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Testing for Caffeine Could Help Foil Fake Urine Scam

By Andy Extance on January 9, 2019

    In a disturbing trend, scam artists are using commercially sold fake urine to fool doctors into prescribing pain medications such as hydrocodone − which can then be consumed or illegally sold. The synthetic pee lets patients pass tests intended to ensure they are not already taking opioid medications or drugs of abuse.

    Hoping to address the situation, Patrick Kyle, director of clinical chemistry and toxicology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and his pathologist colleague Jaswinder Kaur have now shown how legal indulgences − including chocolate, coffee and cigarettes − can help distinguish real pee from fake.

    Past approaches to spotting fake specimens have included testing urine’s acidity and density and assessing concentration of a metabolic waste substance called creatinine. But some synthetic products now pass these evaluations, Kyle says.

    The new method looks for four substances common in urine: caffeine and theobromine, both found in chocolate, tea and coffee; cotinine, produced as nicotine breaks down; and urobilin − degraded hemoglobin that gives urine its yellow color. The scientists studied the various substances in four different groups. One group of 100 urine samples came from people who had been observed providing them. A second set of 100 came from individuals seeking pain medication, who were not observed. A third came from 200 unobserved job applicants. And the final group consisted of 10 samples of commercially available synthetic urine. All samples provided by observed individuals were positive for at least one of the four test substances; three from the pain medication group and two from the job applicants lacked them. No synthetic urine samples contained any of the four substances. Negative results do not prove criminal activity − but they can indicate attempted deception, Kyle says. In such cases, he adds, “the clinic or the business should simply collect another specimen from the individual.”

(Adapted from: www.scientificamerican.com)

Atenção: Para responder à questão, baseie-se no texto abaixo.

    Os últimos 500 anos testemunharam uma série de revoluções de tirar o fôlego. A Terra foi unida em uma única esfera histórica e ecológica. A ciência e a Revolução Industrial deram à humanidade poderes sobre-humanos e energia praticamente sem limites. Mas somos mais felizes?

    Embora poucos tenham estudado a história da felicidade no longo prazo, quase todos os estudiosos e leigos têm alguma ideia vaga preconcebida a respeito. Considerando que os humanos usam suas capacidades para aliviar sofrimentos e satisfazer aspirações, decorre que devemos ser mais felizes que nossos ancestrais medievais e que eles devem ter sido mais felizes que os caçadores da Idade da Pedra.

    Mas esse relato progressista não convence. Novas aptidões, comportamentos e habilidades não necessariamente contribuem para uma vida melhor. Quando os humanos aprenderam a lavrar a terra, sua capacidade coletiva de moldar seu ambiente aumentou, mas o destino de muitos indivíduos humanos se tornou mais cruel. Os camponeses tinham de trabalhar mais para obter alimentos menos variados e nutritivos. De maneira similar, a disseminação dos impérios europeus aumentou enormemente o poder coletivo da humanidade, fazendo circular ideias, tecnologias e sementes e abrindo novas rotas de comércio. Mas isso esteve longe de ser uma boa ideia para os milhões de africanos, índios americanos e aborígenes australianos. Considerando a comprovada propensão humana para fazer mau uso do poder, parece ingênuo acreditar que quanto mais influência as pessoas tiverem, mais felizes serão.

(Adaptado de: HARARI, Yuval Noah. Sapiens − uma breve história da humanidade. Trad. Janaína Marcoantonio. 38. ed. Porto Alegre: L&PM, 2018, p. 386/388, passim) 

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How to help your hangover

By Jen Christensen, CNN

Here's the secret to avoiding a hangover: Don't drink. Or at least drink in moderation, doctors say.

Thankfully, hangovers aren't all that serious.

Scientifically speaking, what cures a hangover is hard to know. That's because what we know about hangovers is still a little

murky, says Dr. Sharon Horesh Bergquist, a doctor at Emory Healthcare and an assistant professor of medicine.

What scientists do know about hangovers is that alcohol, when consumed in excess, can do a real number on your system.

It makes you want to run to the bathroom more and that can lead to dehydration. That process is what causes the thirst,

dizziness and the light-headedness you feel.

It can also trigger an inflammatory response from your immune system. That can hurt your ability to concentrate. It can hurt your

memory. It can make you feel lethargic.

Drinking alcohol in excess can cause your blood sugar to fall. If it dips too low it can cause a shakiness and weakness, even

seizures.

Alcohol can cause your blood vessels to expand, which can cause headaches.

It can irritate the lining of your stomach, making you nauseous.

You can't stop a hangover, says Bergquist, but there are a few ways you can improve your symptoms.

Drinking water as you consume alcohol can help with the dehydration issue.

"That does not improve your concentration or loss of spatial relation skills that come with a hangover, though," she says.

Eating a little something can help your stomach. But eating greasy food to soak up the alcohol better, as some people will tell

you, is a myth. In fact, that greasy stuff may irritate your stomach more. Instead, Bergquist suggests eating some healthy protein and

carbohydrates.

But other than avoiding alcohol altogether, the only other way to ease your symptoms is simple.

"Rest is the one way you can really help yourself," Bergquist said.

So try to sleep it off. You will feel better, eventually.

(Adapted from: https://edition.cnn.com)

Para responder a questão, considere o texto abaixo.

Testing for Caffeine Could Help Foil Fake Urine Scam

By Andy Extance on January 9, 2019

    In a disturbing trend, scam artists are using commercially sold fake urine to fool doctors into prescribing pain medications such as hydrocodone − which can then be consumed or illegally sold. The synthetic pee lets patients pass tests intended to ensure they are not already taking opioid medications or drugs of abuse.

    Hoping to address the situation, Patrick Kyle, director of clinical chemistry and toxicology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and his pathologist colleague Jaswinder Kaur have now shown how legal indulgences − including chocolate, coffee and cigarettes − can help distinguish real pee from fake.

    Past approaches to spotting fake specimens have included testing urine’s acidity and density and assessing concentration of a metabolic waste substance called creatinine. But some synthetic products now pass these evaluations, Kyle says.

    The new method looks for four substances common in urine: caffeine and theobromine, both found in chocolate, tea and coffee; cotinine, produced as nicotine breaks down; and urobilin − degraded hemoglobin that gives urine its yellow color. The scientists studied the various substances in four different groups. One group of 100 urine samples came from people who had been observed providing them. A second set of 100 came from individuals seeking pain medication, who were not observed. A third came from 200 unobserved job applicants. And the final group consisted of 10 samples of commercially available synthetic urine. All samples provided by observed individuals were positive for at least one of the four test substances; three from the pain medication group and two from the job applicants lacked them. No synthetic urine samples contained any of the four substances. Negative results do not prove criminal activity − but they can indicate attempted deception, Kyle says. In such cases, he adds, “the clinic or the business should simply collect another specimen from the individual.”

(Adapted from: www.scientificamerican.com)