My source is having worked in a drug testing lab and doing the marijuana metabolite testing myself. It sticks around stably just fine at RT for several days (though it is of course frozen); it's an organic compound but not a protein like FGF. Its stability is more akin to, say, steroid hormones in solution. I don't…

I used to work for Quest. I think it's getting mixed up by the fact that there is first an immunoassay screen, which is kind of like a semiquantitative assay. It gives you a ballpark figure but it's fairly imprecise, and the cutoff for the screen you link to is 50 ng/mL to send to confirmations. The confirmation test…

That's pretty low. I used to see 5 ng/ml as a standard cutoff for medical professionals getting on-the-job testing.

I also worked at a drug testing facility in the confirmations area, and never saw a limit above 15 ng/mL. 15 was typical, 5 was sometimes the case for certain clients, and LOD was the absolute lowest I ever saw. I wonder if there is a difference in standards by geographical location or just by independent company.

Marijuana metabolite stored in a urine sample will not break down in a few days (or hours, as was likely the time period between these two testings). Especially when frozen, as is standard policy in such labs. The difference is due to two separate extractions, and two separate instrument calibrations (for analysis by…

No, the standard pre-employment screen/on-the-job test cutoff is 15 ng/mL. Lower for medical professionals. I've never seen a cutoff higher than 15 in my time working at a drug testing lab.

The difference is miniscule. The same sample from the same bottle can easily quant at those varied concentrations, could even quant a bit more widely and still be valid. The variation can come from any step along the line from drug extraction to instrument calibration on the mass spec. In my time working at a drug…

The typical pre-employment screening cutoff in the US is 15 ng/ml for marijuana. This is also true of on-the-job testing and most law enforcement cutoffs.

Urk. Dude I was super duper into was going down on me in his bedroom, and anytime he took a moment for air he spent some time telling me all about his ex-girlfriend he was trying to get back together with. He told me how he had fucked things up with her and would do anything he could to make it right. Her framed…

Your original comment, "Welcome to the publishing world," would imply that you recognize and are ok with the sensationalism. It absolutely is sensationalistic concerning the topic, and certainly is out of this journal's established boundaries, bumping the sensationalism up quite a bit.

This not just everyday journalism, though. This is one of the most highly regarded scientific journals containing high-impact research reports. There are high standards for cover content, and sensationalism doesn't belong in or on this publication.

At least one level of outrage is certainly the fact that this is an academic journal that is expected to adhere to standards of scientific reporting. Oversensationalism is not a part of the reading experience here, so besides all the social aspects that would be problematic on a typical piece of journalism (you could…

I don't know that anyone would get fired for this, but there ARE massive numbers of people lining up for a performance position at Disney. Their auditions are consistently filled with aspiring character actors/dancers.

You read my mind! I avoid mention of the over-hyped choreographers when discussing the show, because so many viewers really get swept up by the show and love some pieces that I find really mediocre. I like to think that as a dancer I have somewhat more expert opinion than a casual viewer, but it is all a matter of…

Agree completely. I hate how little time is actually spent on the pieces. The format forces the choreography to throw in so many stupid tricks and ramp up the pace in ways that don't mesh with the music or style... it's a pain.

I heartily appreciate all that SYTYCD does to interest all sorts of varied viewers in dance, but man do I ever dislike that show. There have been a few times that I truly enjoyed and appreciated a piece featured on the show, and the dancers are always quite talented, but the format destroys so much of the point of…

Cute and creative! A friend of mine also made her own bouquets with well-made artificial flowers. I still have my bridesmaid bouquet, and it sits in a vase in a high-traffic area of the house looking pretty :o)

Find out your local/state laws regarding return of deposit. Assuming there is a law requiring its return within X amount of time, write him or your landlord a demand letter referencing that law, and threatening small claims court if they don't follow through. I recently did this with my last landlord for illegally…

Same here. And I recall that when it was introduced up-front as "here is some stuff we will learn about personal finances" everyone zoned out and was super bored. I think I learned a lot more from teachers sneaking word problems in math class and context-driven discussions in history and English classes. It became a…

YES. Totally with you- why not just be reasonably pleasant and make everyone's little experiences a little nicer? I know I always get happier when people around me are pleasant and polite. It's the little things.