Experience with urine drug testing by the Correctional Service of Canada

The Correctional Service of Canada implemented a urine drug-screening program over 10 years ago. The objective of this report is to describe the program and drug test results in this program for 1999. Offenders in Canadian federal correctional institutions and those living in the community on conditional release were subject to urine drug testing. Urine specimens were collected at correctional facilities and shipped by courier to MAXXAM Analytics Inc. laboratory. All urine specimens were analyzed for amphetamines, cannabinoids, cocaine metabolite (benzoylecgonine), opiates, phencyclidine, benzodiazepines, methyl phenidate, meperidine, pentazocine and fluoxetine by immunoassay screening (homogeneous EIA and ELISA assays) followed by GC-MS confirmation. Ethyl alcohol was analyzed when specifically requested. Alternative screening and confirmation methods with lower cut-off values were used, whenever urine specimens were dilute (creatinine <20mg/dl and specific gravity <or=1.003). The number of urine specimens analyzed was 44,722 in 1999 and 6.2% of these specimens were dilute based on creatinine and specific gravity analysis. The positive rate for one or more drugs was 25.5% in 1999. The highest drug positive rates were for cannabinoids (10.7%), morphine (3.2%), cocaine metabolite (3.2%), codeine (2.6%), oxazepam (2.1%), temazepam (1.1%) and ethyl alcohol (1.0%). In correctional institutions (8606 non-dilute specimens analyzed in 1999), 16.4% were positive for cannabinoids, 4.9% positive for codeine and/or morphine and 2.7% positive for oxazepam and/or temazepam. In the 537 dilute specimens collected in institutions, 21% were positive for cannabinoids, 1.3% positive for codeine and/or morphine and 1.3% positive for oxazepam and/or temazepam. In the community setting, 33,928 non-dilute specimens were collected in 1999 (9.0% were positive for cannabinoids and 3.5% positive for cocaine metabolite). In the 1651 dilute specimens collected from offenders in the community in 1999, 12.6% were positive for cannabinoids and 9.5% positive for cocaine metabolite. We conclude that forensic urine drug testing provides an objective measure of drug use by offenders in Canadian federal institutions and those offenders living in the community on conditional release.

Metals and metallothionein in the liver of raccoons: utility for environmental assessment and monitoring

The relationship between metallothionein levels and concentrations of several metals and radionuclides was examined in liver tissues of raccoons (Procyon lotor, n = 47) from the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in South Carolina to determine the applicability of metallothioneins as an initial screening device for exposure assessment in free-living mammals and environmental monitoring. Using a fluorescent marker and a cell sorter to measure metallothionein, a significant positive correlation was found across animals between levels of metallothioneins and concentrations of selenium (Pearson's r = .30), mercury (Pearson's r = .3 1), and copper (Pearson's r = .30) in liver tissue. Arsenic, cobalt, silver, thallium, and tin were below detection limits in most or all liver samples. Other metals, including cadmium, chromium, radiocesium (137-Cs), copper, lead, manganese, strontium, and vanadium, showed only weak and nonsignificant correlations with metallothionein. Concentrations of mercury were correlated with concentrations of selenium (Pearson's r = .73), manganese (Pearson's r = .56), and strontium (Pearson's r = .57). In an a posteriori test, there was a still unexplained positive correlation between mercury (Pearson r = .56), selenium (Pearson r = .54), and radiocesium (Pearson's r = .38) concentrations and background cellular autofluorescence, and a negative correlation of strontium with the latter (Kendall tau = -.38). Background cellular autofluorescence may represent a generalized cellular stress response, or a yet unidentified biomarker. To better understand which metals contribute to the induction of metallothionein, principle component analysis (PCA) was performed. The first three principle components explained 78% of the variance, with highest loadings being from mercury and radiocesium. Metallothionein levels did not correlate well with the principal components from the metals and radiocesium, while autofluorescent background levels tended to correlate better.

Maternal predictors of early breast milk output

Previous attempts to show a quantitative relationship between maternal hormone levels and early milk output have used small sample sizes and simple correlations. Women of mixed parity and similar socio-economic status and education were recruited to a study using multivariate analysis to look for these associations. Hormone levels (oestradiol, progesterone, prolactin and thyrotropin (TSH)) were determined for 91 mothers at four time points (ante- and postnatally) from finger-prick blood spots by fluoro-immunoassay. Milk output at 1 and 4 weeks was determined from 24-h test weighings. Parity was found to be the most significant factor affecting breast milk volume at 1 wk postpartum (multiparous women delivered 142 ml more milk in 24 h than primiparous women). Total time spent feeding had a strong association with breast milk volume, with increasing time having a negative effect. Multiple regression analysis, controlling for parity and time spent feeding, showed a positive association of milk output at 1 wk with antenatal progesterone and antenatal prolactin levels. At 4 wk, higher postpartum oestradiol levels had a negative association and antenatal progesterone levels a positive association with milk output. This study demonstrates that there are quantitative associations between antenatal maternal hormone levels and breast milk output in the early postnatal period.

