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Five commercial kits for the determination of folate and six kits for the determination of vitamin B12 were investigated. Their performance has been compared with microbiological methods for the two vitamins and with a non-commercial radioisotopic method for B12. The results show the importance of the determination of the reference range for an individual laboratory for each method. The precision of the kits varied appreciably, as did their performance using specimens from patients with different haematological disorders. In particular, certain kits failed to detect all patients with pernicious anaemia. The relative accuracy of the kits was assessed. Various factors which should be taken into account in the final selection of a satisfactory kit are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The ongoing SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected all aspects of life in the United States and around the world. This is particularly true for marginalized and vulnerable groups who face disproportionate levels of violence and premature death within their communities. While general impacts of the pandemic have been well-studied overall, little has been done to examine the correlation between COVID-19 and the risk of suicide among older adults. Older adults are particularly at risk because they face challenges including ageism, inadequate support systems, unreliable transportation, and frequent social isolation. Medicolegal casework offers a unique vantage of these issues, as it aims to identify manner of death which may be influenced by underlying structural vulnerabilities. The current research draws upon data collected from the Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner. A sample of 871 older adults (aged 50+), whose manner of death was deemed a suicide between the years 2017-2021, were included in this analysis. Statistical analyses investigated differences between adults aged 50-64, 65-84, and 85+ years. Results suggest statistically significant changes in mechanism of death between pre-pandemic and pandemic periods, indicating a shift in risk factors related to social isolation and the home environment. Understanding such changes in trends directly affects the interpretation of skeletal data in forensic anthropology and thus, should be taken into consideration when developing structural vulnerability profiles. Furthermore, the inclusion of a structural vulnerability approach in forensic case reports has the potential to provide additional context for deaths by suicide and may help develop policies and procedures for mitigating future risk., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Background/aims: To characterise the ocular manifestations of Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) and compare these to patients with isolated elastin mediated supravalvular aortic stenosis (SVAS)., Methods: Fifty-seven patients with a diagnosis of WBS and five with SVAS underwent comprehensive ophthalmic evaluation at the National Institutes of Health from 2017 to 2020, including best-corrected visual acuity, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, optical biometry, dilated fundus examination, optical coherence tomography and colour fundus imaging., Results: Mean age of the 57 WBS patients was 20.3 years (range 3-60 years). Best-corrected visual acuity ranged from 20/20 to 20/400 with mean spherical equivalent near plano OU. Twenty-four eyes (21.8%) had an axial length (AL) less than 20.5 mm and 38 eyes (34.5%) had an AL measuring 20.5-22.0 mm. Stellate iris and retinal arteriolar tortuosity were noted in 30 (52.6%) and 51 (89.5%) WBS patients, respectively. Novel retinal findings in WBS included small hypopigmented retinal deposits (OD 29/57, OS 27/57) and broad foveal pit contour (OD 44/55, OS 42/51). Of the five patients with SVAS, none had stellate iris or broad foveal pit contour while 2/5 had retinal arteriolar tortuosity., Conclusion: WBS is a complex multisystem genetic disorder with diverse ophthalmic findings that differ from those seen in isolated elastin mediated SVAS. These results suggest other genes within the WBS critical region, aside from ELN , may be involved in observed ocular phenotypes and perhaps broader ocular development. Furthermore, retinal arteriolar tortuosity may provide future insight into systemic vascular findings in WBS., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Dehydration is a taphonomic process that affects nearly all skeletal remains, yet there is a dearth of evidence on this process within the forensic taphonomy literature. When considering the forensic implications of skeletal dehydration, a particular area of concern is sharp force trauma due to its global prominence in forensic cases. In an attempt to address these literature gaps and quantify the effects that dehydration has on skeletal elements, a controlled experiment subjected Sus domesticus (i.e., domestic pig) radii samples (n = 36) to laboratory-induced dehydration after they were inflicted with knife trauma. All samples were photographed pre- and post-dehydration; bone section and kerf mark length, width, and area were then measured from these photographs using ImageJ. Statistical analysis of pre- and post-dehydration samples showed that all measurements experienced significant (p ≤ 0.001) shrinkage, with bone sample area shrinking an average of 8.8 % and kerf mark area an average of 29.7 %. Alterations in length, width and area between the kerf marks and bone samples showed a weak, moderate, and strong correlation, respectively. These findings suggest that anthropological analysis may be affected by dehydration-induced shrinkage, highlighting the necessity of continued research into the effects of dehydration on skeletal trauma., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This work calls on healthcare institutions and organizations to move toward inclusive recognition and representation of healthcare practitioners whose credibility is established both inside and outside of professional licensure mechanisms. Despite professional licensure's advantages, this credentialing mechanism has in many cases served to reinforce unjust sociocultural power relations in relation to ethnicity and race, class and gender. To foster health equity and the delivery of culturally-responsive care, it is essential that mechanisms other than licensure be recognized as legitimate pathways for community accountability, safety and quality assurance. Such mechanisms include certification with non-statutory occupational bodies, as well as community-based recognition pathways such as those engaged for Community Health Workers (including Promotores de Salud ) and Indigenous healing practitioners. Implementation of this vision will require interdisciplinary dialogue and reconciliation, constructive collaboration, and shared decision making between healthcare institutions and organizations, practitioners and the communities they serve., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2021.)

