Subjects suffering from respiratory diseases occasionally experience difficulty when attempting t... more Subjects suffering from respiratory diseases occasionally experience difficulty when attempting to provide breath samples to satisfy the requirements of breath alcohol testing devices. In order to assist ventilation, such subjects may resort to the use of an aerosol inhaler. Twenty aerosol inhalers containing drugs which exhibit an effect on the respiratory system and five nasal sprays used to relieve the symptoms of hay fever, have been tested for interference on the range of breath alcohol measuring devices used by the police in Great Britain. No interference attributable to the contents of any of the aerosol inhalers or nasal sprays tested was observed on any of the instruments in police use.
Recent decades have seen an accelerating trend in warfare whereby a growing proportion of conflic... more Recent decades have seen an accelerating trend in warfare whereby a growing proportion of conflict-related deaths have been caused by explosions. Analysis of blast injury features little in anthropological literature. We present a review of clinical literature that includes prevalence of injury to anatomical regions and potential indicators of blast injury which can be used by forensic anthropologists. This includes high prevalence of extremity (22.8-91.2%) and facial (19.6-40%) injury in combat contexts, lower limb fractures (19-74.3%) in suicide bombing, traumatic amputation (3-43%) and diffuse fracture patterns in terrorist bombings. Potential indicators of blast trauma include blowout fractures in sinus cavities from blast overpressure, transverse mandibular fractures, and visceral surface rib fractures. Ability to recognize blast trauma and distinguish it in the skeleton is of importance in investigations and judicial proceedings relating to war crimes, terrorism, and human rights violations and likely to become increasingly crucial to forensic anthropology knowledge.
Oral fluid is a popular matrix for drug testing; however, little has been published concerning th... more Oral fluid is a popular matrix for drug testing; however, little has been published concerning the effect that food or beverages may exert on oral fluid screening tests. This study describes the effects of 19 different foods, beverages and vinegars on two test systems, the Concateno Certus and Orasure Intercept. Samples giving positive screening results were subjected to confirmatory analysis using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Results showed that intermittent presumptive positive results for amphetamine, methadone, opiates and cocaine could be detected following the consumption of coffee, Coke, fruit juice, oranges, spicy food and toothpaste using the Orasure system if specimens were not collected in accordance with the manufacturer's recommended collection procedure. Following the consumption of vinegar, presumptive positives were observed using the Orasure system for up to 30 min post-exposure. No presumptive positives were observed using the Concateno system. It is a widely held view that foods and beverages disperse from the mouth within 10-15 min after their consumption, and hence are unlikely to affect oral fluid drug tests. This study shows that vinegar can affect immunoassay screening for an extended period following its consumption.
A gas chromatography-ion trap-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the... more A gas chromatography-ion trap-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the simultaneous solid-phase extraction and quantification of cocaine, benzoylecgonine, cocaethylene, morphine, codeine, and 6-monoacteylmorphine in blood, muscle tissue, and water. An assay for total morphine in blood and muscle was also validated. The limit of quantification was ≤ 0.01 mg/kg in muscle and ≤ 0.005 mg/L in blood and water. Good linearity was observed over the concentration ranges studied (r ≥ 0.99). The repeatability (% RSD) at the three concentration levels was typically ≤ 15% and never exceeded 17%. Intermediate precision of ≤ 16% was obtained for all matrices. Deviation < 20% of the nominal concentration was obtained in all repeatability and intermediate precision experiments. Extraction recoveries for cocaine and metabolites ranged from 91% to 110% in water, 81% to 110% in blood, and 61% to 75% in muscle. Recoveries for opiates ranged from 59% to 104% in water, 50% to 95% in blood, and 41% to 79% in muscle. The hydrolysis efficiency for the total morphine assay in blood and muscle ranged from 91% to 99% with within-day and intermediate precisions of ≤ 14% and ≤ 12%, respectively.
In recent years, lifestyle products have emerged to help improve people's physical and mental... more In recent years, lifestyle products have emerged to help improve people's physical and mental performance. The Internet plays a major role in the spread of these products. However, the literature has reported issues regarding the authenticity of medicines purchased from the Internet and the impact of counterfeit medicines on public health. Little or no data are available on the authenticity of lifestyle products and actual toxicity associated with their use and misuse. Our aim was to investigate consumer and patient attitudes toward the purchase of lifestyle products from the Internet, their knowledge of product authenticity and toxicity, and their experiences with counterfeit lifestyle products. A Web-based study was performed between May 2014 and May 2015. Uniform collection of data was performed through an anonymous online questionnaire. Participants were invited worldwide via email, social media, or personal communication to complete the online questionnaire. A total of 320 ...
An international collaborative study between 10 laboratories has been carried out to study the re... more An international collaborative study between 10 laboratories has been carried out to study the reproducibility of the separation of basic drugs on silica columns. The laboratories used common solutions of drugs on both a common batch of packing material and different batches of the same brand of packing material. These were also compared with separations on other brands of packing material. Variations within-batch, within-brand and between brands have been compared. The retentions of the drugs were compared using retention times, capacity factors and relative capacity factors compared with an internal standard. The last method was found to give the most reproducible results. Considerable variations were found between the different brands of silica with a smaller variation between the batches of a single silica brand. However, unlike earlier studies, significant variations were found for separations on a single batch of silica which were partly attributed to differences in eluent preparation and column temperature.