A high amylose (amylomaize) starch raises proximal large bowel starch and increases colon length in pigs

Young male pigs consumed a diet of fatty minced beef, safflower oil, skim milk powder, sucrose, cornstarch and wheat bran. Starch provided 50% of total daily energy either as low amylose cornstarch, high amylose (amylomaize) cornstarch or as a 50/50 mixture of corn and high amylose starch. Neither feed intake nor body weight gain as affected by dietary starch. Final plasma cholesterol concentrations were significantly higher than initial values in pigs fed the 50/50 mixture of corn and high amylose starch. Biliary concentrations of lithocholate and deoxycholate were lower in pigs fed high amylose starch. Large bowel length correlated positively with the dietary content of high amylose starch. Concentrations of butyrate in portal venous plasma were significantly lower in pigs fed high amylose starch than in those fed cornstarch. Neither large bowel digesta mass nor the concentrations of total or individual volatile fatty acids were affected by diet. However, the pool of propionate in the proximal colon and the concentration of propionate in feces were higher in pigs fed amylose starch. Concentrations of starch were uniformly low along the large bowel and were unaffected by starch type. In pigs with cecal cannula, digesta starch concentrations were higher with high amylose starch than with cornstarch. Electron micrographic examination of high amylose starch granules from these animals showed etching patterns similar to those of granules obtained from human ileostomy effluent. It appears that high amylose starch contributes to large bowel bacterial fermentation in the pig but that its utilization may be relatively rapid.

Accidental poisoning of children in the United Arab Emirates

A prospective study of childhood accidental poisoning was conducted in the Al-Ain district of the United Arab Emirates. The results showed that accidental poisoning was frequent but morbidity was low and there were no deaths. The pattern of poisoning is similar to that in western Europe and north America, with household chemicals and medicines predominating. Analgesics and antihistamines were most frequently ingested. The frequency of accidental poisoning in Al-Ain merits the introduction of a public awareness campaign and increased use of child-resistant containers

Activated T cells in an animal model of allergic conjunctivitis

The aim of this study has been to determine whether the presence of lymphocytic infiltrates observed in the histology of ocular allergic conditions in humans or in the late phase of ocular anaphylactic reactions in experimental animals is a non-specific event dependent only on the degranulation of mast cells, or is conditioned by a specific response to antigen. With this in mind, responses to antigen and to a non-immunological mast cell degranulator (compound 48/80) were compared in an experimental model of allergic conjunctivitis. Rats were sensitised to ovalbumin and challenged topically in the left conjunctival sac either with ovalbumin or compound 48/80. The presence of T cells and activated T cells in the infiltrate was studied by immunohistochemical staining on conjunctival tissue obtained at 4, 24, and 48 hours after challenge. Ovalbumin sensitised and challenged rats showed increased numbers of T cells in the conjunctival infiltrate, statistically significant when compared with compound 48/80 challenged rats at 48 hours and with controls at 4, 24, and 48 hours. The number of T cells was significantly higher in compound 48/80 challenged rats only at 48 hours when compared with controls. As for the number of activated T cells, only ovalbumin sensitised and challenged rats showed significantly increased levels of these cells compared with both sensitised animals challenged with compound 48/80 and controls at 4 and 24 hours after challenge. These results suggest that the infiltration of the conjunctiva by activated T lymphocytes is, at least in part, dependent on a specific response to antigen.

Minimizing promotion trauma

In the April 1983 issue of JONA, the authors identified four major causes and the costs of promotion trauma. Nursing administrators can both minimize this trauma and its unnecessary cost by building awareness of the transition process, clarifying roles and expectations, and attending to the promoted employee's needs by developing a systematic program of manager care. Such support and encouragement can help promotees achieve the expected levels of competency in a shorter period of time, with less personal anguish. This article will help nursing administrators to develop a concept of manager care buttressed with programs for orientation of new managers, skills of mentoring, and systems of monitoring.

The recovery of polyoma virus from infected mouse cells: relevance to virus purification

The desire to obtain maximum yields of polyoma virus from infected mouse tissue culture lysates prompted us to examine more closely the interaction between virus and cell fragments. The objective was to find the best and most economical means of alleviating this interaction, and allow quantitative recovery of the virus for further purification. Sonication of polyoma virus infected mouse-kidney cultures sufficed to release the virus in a form amenable to hemagglutinin assay. In contrast infected mouse embryo lysates required neuraminidase to effect maximum release. A variety of other enzymes and treatments were tested and found to be completely ineffective, or less effective than neuraminidase. However, in spite of the ability to effect release of virus at this stage, subsequent centrifugation to pellet the cell fragments always resulted in reattachment of the virus to these fragments. Complete elution of the virus then required several cycles of neuraminidase, trypsin, pH 8.5 treatments. It was shown that full and empty viral capsids behaved similarly.