Heroin can be metabolized easily in body and the mail metabolites are 6-MAM, morphine and so on. At present, there are urine, blood, hair and so on as specimens for detection, while the analytical technology conclude TLC, GC, HPLC, GC/MS, LC/MS, IA, CE etc. In this paper, these technologies used for heroin's metabolites were viewed in order to provide some reference to the study in relative field.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Forensic Medicine ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; Hair/chemistry* ; Heroin/metabolism* ; Heroin Dependence/metabolism* ; Humans ; Morphine/analysis* ; Morphine Derivatives/analysis* ; Substance Abuse Detection/methods*

OBJECTIVE: To confirm whether formaldehyde disturb detecting carbon monoxide in blood. To give an evidence that can be used for detecting carboxyhemoglobin more accurately in carbon monoxide posioning appraises. METHODS: Blood samples came from carbon monoxide poisoning and the health were collected. Regular methods for detecting carboxyhemoglobin were used. Observing and comparing the detection results between which were spiked with methanal and no spiked one were performed. RESULTS: Methanal will affect the result of following experiments such as heating, adding NaOH, absorbed by PdCl2 and spectrophotometry. CONCLUSION The samples which contaminated by formaldehyde couldn't be used for detecting carboxyhemoglobin.
Carbon Monoxide/blood* ; Carbon Monoxide Poisoning/diagnosis* ; Carboxyhemoglobin/analysis* ; Forensic Medicine ; Formaldehyde/pharmacology* ; Humans ; Spectrophotometry/methods* ; Temperature

OBJECTIVE: To explore alcohol pharmacokinetics as well as acetaldehyde level in peripheral blood in human subjects with different ALDH2 genotypes after drinking. METHODS: Venous blood samples of 14 unrelated volunteers were collected. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism technology was adopted for DNA extraction and ALDH2 genotyping. The volunteers were asked to drink beer at certain doses. The concentration of alcohol and acetaldehyde were assayed by headspace gas chromatography method at different time. The pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated. RESULTS: According to the results of electrophoresis, 5 people carried ALDH2*1/*1 as wild group and 9 people carried ALDH2*1/*2 as mutation group. The good linear range of alcohol and acetaldehyde were 0-1 570.7 microg/mL and 0-5.1772 microg/mL, respectively. The AUC values of alcohol and acetaldehyde and the t1/2Z value of alcohol were higher in the mutation group than that in the wild group. But the CL/F value of alcohol was lower in the mutation group than that in the wild group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION After the consumption of alcohol, alcohol and acetaldehyde metabolism in blood slow down in ALDH2*1/*2 mutation group influenced by the inhibition of enzyme activity, leading to the accumulation of acetaldehyde in peripheral blood, thus reinforcing their effects in the body.
Alcohol Drinking ; Aldehyde Dehydrogenase/genetics* ; Aldehyde Dehydrogenase, Mitochondrial ; Ethanol/metabolism* ; Genotype ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Genetic

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the numbers, sizes and types distribution of diatoms in drowned and postmortem immersed rabbits' lungs. METHODS: Sixty-two rabbits were randomly divided into drowning group (n = 30), postmortem immersion group (n = 30) and land death group (n=2), and the diatoms in each lung lobe were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively by microwave digestion and scanning electron microscopy. RESULTS: In the drowning group, the diatoms were detected in each lung lobe with Cyclotella and Melosira in the majority. In the postmortem immersion group, Cyclotella was in the majority. And the diatoms weren't detected in some lung lobes in postmortem immersion. There were significant differences in the detection rates of upper lobe of left lung, middle lobe and cardiac lobe of right lung in two groups (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Based on the microwave digestion and scanning electron microscopy, the numbers, sizes and types distribution of diatoms in drowned and postmortem immersed rabbits' lungs can be analyzed and used as references for testing theory.
Animals ; Autopsy ; Diatoms/isolation & purification* ; Drowning ; Lung/microbiology* ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Microwaves ; Rabbits

