Primary bovine synoviocyte cultures: a useful tool for in vitro drug testing?

The aim of the study was to evaluate bovine synoviocyte culture as an in vitro model to test new intra-articular drugs. The inflammatory reaction pattern of synoviocytes as compared to fibroblasts was studied over nine passages. Expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines was assessed after stimulation with lipopolysaccharide. Immunohistochemical markers were used to identify synoviocyte populations. Primary synoviocytes expressed markedly higher amounts of interleukin-1beta mRNA and tumour necrosis factor-alpha mRNA than fibroblasts after stimulation. This difference was lost over two passages. CD68-positive macrophage-like synoviocytes diminished over three passages, which may explain the reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine response. Primary bovine synoviocytes appear to be an appropriate and optimised model for testing novel drugs for cattle, because their response may more closely reflect in vivo tissue responses compared to cultured cell lines.

Pre-employment drug testing among job applicants at a Texas tertiary level pediatric hospital: 1992--2006

This study is a retrospective longitudinal study at Texas Children's Hospital, a 350-bed tertiary level pediatric teaching hospital in Houston, Texas, for the period 1990 to 2006. It measured the incidence and trends of positive pre-employment drug tests among new job applicants At TCH. ^ Over the study period, 16,219 job applicants underwent pre-employment drug screening at TCH. Of these, 330 applicants (2%) tested positive on both the EMIT and GC/MS. After review by the medical review officer, the number of true drug test positive applicants decreased to 126 (0.78%). ^ According to the overall annual positive drug test incidence rates, the highest overall incidence was in 2002 (14.71 per 1000 tests) and the lowest in 2004 (3.17 per 1000 tests). Despite a marked increase in 2002, over the 15-year study period the overall incidence tended to decrease. Incidence rates and trends of other illegal drugs are further discussed in the study. And in general, these incidence rates also decline in the study period. In addition to that, we found the overall, positive drug tests were more common in females than in males (55.5% versus 44.4%). ^

Technical, scientific and procedural issues of employee drug testing : consensus report /

Mode of access: Internet.

Drug testing procedures handbook.

Mode of access: Internet.

An Empirical evaluation of preemployment drug testing in the United States Postal Service : interim report of findings.

"January, 1989."

Employee drug testing : estimated cost to test all executive branch employees and new hires : report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on the Civil Service, Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, House of Representatives /

"GAO/GGD-92-99."

Is cannabis a gateway drug? Testing hypotheses about the relationship between cannabis use and the use of other illicit drugs

We outline and evaluate competing explanations of three relationships that have consistently been found between cannabis use and the use of other illicit drugs, namely, ( 1) that cannabis use typically precedes the use of other illicit drugs; and that ( 2) the earlier cannabis is used, and ( 3) the more regularly it is used, the more likely a young person is to use other illicit drugs. We consider three major competing explanations of these patterns: ( 1) that the relationship is due to the fact that there is a shared illicit market for cannabis and other drugs which makes it more likely that other illicit drugs will be used if cannabis is used; ( 2) that they are explained by the characteristics of those who use cannabis; and ( 3) that they reflect a causal relationship in which the pharmacological effects of cannabis on brain function increase the likelihood of using other illicit drugs. These explanations are evaluated in the light of evidence from longitudinal epidemiological studies, simulation studies, discordant twin studies and animal studies. The available evidence indicates that the association reflects in part but is not wholly explained by: ( 1) the selective recruitment to heavy cannabis use of persons with pre-existing traits ( that may be in part genetic) that predispose to the use of a variety of different drugs; ( 2) the affiliation of cannabis users with drug using peers in settings that provide more opportunities to use other illicit drugs at an earlier age; ( 3) supported by socialisation into an illicit drug subculture with favourable attitudes towards the use of other illicit drugs. Animal studies have raised the possibility that regular cannabis use may have pharmacological effects on brain function that increase the likelihood of using other drugs. We conclude with suggestions for the type of research studies that will enable a decision to be made about the relative contributions that social context, individual characteristics, and drug effects make to the relationship between cannabis use and the use of other drugs.

Drug testing: a way to weed out users?

The aim of this paper is to provide managers and Human Resource executives with the basis for making drug testing policy in their organisations by presenting a critical review of existing literature on Workplace Drug Testing (WDT) and related areas which have been structured into the key areas.The key finding is whilst WDT is becoming more and more widely used, the rationale for this in terms of organizational effectiveness and safety is far from clear. Also there are significant ethical issues associated with WDT which are not always fully considered by organisations. Similarly, a cost/benefit analysis for particular organisations may well show little reason to embark on a testing policy. As a result of our review, we recommend that practitioners take a critical view of proposals introducing WDT since in many cases there is little upside to such a policy and a largely under-researched downside. There are also wider implications for society as a whole since the issue of drug taking as a whole is clearly a matter of great importance to practically every country in the world. The workplace is not at all immune from the impact of drug taking and perhaps a knee-jerk response by managers is to attempt to exclude anyone with any sort of drug habit through the use of WDT. This type of review with a specific HR focus has not been carried out before despite several calls for a more rational approach to the area.

Qualitative Responses to Pre-employment Drug Testing in the Foodservice Industry

Employee substance abuse has long time been a topic of concern for the hospitality industry. Operating under the assumption that drug-users, and associated undesirable behavior, can be eliminated from the hiring process, many operations have adopted pre-employment drug-testing policies. Despite being represented across the industry as a major target of effort and resources, it is suggested that the perceived sensitive-nature of the subject has somewhat hindered access to qualitative information. The purpose of this research was to assess and explore the attitudes, beliefs and perceptions of both management and employees in the foodservice industry regarding pre-employment drug-testing and its impact on work performance. Through the use of a phenomenological survey, qualitative data was collected then used to identify themes in participants’ perceptions of such screening policies and their effects. Results and implications of these findings are discussed.

Advanced cell culture platforms: methods for drug testing with microfluidics and microstructured devices

Advanced cell cultures are developing rapidly in biomedical research. Nowadays, various approaches and technologies are being used, however, these culturing systems present limitations from increasing complexity, requiring high costs, and not easily customization. We present two versatile and cost-effective methods for developing culturing systems that integrate 3D cell culture and microfluidic platforms. Firstly, for drug screening applications, many high-quality cell spheres of homogeneous size and shape are required. Conventional approaches usually have a dearth of control over the size and geometry of cell spheres and require sample collection and manipulation. To overcome this difficulty, in this study, hundreds of spheroids of several cell lines were generated using multi-well plates that housed our microdevices. Tumor spheroids grow at a uniform rate (in scaffolded or scaffold-free environments) and can be harvested at will. Microscopy imaging are done in real time during or after the culture. After in situ immunostaining, fluorescence imaging can be conducted while keeping the spatial distribution of spheroids in the microwells. Drug effects were successfully observed through viability, growth, and morphologic investigations. Also, we fabricated a microfluidic device suitable for directed and selective cell culture treatments. The microfluidic device was used to reproduce and confirm in vitro investigations carried out using normal culture methods, using a microglia cell line. The device layout and the syringe pump system, entirely designed in our lab, successfully allowed culture growth and medium flow regulation. Solution flows can be finely controlled, allowing treatments and immunofluorescence in one single chamber selectively. To conclude, we propose the development of two culturing platforms (microstructured well devices and in-flow microfluidic chip), which are the result of separate scientific investigations but have the primary goal of performing treatments in a reproducible manner. Our devices shall improve future studies on drug exposure testing, representing adjustable and versatile cell culture systems.

Implementing Employee Drug and Alcohol Testing: Implications for Hotel Managers

Abuse of drugs and alcohol in the workplace has reached epidemic proportions in the hotel industry. The authors review considerations for drug testing and discuss drug and alcohol testing methods and the manner in which an effective policy should be developed.

