Genuine U.S. Federal Reserve Notes have a consistent, two-component intrinsic fluorescence lifetime. This allows for detection of counterfeit paper money because of its significant differences in fluorescence lifetime when compared to genuine paper money. We used scanning two-photon laser excitation and the time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) method to sample a approximately 4 mm(2) ...

Malaria continues to be one of the major public health problems in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Plasmodium falciparum malaria is estimated to be the direct cause of 500 million cases and over 1 million deaths per year, mostly in women and children under the age of 5 years [1,2]. In children, progression of disease from mild to severe is particularly rapid [3]. Plasmodium falciparum has becom...

Counterfeit medicines are a global public health risk. We assess counterfeit reports involving the legitimate supply chain using 2009-2011 data from the Pharmaceutical Security Institute Counterfeit Incident System (PSI CIS) database that uses both open and nonpublic data sources. Of the 1,510 identified CIS reports involving counterfeits, 27.6% reported China as the source country of the incid...

We give optimal solutions to all versions of the popular counterfeit coin problem obtained by varying whether (i) we know if the counterfeit coin is heavier or lighter than the genuine ones, (ii) we know if the counterfeit coin exists, (iii) we have access to additional genuine coins, and (iv) we need to determine if the counterfeit coin is heavier or lighter than the genuine ones. Moreover, ou...

AIM to quantify the extent of counterfeit sildenafil in Indonesia. METHODS the study was conducted in 4 big areas: Jakarta, Bandung, East Java (Surabaya and Malang), and Medan. Sildenafil 100 mg tablets were purchased from pharmacies, drugstores, street peddlers, and 3 Indonesian websites. The outlets were chosen by random sampling in each stratum (type of outlet). Sildenafil tablets purchase...

Counterfeiting of drugs has now become a lucrative multi-billion dollar business that threatens the effective delivery of health care services. Apart from Africa and other marginally developed parts of the world, the developed economies are equally not spared from the bane of this trade. To combat this menace, concerted efforts are needed from various facets of the community. In addition to vis...

On 25/11/2014 the patient VHG arrives at emergency department of Cardarelli Hospital in Naples following prolonged confusional state and total loss of memory in the last 24 hours. The episode is diagnosed as transient global amnesia (TSA). During the hospitalization the patient receives specialist visits that don't reveal any abnormalities. The patient reports that he assumed, a few hours befor...

Chromatographic fingerprints recorded for a set of genuine and counterfeit samples of Viagra(®) and Cialis(®) were evaluated for their use in the detection and classification of counterfeit samples of these groups of medicines. Therefore several exploratory chemometric techniques were applied to reveal structures in the data sets as well as differences among the samples. The focus was on the di...