OBJECTIVE: The content changes of energy substances in the cardiac muscle of rat killed by different manners were investigated to elucidate evidence that can be used to determine the modes of death and postmortem interval. METHODS: One hundred and eighty rats were randomly allocated into 3 groups and killed by bleeding, suffocating, and neck breaking, respectively. The contents of ATP, ADP, and AMP in the cardiac muscle of rats killed by the different manners at different death intervals (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 18, and 24 h) were measured by HPLC. RESULTS: There were significant differences observed in the contents of ATP and AMP in the rats' cardiac muscle in different groups at most of the intervals (P < 0.05) and at all of the intervals within the same group (P < 0.01), but no differences were found in the ADP contents in any of the group at most of the intervals. CONCLUSION The content changes of energy substances (ATP and AMP) in the cardiac muscle of dead rats may provide a basis for determination of the death manners and postmortem intervals.
Adenosine Diphosphate/metabolism* ; Adenosine Monophosphate/metabolism* ; Adenosine Triphosphate/metabolism* ; Animals ; Asphyxia/metabolism* ; Cause of Death ; Cervical Vertebrae/injuries* ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Female ; Male ; Myocardium/pathology* ; Postmortem Changes ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Shock, Hemorrhagic/metabolism* ; Time Factors

BACKGROUNDMycobacterium abscessus (M. abscessus) can cause a variety of human infections, involving the lung, skin and soft tissues, and is generally believed to be acquired from environmental sources. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular diversity and antibiotic susceptibility of M. abscessus isolates as the basis for strategies to improve control and management of infection.

METHODSSeventy M. abscessus isolates from patients attending the Guangzhou Thoracic Hospital were identified from 2003 to 2005 by biochemical tests, gas chromatography, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction analysis (PRA) of heat shock protein gene hsp65, and sequencing of the quinolone resistance determining regions (QRDRs) of gyrA. Susceptibilities to six antibiotics were determined by micro-broth dilution. Isolates were genotyped using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis.

RESULTSMost isolates (63/70; 90%) were susceptible to amikacin but rates of susceptibility to other antibiotics varied from moderate, clarithromycin (60%) and imipenem (43%), to low for ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin (3%), and 87% of isolates had intermediate susceptibility to cefoxitin. RAPD analysis showed that the 70 clinical isolates displayed 69 unique RAPD patterns.

CONCLUSIONSThe high genetic diversity of isolates suggests that they are not transmitted from person to person but, presumably, are acquired independently from environmental sources. M. abscessus isolates displayed variable levels of susceptibility to all antibiotics tested, other than amikacin, indicating a need for routine susceptibility testing to guide treatment.

Amikacin ; pharmacology ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; pharmacology ; Cefoxitin ; pharmacology ; China ; Chromatography, Gas ; Ciprofloxacin ; pharmacology ; Clarithromycin ; pharmacology ; Imipenem ; pharmacology ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Mycobacterium ; drug effects ; genetics ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique

Hot-melt extrusion was applied to prepare mesoporous silica/ethylcellulose mini-matrix for sustained release, and fenofibrate was used as a model drug, ethylcellulose and xanthan gum were chosen as sustained-release agent and releasing moderator, respectively. This novel matrix obtained the controlled release ability by combining mesoporous silica drug delivery system and hot-melt extrusion technology. And mesoporous silica particle (SBA-15) was chosen as drug carrier to increase the dissolution rate of fenofibrate in this martix. Scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, small angle X-ray powder diffraction and N2 adsorption-desorption were introduced to determine the particle morphology, particle size and pore structure of the synthesized SBA-15. The results showed that SBA-15 had a very high Brunauer-Emmett-Teller specific surface area, a narrow pore size distribution, large pore volume and a ordered two-dimensional hexagonal structure of p6mm symmetry. Differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray powder diffraction results demonstrated that fenofibrate dispersed in an amorphous state inside the pores of the mesoporous silica which contributed to the improvement in the dissolution rate. The drug release of mini-matrices was influenced by ethylcellulose viscosity grades and xanthan gum concentration, which increased with the increasing of xanthan gum concentration and decreasing of ethylcellulose viscosity. Mini-matrix containing 22% xanthan gum exhibited a good sustained release performance, and the drug release behavior followed the first-order kinetics.
Adsorption ; Calorimetry, Differential Scanning ; Cellulose ; analogs & derivatives ; Delayed-Action Preparations ; Drug Carriers ; chemistry ; Particle Size ; Porosity ; Powder Diffraction ; Powders ; Silicon Dioxide ; Solubility ; X-Ray Diffraction

OBJECTIVETo investigate the involvement of transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor 1 (TRPV1) in the facial inflammatory pain in relation to thermal hyperalgesia and cold pain sensation.

