[Regional decrease of dosage in roentgenoepilation of the temporal region].

We report investigations of hair surface potential under wetting at the nanometric scale by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Surface potential imaging was used to characterize the electrostatic properties of the hair samples. We found that the surface potential noticeably increases along the edges of the cuticles. These results are correlated with wetting behavior of different liquids performed using AFM in noncontact mode.

Hair↗

PubMed2004

Bjornstad syndrome.

A 9-month-old boy presented with the complaints of loose motion, vomiting and difficulty in breathing. His scalp hairs were thin, brittle, and sparse and were of differing lengths with twisted appearance. Hair shaft microscopy revealed alternate light and dark segments and twisting of the hair shafts by 180 degrees along the axis. Serum copper levels were normal. The audiological testing revealed bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. Child was diagnosed as a case of Bjornstad Syndrome.

Hair↗

PubMed2004

Drug testing the police: some results of urinalysis and hair analysis in a major US metropolitan police force.

This article presents the results of drug screening done between 1985 and 1999 by a police department in a major eastern American city. Drug testing data is presented for civilians applying for the position of police officer in response to public solicitations, officers-in-training who are tested at the end of a two year training period, and "sworn" -- i.e., working officers in the field. The data includes test results for both urinalysis and hair analysis. The article compares the outcome in relationship to the intrinsic differences in time windows that the two testing technologies address, and assesses the efficacy of the technologies for detection of drug use, and the differences in detection rates attributable to each. The urinalysis findings show that of the three categories (police applicants, in-training officers, and working officers) applicants have drug-positive urinalyses about 2.8 times the rate of working police officers and at 16 times the rate for probationary officers. This pattern apparently holds true regardless of the size of the tested pool of personnel. Probationary officers in every case have the lowest rates of positive urine test results, applicants have the highest, and working officers occupy the middle ground. Hair analysis, which examines a larger time "window" than urinalysis, shows a higher prevalence rate than does urinalysis. The mean rate for hair analysis drug positive specimens was found to be 1.36 times that for urinalysis. Consistent with the urinalysis results, the applicant pool tested at rates 2-3 times higher when using hair analysis than the probationary officers.

Hair↗