and families to build resilience through social support may be a viable prevention and management approach to other unaffordable or unavailable treatments for mental illnesses.

     

Production of large quantities of 90Y by ion-exchange chromatography using an organic resin and a chelating agent

The performance of a system composed of an organic cation exchanger (Dowex 50Wx8) and a chelating agent (EDTA) previously described for the successful production of (90)Y via a (90)Sr/(90)Y generator is assessed under dynamic conditions. In an attempt to overcome the established limitation of ion-exchange resins for the separation of subcurie quantities of activity, (90)Y is repeatedly isolated from an 11.8-GBq (320 mCi) (90)Sr cow using a three-column tandem arrangement. The high recovery and radionuclidic purity obtained for (90)Y and the parameters of the separation (time, eluant concentration, pH and flow rate range) strongly suggest that Ci quantities of (90)Y can be handled satisfactorily by the ion-exchange method. No replacement or treatment of the cow, low waste generation and (90)Sr losses less than 0.1% after each run were observed during the present study which, in combination with the low cost of this resin, may result in an attractive alternate method for the production of large quantities of (90)Y.     

Mast Cell Numbers in Primary Eosinophilic Colitis are Significantly Higher than in Secondary Tissue Eosinophilia and Normal Controls: a Possible Link to Pathogenesis

Background: Primary Eosinophilic Colitis (PEC) is one of the rare eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases with a poorly understood pathogenesis. Eosinophilic esophagitis (EE) is the most common and best-understood disease in this category. Activated mast cells (MCs) have a role to play in the tissue damage in EE. It is not known if PEC shares this mechanism. Objective: This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the number of MCs in PEC and to compare them with cases of secondary colonic tissue eosinophilia (TE) and normal colon. Methods: The study included 19 PEC cases, 47 cases of secondary tissue eosinophilia and 50 normal colon tissues. Histopathological slides of all cases were reviewed to confirm the diagnosis and count the number of eosinophils. Glass slides for all cases were stained for C-kit (CD117) to highlight and count the MCs. Results: The mean number of the MCs in normal controls was 9.7 MCs per HPF (SD= 4.6).  The mean number of MCs in the PEC cases was 26.5 (SD=7.1) which was significantly higher than the normal counts (p-value <0.000). The mean number of MCs in the secondary TE group was 18.0 (SD=7.1), which was significantly higher than normal controls; p-value <0.000. Comparing MC counts in PEC and secondary TE also revealed a significant difference with a p-value of < 0.000. Conclusion: MCs in PEC are significantly higher than those in secondary TE and normal controls. This suggests the role of the MCs in the pathogenesis of Primary Eosinophilic Colitis.     

Target urinary analytes for the gas chromatographic- mass spectrometric detection of procyclidine and benzhexol in drug abuse cases

The two antiparkinsonian drugs procyclidine and benzhexol are presently finding considerable favor for their euphoric hallucinogenic effects among drug abusers in some countries. In anticipation of their possible scheduling in national drug laws, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) methods for their detection in urine will be required. However, because of uncertainty of the metabolic fate of the two drugs in humans, the urinary target analytes for GC-MS detection were not well defined. The problem was addressed in the present study in which it was found that mono-hydroxy metabolites, where hydroxylation took place at the cyclohexane ring in both drugs, could be endorsed as the major target analytes. The metabolites could only be detected as the mono- and/or di-trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivatives. The predominance of either derivative depended on the temperature and time of heating with the derivatizing reagent. Because of the basic properties of the hydroxy metabolites, analytic method optimization was needed for their detection in urine included extraction under basic pH conditions. Urine hydrolysis with β-glucuronidase did not have an effect on the recovery of the metabolites, but was usually performed in search for other drugs. Because of the relative abundance of ions, the electron impact mass spectra of the mono-TMS derivatives and the chemical ionization (CI) mass spectra of the mono- and di-TMS derivatives of the hydroxy metabolites of both drugs were found to be more structurally informative. The CI mass spectra of the di- TMS derivatives have the additive advantage of being potentially useful for quantitative analysis.