Because of the potential of a new anti-staphylococcal lead compound SK-03-92 as a topical antibiotic, a patch, or an orally active drug, we sought to determine its safety profile and oral bioavailability. SK-03-92 had a high IC 50 (125 μg/ml) in vitro against several mammalian cell lines, and mice injected intraperiteonally at the highest dose did not exhibit gross toxicity ( e.g. altered gait, ungroomed, significant weight loss). Single dose (100 μg/g) pharmacokinetic (PK) analysis with formulated SK-03-92 showed that peak plasma concentration (1.64 μg/ml) was achieved at 20-30 min. Oral relative bioavailability was 8%, and the drug half-life was 20-30 min, demonstrating that SK-03-92 is likely not a candidate for oral delivery. Five-day and two-week PK analyses demonstrated that SK-03-92 plasma levels were low. Multi-dose analysis showed no gross adverse effects to the mice and a SK-03-92 peak plasma concentration of 2.12 μg/ml with the presence of significant concentrations of breakdown products 15 min after dosing. SK-03-92 appeared to be very safe based on tissue culture and mouse gross toxicity determinations, but the peak plasma concentration suggests that a pro-drug of SK-03-92 or preparation of analogs of SK-03-92 with greater bioavailability and longer half-lives are warranted.

Background: Protozoan parasites of the genus Trypanosoma cause disease in a wide range of mammalian hosts. Trypanosoma brucei brucei, transmitted by tsetse fly to cattle, causes a disease (Nagana) of great economic importance in parts of Africa. T. b. brucei also serves as a model for related Trypanosoma species, which cause human sleeping sickness., Materials and Methods: Chalcone and acyl hydrazide derivatives are known to retard the growth of Plasmodium falciparum in vitro and inhibit the malarial cysteine proteinase, falcipain. We tested the effects of these compounds on the growth of bloodstream forms of T. b. brucei in cell culture and in a murine trypanosomiasis model, and investigated their ability to inhibit trypanopain-Tb, the major cysteine proteinase of T. b. brucei., Results: Several related chalcones, acyl hydrazides, and amides killed cultured bloodstream forms of T. b. brucei, with the most effective compound reducing parasite numbers by 50% relative to control populations at a concentration of 240 nM. The most effective inhibitors protected mice from an otherwise lethal T. b. brucei infection in an in vivo model of acute parasite infection. Many of the compounds also inhibited trypanopain-Tb, with the most effective inhibitor having a Ki value of 27 nM. Ki values for trypanopain-Tb inhibition were up to 50- to 100-fold lower than for inhibition of mammalian cathepsin L, suggesting the possibility of selective inhibition of the parasite enzyme., Conclusions: Chalcones, acyl hydrazides, and amides show promise as antitrypanosomal chemotherapeutic agents, with trypanopain-Tb possibly being one of their in vivo targets.

The attitudes of 144 high school students toward individuals who have mental retardation were examined using the Mental Retardation Attitude Inventory-Revised (Antonak & Harth, 1994). The inventory is divided into four subscales consisting of statements regarding integration-segregation, private rights, social distance, and subtle derogatory beliefs. Each subscale was assessed along with gender, frequency of contact with individuals who have mental retardation, and prior knowledge about mental retardation. Results indicate that gender and frequency of contact does influence attitudes. These results are significant because these high school students either are or will soon become adults and impact the community with their attitudes.