The detection of hydromorphone in urine specimens with high morphine concentrations

A previous study suggested that small amounts of morphine are metabolically converted to hydromorphone. In the present study, morphine positive urine specimens obtained from a postmortem laboratory and a random urinalysis program were tested for morphine, codeine, hydromorphone, hydrocodone, oxymorphone, and oxycodone to assess the possibility that small amounts of hydromorphone are produced from the metabolism of morphine. The opioids were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry as their respective trimethylsilyl derivatives following solid phase extraction. The limit of detection for hydromorphone was 5 ng/mL. A total of 73 morphine positive urine specimens were analyzed, with morphine concentrations ranging from 131 to 297,000 ng/mL. Hydromorphone was present at a concentration > or =5 ng/mL in 36 of these specimens at concentrations ranging from 0.02% to 12% of the morphine concentration. Hydrocodone was not detected in these specimens at the assay detection limit of 25 ng/mL. These results support earlier work suggesting that the detection of hydromorphone in urine specimens does not necessarily mean that exogenous hydromorphone or hydrocodone was used.     

毒品检验方法比较研究

毒品检验是打击毒品违法犯罪的一项关键性技术工作,随着科学技术的发展,毒品检验技术方法呈现出多样性。本文以2000年至今的《刑事技术》、《中国药物滥用预防杂志》、《分析实验室》及大量有关化学物品分析的学刊为基础研究资料,结合我省有关毒品检验公安工作实际,对涉及的众多毒品检验分析方法进行比较、筛选、总结,以期对从事毒品检验的技术人员有一定的帮助作用。     

Accelerating COVID-19 testing: An experimental approach

The COVID-19 pandemic, ever since its global outbreak in 2020, has continued to wreak havoc. Governments across the world were compelled to enforce strict nation-wide lockdowns, while emphasising on social distancing and quarantining suspected people in order to slow down the spread of the virus. During this time, there was a massive increase in demand for COVID-19 test kits. However, given the limited supply, countries were finding it hard to test enough people. This study proposes an approach called Encoded Blending (EB) to increase the number of tests drastically, without increasing the number of test kits. EB modifies the pooled testing method; this has been followed by countries like Germany, Israel and South Korea for mass testing their citizens. EB has the potential to reduce test kits requirement by up to 85% and 80% in a population with 5% and 10% affected cases, respectively.     

Implementation of a Blind Quality Control Program in a Forensic Laboratory

A blind quality control (QC) program was successfully developed and implemented in the Toxicology, Seized Drugs, Firearms, Latent Prints (Processing and Comparison), Forensic Biology, and Multimedia (Digital and Audio/Video) sections at the Houston Forensic Science Center (HFSC). The program was put into practice based on recommendations set forth in the 2009 National Academy of Sciences report and is conducted in addition to accreditation required annual proficiency tests. The blind QC program allows HFSC to test its entire quality management system and provides a real-time assessment of the laboratory’s proficiency. To ensure the blind QC cases mimicked real casework, the workflow for each forensic discipline and their evidence submission processes were assessed prior to implementation. Samples are created and submitted by the HFSC Quality Division to whom the expected answer is known. Results from 2015 to 2018 show that of the 973 blind samples submitted, 901 were completed, and only 51 were discovered by analysts as being blind QC cases. Implementation data suggests that this type of program can be employed at other forensic laboratories.     

Developmental Validation of the ANDE 6C System for Rapid DNA Analysis of Forensic Casework and DVI Samples

A developmental validation was performed to demonstrate reliability, reproducibility, and robustness of the ANDE Rapid DNA Identification System for processing of crime scene and disaster victim identification (DVI) samples. A total of 1705 samples were evaluated, including blood, oral epithelial samples from drinking containers, samples on FTA and untreated paper, semen, bone, and soft tissues. This study was conducted to address the FBI’s Quality Assurance Standards on developmental validation and to accumulate data from a sufficient number of unique donors and sample types to meet NDIS submission requirements for acceptance of the ANDE Expert System for casework use. To date, no Expert System has been approved for such samples, but the results of this study demonstrated that the automated Expert System performs similarly to conventional laboratory data analysis. Furthermore, Rapid DNA analysis demonstrated accuracy, precision, resolution, concordance, and reproducibility that were comparable to conventional processing along with appropriate species specificity, limit of detection, performance in the presence of inhibitors. No lane-to-lane or run-to-run contamination was observed, and the system correctly identified the presence of mixtures. Taken together, the ANDE instrument, I-Chip consumable, FlexPlex chemistry (a 27-locus STR assay compatible with all widely used global loci, including the CODIS core 20 loci), and automated Expert System successfully processed and interpreted more than 1200 unique samples with over 99.99% concordant CODIS alleles. This extensive developmental validation data provides support for broad use of the system by agencies and accredited forensic laboratories in single-source suspect-evidence comparisons, local database searches, and DVI.     

Biologising Paternity,Moralising Maternity: The Construction of Parenthood in the Determination of Paternity Through the Courts in Portugal

This article explores how the Portuguese legal system’s efforts to determine paternity of children born outside legal marriage, automatically initiated by the Registry Office when a birth registration does not indicate the father, reveal cultural models which reinforce the naturalisation of the differences between mothers and fathers, with significant effects on the social construction of parental roles and on expectations of family organisation and female sexual behaviour. The article relies on ethnographic data drawn from direct observation of court proceedings for the determination of paternity, as well as interviews with judges and prosecuting counsels all over the country. It is argued that judicial practices in the specific context of courtroom investigations of paternity reinforce gender inequalities in two interrelated ways. On the one hand, they are strengthened in the discursive practices performed during the course of the interactions between judges, prosecuting counsels and the mother of the child, as well as the alleged father. On the other hand, the normative model of family life and the dominant ideology of women’s and men’s relationships, which emphasise women’s socially subordinate position, are revealed by the selective use of DNA testing in paternity cases, based on the judge’s evaluation of the mother’s sexual behaviour. The article argues that legal attempts to establish the paternity of children born outside marriage—though based on novel technical and supposedly objective procedures—tend, nevertheless, to reproduce the prevailing patriarchal structures.

试论毒品检验在禁毒中的情报作用

禁毒离不开情报 ,情报工作是禁毒工作中的重要组成部分 ,对禁毒工作起着信息支持作用 ,对打击毒品犯罪具有举足轻重的作用。毒品检验是刑事科学技术工作的组成部分 ,是揭露和证实毒品犯罪的重要技术手段 ,在禁毒斗争中具有十分重要的情报作用。本文研究介绍几种毒品检验方法和特点 ,以论证毒品检验在禁毒工作中的情报作用     

析痕迹检验在侦查中的作用

本文结合近些年来我国公安侦破工作中的一些案例,对痕迹检验在侦查中所发挥的作用进行细致深入的分析和阐述。最后,本文通过对一典型案例的分析阐述了现场痕迹在侦查破案中的综合利用。     

语言测试的信度和效度

语言测试有两个重要的评估标准：信度和效度。把握信度和效度的测量方法、分类、影响因素及信度和效度之间的关系,有利于语言教师的命题以及使评价测试更具科学性。