METHODSFacial inflammatory pain model was developed by subcutaneous injection of turpentine oil (TO) into rat facial area. Head withdrawal thermal latency (HWTL) and head withdrawal cold latency (HWCL) were measured once a day for 21 d after TO treatment using thermal and cold measurement apparatus. The immunohistochemical staining, cell-size frequency analysis and the survey of average optical density (OD) value were used to observe the changes of TRPV1 expression in the neurons of the trigeminal ganglion (TG), peripheral nerve fibers in the vibrissal pad, and central projection processes in the trigeminal sensory nuclei caudalis (Vc) on day 3, 5, 7, 14, and 21 after TO injection.

RESULTSHWTL and HWCL decreased significantly from day 1 to day 14 after TO injection with the lowest value on day 5 and day 3, respectively, and both recovered on day 21. The number of TRPV1-labeled neurons increased remarkably from day 1 to day 14 with a peak on day 7, and returned back to the normal level on day 21. In control rats, only small and medium-sized TG neurons were immunoreactive (IR) to TRPV1, and the TRPV1-IR terminals were abundant in both the vibrissal pad and the Vc. Within 2 weeks of inflammation, the expression of TRPV1 in small and medium-sized TG neurons increased obviously. Also the TRPV1 stained terminals and fibers appeared more frequent and denser in both the vibrissal pad skin and throughout laminae I and the outer zone of laminae II (IIo) of Vc.

CONCLUSIONFacial inflammatory pain could induce hyperalgesia to noxious heat and cold stimuli, and result in increase of the numbers of TRPV1 positive TG neurons and the peripheral and central terminals of TG. These results suggest that the phenotypic changes of TRPV1 expression in small and medium-sized TG neurons and terminals might play an important role in the development and maintenance of TO-induced inflammatory thermal hyperalgesia and cold pain sensation.

Animals ; Cold Temperature ; Facial Pain ; chemically induced ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Hot Temperature ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Neurons ; cytology ; metabolism ; Pain Threshold ; physiology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Statistics, Nonparametric ; TRPV Cation Channels ; metabolism ; Thermosensing ; physiology ; Trigeminal Ganglion ; cytology ; metabolism ; Turpentine ; administration & dosage

OBJECTIVETo investigate the treatment of cystis vesicular seminalis induced by the obstruction of the distal end of the ejaculatory duct.

METHODSFrom November 2005 to December 2006,12 cases of cystis vesicular seminalis ( [2.3 +/- 1.1] cm) were diagnosed by semen analysis (as on the seminal volume, pH and fructose), transrectal palpation and ultrasonography. All cases were treated by transurethral incision or resection of the obstructive ejaculatory duct till milky semen discharged.

RESULTSThe cysts were significantly reduced ([1.0 +/- 0.8] cm, P < 0.05) in all the 12 cases and no complications were observed during the follow-up 1, 3 and 12 months later.

CONCLUSIONTransurethral electrotomy is a simple and effective method for the treatment of cystis vesicular seminalis induced by the obstruction of the ejaculatory duct.

Adult ; Cysts ; etiology ; surgery ; Ejaculatory Ducts ; pathology ; Follow-Up Studies ; Genital Diseases, Male ; complications ; pathology ; Humans ; Male ; Seminal Vesicles ; pathology ; surgery ; Urethra ; surgery

OBJECTIVE: To develop a high-performance liquid chromatographic method for determination of ketamine and norketamine in blood and urine. METHODS: The compounds were extracted from blood or urine by liquid-liquid extraction using toluene after blood or urine was adjusted pH to 14. The extracts were analyzed by HPLC. RESULTS: Linear limits of ketamine and norketamine determination in blood ranged from 0.05 microg/mL to 10 microg/mL (R2 > 0.9993) and in urine ranged from 0.01 microg/mL to 200 microg/mL (R2 > 0.9995). Limits of detection (LODs) for ketamine and norketamine were 0.006 microg/mL and 0.003 microg/mL (S/N > or = 3), respectively. The mean extraction recovery was over 82.4% and its coefficients of variation were less than 10.0% for ketamine and norketamine. Concentration-time curves and urinary drug velocity curves of ketamine norketamine were obtained by determinations of them in blood and urine in rat using the developed method. CONCLUSION The method is sensitive, simple, rapid and suitable for determination of ketamine and norketamine in blood and urine for toxicological and clinical pharmaceutical analysis.
Animals ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Female ; Ketamine/urine* ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar