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The incidence of melanoma is rising among Hispanic populations in the United States. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of a pilot sun safety educational intervention conducted from 2006 to 2012 on Hispanic early adolescents in a high ultraviolet environment. Nineteen schools with high Hispanic enrollment were recruited from urban neighborhoods in Los Angeles. The analytic sample was restricted to students identifying as Hispanic or Latino (n = 777). A mixed effects linear model was used to test mean changes from pre- to posttest on students' sun protection knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. Significant improvements were observed across several cognitive outcomes related to sun protection, including knowledge of and attitudes toward sun protection and self-efficacy to wear sunscreen. However, changes in sun protective behaviors were not achieved. Although some improvements were observed, future studies should identify the factors that motivate sun protection in this population and develop tailored prevention strategies, as improving the sun safe behaviors of Hispanic youths may aid in reducing the risk of melanoma in adulthood in this population., (© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

The multiple-dose pharmacokinetics and safety of trovafloxacin (CP-99,219), a new fluoroquinolone antibacterial agent, were evaluated in healthy male volunteers. Trovafloxacin was administered orally at 100 or 300 mg as a single dose followed by a 3 day washout period, and then was dosed once-daily for 14 consecutive days. Multiple serum and urine samples were collected on days 1 and 17 and were analysed for trovafloxacin concentrations by HPLC-UV. Following single doses, the mean Cmax values (mean +/- S.D.) were 1.0 +/- 0.3 and 2.9 +/- 0.4 mg/L for the 100 and 300 mg, respectively; those after 14-day consecutive daily dosing (day 17) were 1.1 +/- 0.2 and 3.3 +/- 0.5 mg/L, respectively. Trovafloxacin was rapidly absorbed and reached Cmax approximately 1 h after dosing. The mean values of T1/2 associated with the 100 and 300 mg doses were 9.2 +/- 1.2 on day 1 and 10.5 +/- 0.7 h on day 17; those after the 300 mg doses were 10.5 +/- 1.4 and 12.2 +/- 1.9 h, respectively. The cumulative urinary recovery of unchanged drug averaged 5.3% of the administered dose. Trovafloxacin renal clearance was 0.43 +/- 0.09 L/h. The free fraction of the drug in plasma was 23.8 +/- 6.1%. The renal clearance, half-life and unbound fraction did not change over the course of 2 weeks of multiple dosing. Steady-state serum concentrations were attained by the third daily dose, with approximately 1.3-fold accumulation. Both doses of trovafloxacin were well tolerated, and no significant changes in any laboratory safety parameters were detected. This study shows that the pharmacokinetics of trovafloxacin are linear and stationary and that steady-state serum concentrations above the MICs for most susceptible pathogens attained.

Trovafloxacin (CP-99,219) is a new fluoroquinolone antibacterial agent with a broad spectrum of activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The pharmacokinetics and safety of trovafloxacin were characterised in healthy male volunteers after administration of single oral doses of 30, 100, 300, 600 and 1000 mg. trovafloxacin was rapidly absorbed and serum concentrations reached a maximum approximately 1 h after dosing. The corresponding mean Cmax values (mean +/- SD) were 0.3 +/- 0.0, 1.5 +/- 0.5, 4.4 +/- 1.1, 6.6 +/- 1.4 and 10.1 +/- 0.5 mg/L. Terminal-phase half-life was independent of dose, with an overall mean of 9.9 +/- 2.5 h. Generally, Cmax and AUC0-infinity increased linearly with dose. Less than 10% of the administered dose was recovered unchanged in urine. Over the dosing range, trovafloxacin renal clearance was fairly constant, averaging 0.67 +/- 0.36 L/h. Trovafloxacin binding to serum proteins was moderate (70%). Trovafloxacin was well tolerated at doses of 300 mg or below. There were no significant changes in the clinical chemistry or haematology parameters evaluated over the entire dosing range.

Cutaneous infection with rapidly growing mycobacteria is uncommon and diagnosis may be difficult. However, the histopathological features are distinctive and may aid diagnosis. The three pathogenic species, Mycobacterium fortuitum, M. chelonae and M. abscessus, show major differences in their antimicrobial sensitivities, and species identification is therefore important. We describe a case of infection with M. abscessus, and discuss the clinical and pathological features of such infections, and approaches to their treatment.

A gas-liquid chromatographic procedure for determination of SCH 39304 at low nanogram concentrations in serum, cerebrospinal fluid, and urine is presented. The methodology combines a high selectivity and sensitivity nitrogen-specific detector, a gas chromatograph equipped with a capillary "megabore" column, and an internal standard that is very similar in chemical structure to the drug being assayed. This method is suitable for both pharmacokinetic studies as well as for monitoring drug levels in patients receiving SCH 39304 for antifungal treatment.

The authors determined mean day-to-day (daily over five days), mean week-to-week (weekly over five weeks) and mean hour-to-hour (800 h, 1100 h, 1400 h) physiologic intra-individual variation of concentration values of leukocyte cell types, platelet count, and erythrocyte values (hematocrit, hemoglobin) for a group of 20 healthy adult volunteers. Total leukocyte counts and concentration values of leukocyte cell types were determined in duplicate on the Hemalong-DTM Automated Leukocyte Differential Cell Counter to minimize analytic variation. The data sets were analyzed according to an analysis of variance model. The mean physiologic hour-to-hour and week-to-week intra-individual variations in terms of % coefficient of variation included: hemoglobin, 2.5, 2.2; hematocrit, 2.6, 2.7; platelets, 1.6, 6.6; total leukocyte count, 9.4, 15.7; neutrophils, 12.9, 26.0; lymphocytes, 10.3, 13.2; monocytes, 18.6, 19.3; eosinophils, 19.9, 26.9; basophils, 7.4, 15.0; large unstained cells, 13.7, 16.0; "high-peroxidase" cells, 32.7, 25.7. Hour-to-hour variation was partitioned into random diurnal variation, group-consistent diurnal variation, and subject-specific unique individual variation. Subject-specific diurnal variation contributed greatly and statistically significantly to total diurnal variation for many of the leukocyte cell types--especially in the case of eosinophils, where it represented more than half of total diurnal variation.

A rapid capillary gas-liquid chromatographic method for the determination of barbiturates in plasma at concentrations of clinical importance is presented. This method employs a rapid and simple extraction procedure and direct flame ionization detection with no derivatization.

There is an increasing demand for quantification of serum alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (AAG, orosomucoid) in studies evaluating the protein binding of highly bound basic drugs. This paper describes an adaptation of an automated immunoturbidimetric assay for this protein to the Cobas Bio centrifugal analyzer. Replicate analyses of aliquots from six different solutions were used in determining precision. We also analyzed 367 patients' serum samples, in duplicate, to determine the distribution of AAG in hospitalized patients. The intra- and inter-run CVs ranged from 1.3% to 4.4% and from 0.6% to 6.6%, respectively. AAG concentrations in patients' samples ranged from 0.38 to 3.16 g/L. Results by this method correlate well with those by radial immunodiffusion, with no significant amount of bias between the two methods. This immunoturbidimetric procedure is faster and less expensive than currently used radial immunodiffusion techniques, and precision is acceptable.

We describe a procedure for the liquid-chromatographic determination of promethazine in low-nanogram concentrations in serum. Triflupromazine is used as the internal standard. The method is based on a single extraction of promethazine from serum with hexane and subsequent derivatization with trichloroethyl chloroformate. Analytical recovery of promethazine is about 90%. The lower limit of detection is 1 microgram/L when a 2.0-mL aliquot of serum is assayed. Our data illustrate the practicability of the method for bioavailability studies after oral or rectal administration of promethazine hydrochloride.

A fatal case of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (Type IV) is described. Autopsy revealed splenic rupture that had resulted from spontaneous haemorrhage into the splenic parenchyma. This is a previously unrecorded complication of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of chest and abdominal pain in patients with this condition.

A method is described for the determination of amitriptyline, nortriptyline, imipramine and desipramine at low nanogram concentrations in serum. Separation and quantitation are performed by reversed-phase, isocratic, high-performance liquid chromatography utilizing ultraviolet detection at 210 nm. An internal standard, chloramitriptyline, is used as an aid to quantitation. Recovery of all four tricyclics is greater than 84%. The relative standard deviation for the analysis of amitriptyline, nortriptyline, imipramine and desipramine is less than 6% at a concentration of 100 ng/mL.

We evaluated a commercially available enzyme immunoassay method for determining the concentration of total diazepam plus its active metabolite, nordiazepam, in small amounts of serum and urine. The coefficients of variation were 5% within assay and 8% between assay. Concentrations so measured for patients' sera correlated well with those obtained both by gas chromatography with electron-capture detection and by liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. For urine samples, the correlation between values obtained by the enzyme immunoassay method and those for total diazepam/nordiazepam/oxazepam obtained by liquid chromatography was adequate for routine clinical toxicological use. The ability of the immunoassay to determine other benzodiazepines was also evaluated.