Subjects suffering from respiratory diseases occasionally experience difficulty when attempting t... more Subjects suffering from respiratory diseases occasionally experience difficulty when attempting to provide breath samples to satisfy the requirements of breath alcohol testing devices. In order to assist ventilation, such subjects may resort to the use of an aerosol inhaler. Twenty aerosol inhalers containing drugs which exhibit an effect on the respiratory system and five nasal sprays used to relieve the symptoms of hay fever, have been tested for interference on the range of breath alcohol measuring devices used by the police in Great Britain. No interference attributable to the contents of any of the aerosol inhalers or nasal sprays tested was observed on any of the instruments in police use.
Recent decades have seen an accelerating trend in warfare whereby a growing proportion of conflic... more Recent decades have seen an accelerating trend in warfare whereby a growing proportion of conflict-related deaths have been caused by explosions. Analysis of blast injury features little in anthropological literature. We present a review of clinical literature that includes prevalence of injury to anatomical regions and potential indicators of blast injury which can be used by forensic anthropologists. This includes high prevalence of extremity (22.8-91.2%) and facial (19.6-40%) injury in combat contexts, lower limb fractures (19-74.3%) in suicide bombing, traumatic amputation (3-43%) and diffuse fracture patterns in terrorist bombings. Potential indicators of blast trauma include blowout fractures in sinus cavities from blast overpressure, transverse mandibular fractures, and visceral surface rib fractures. Ability to recognize blast trauma and distinguish it in the skeleton is of importance in investigations and judicial proceedings relating to war crimes, terrorism, and human rights violations and likely to become increasingly crucial to forensic anthropology knowledge.
Oral fluid is a popular matrix for drug testing; however, little has been published concerning th... more Oral fluid is a popular matrix for drug testing; however, little has been published concerning the effect that food or beverages may exert on oral fluid screening tests. This study describes the effects of 19 different foods, beverages and vinegars on two test systems, the Concateno Certus and Orasure Intercept. Samples giving positive screening results were subjected to confirmatory analysis using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Results showed that intermittent presumptive positive results for amphetamine, methadone, opiates and cocaine could be detected following the consumption of coffee, Coke, fruit juice, oranges, spicy food and toothpaste using the Orasure system if specimens were not collected in accordance with the manufacturer's recommended collection procedure. Following the consumption of vinegar, presumptive positives were observed using the Orasure system for up to 30 min post-exposure. No presumptive positives were observed using the Concateno system. It is a widely held view that foods and beverages disperse from the mouth within 10-15 min after their consumption, and hence are unlikely to affect oral fluid drug tests. This study shows that vinegar can affect immunoassay screening for an extended period following its consumption.
A gas chromatography-ion trap-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the... more A gas chromatography-ion trap-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the simultaneous solid-phase extraction and quantification of cocaine, benzoylecgonine, cocaethylene, morphine, codeine, and 6-monoacteylmorphine in blood, muscle tissue, and water. An assay for total morphine in blood and muscle was also validated. The limit of quantification was ≤ 0.01 mg/kg in muscle and ≤ 0.005 mg/L in blood and water. Good linearity was observed over the concentration ranges studied (r ≥ 0.99). The repeatability (% RSD) at the three concentration levels was typically ≤ 15% and never exceeded 17%. Intermediate precision of ≤ 16% was obtained for all matrices. Deviation < 20% of the nominal concentration was obtained in all repeatability and intermediate precision experiments. Extraction recoveries for cocaine and metabolites ranged from 91% to 110% in water, 81% to 110% in blood, and 61% to 75% in muscle. Recoveries for opiates ranged from 59% to 104% in water, 50% to 95% in blood, and 41% to 79% in muscle. The hydrolysis efficiency for the total morphine assay in blood and muscle ranged from 91% to 99% with within-day and intermediate precisions of ≤ 14% and ≤ 12%, respectively.
In recent years, lifestyle products have emerged to help improve people's physical and mental... more In recent years, lifestyle products have emerged to help improve people's physical and mental performance. The Internet plays a major role in the spread of these products. However, the literature has reported issues regarding the authenticity of medicines purchased from the Internet and the impact of counterfeit medicines on public health. Little or no data are available on the authenticity of lifestyle products and actual toxicity associated with their use and misuse. Our aim was to investigate consumer and patient attitudes toward the purchase of lifestyle products from the Internet, their knowledge of product authenticity and toxicity, and their experiences with counterfeit lifestyle products. A Web-based study was performed between May 2014 and May 2015. Uniform collection of data was performed through an anonymous online questionnaire. Participants were invited worldwide via email, social media, or personal communication to complete the online questionnaire. A total of 320 ...
An international collaborative study between 10 laboratories has been carried out to study the re... more An international collaborative study between 10 laboratories has been carried out to study the reproducibility of the separation of basic drugs on silica columns. The laboratories used common solutions of drugs on both a common batch of packing material and different batches of the same brand of packing material. These were also compared with separations on other brands of packing material. Variations within-batch, within-brand and between brands have been compared. The retentions of the drugs were compared using retention times, capacity factors and relative capacity factors compared with an internal standard. The last method was found to give the most reproducible results. Considerable variations were found between the different brands of silica with a smaller variation between the batches of a single silica brand. However, unlike earlier studies, significant variations were found for separations on a single batch of silica which were partly attributed to differences in eluent preparation and column temperature.
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Papers by David Osselton