Drug abuse among workers in Brazilian regions

OBJECTIVE: Many business organizations in Brazil have adopted drug testing programs in the workplace since 1992. Rehabilitation, rather than layoff and disciplinary measures, has been offered as part of the Brazilian employee assistance programs. The purpose study is to profile drug abuse among company workers of different Brazilian geographical regions. METHODS: Urine samples of 12,700 workers from five geographical regions were tested for the most common illicit drugs of abuse in the country: marijuana, cocaine, and amphetamine. Enzyme multiplied immunoassay technique (EMIT) and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) were the techniques utilized for urine testing. The distribution of collected urine samples according to geographical regions was: 72.0% southeast, 13.8% northeast, 7.9% south, 5.7% central west and 0.6% north. RESULTS: Of all samples analyzed, 1.8% was found to be positive for drugs: 0.5% from the south region, 1.1% from northeast, 1.2% from central west, 1.3% from north, and 2.2% from southeast. Of these, 59.9% was marijuana, 17.7% cocaine, 14.6% amphetamine, and 7.7% associated drugs. CONCLUSIONS: The distribution of drugs found in the samples shows a regional variation. Marijuana, however, was found in all regions. Cocaine was seen only in central west and southeast regions. Amphetamine was found in northeast, central west, and southeast regions.

Anti-doping testing at the 2008 European football championship.

Big sports events like the 2008 European Football Championship are a challenge for anti-doping activities, particularly when the sports event is hosted by two different countries and there are two laboratories accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency. This challenges the logistics of sample collection as well as the chemical analyses, which must be carried out timeously. The following paper discusses the handling of whereabouts information for each athlete and the therapeutic use exemption system, experiences in sample collection and transportation of blood and urine samples, and the results of the chemical analysis in two different accredited laboratories. An overview of the analytical results of blood profiling and growth hormone testing in comparison with the distribution of the normal population is also presented.

Anti-doping testing at the 2008 European football championship.

Big sports events like the 2008 European Football Championship are a challenge for anti-doping activities, particularly when the sports event is hosted by two different countries and there are two laboratories accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency. This challenges the logistics of sample collection as well as the chemical analyses, which must be carried out timeously. The following paper discusses the handling of whereabouts information for each athlete and the therapeutic use exemption system, experiences in sample collection and transportation of blood and urine samples, and the results of the chemical analysis in two different accredited laboratories. An overview of the analytical results of blood profiling and growth hormone testing in comparison with the distribution of the normal population is also presented.

Factors modifying drug and placebo responses in randomized trials for bipolar mania

Factors modifying drug and placebo responses in randomized trials for bipolar mania. Yildiz A, Vieta E, Tohen M, Baldessarini RJ. Source Department of Psychiatry, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Turkey. agul_yildiz@hotmail.com Abstract Randomized placebo-controlled trials (RCTs) are standard for assessing efficacy and safety of treatments. We pursued preliminary indications that some factors are associated differentially with responses to placebo or drugs in RCTs for bipolar mania. We meta-analysed data from RCTs to assess influences of study-site count, subjects' age, sex distribution, diagnostic subgroups, clinical features, trial-completion rates, and publication year on mean difference (MD) in mania ratings between intake and final assessments. In 38 RCTs involving 3812 placebo-treated and 6988 drug-treated patients, symptomatic improvement was similar in placebo arms of trials of effective (6.77, 95% CI 5.77-7.76) and ineffective (7.61, 95% CI 5.47-8.75) drugs. Lesser placebo responses (MD) and greater drug-placebo differences (Hedges' g) were associated with fewer study sites, younger patients' age, and male sex. More patients with initial psychotic features and more trial completion in drug arms were associated with greater drug-associated improvement (MD) and drug-placebo contrast (Hedges' g), whereas more mixed-state diagnoses decreased both measures. Identifying modifying factors can support more efficient and cost-effective designs of therapeutic trials. In trials for mania, fewer sites may limit placebo response and enhance drug-placebo contrasts.