Tip to Toe of Toxicology

September 12, 2020 BY Mabel Chandra

Tip to Toe of Toxicology Quiz Crafted by-

Dr. Shweta Sharma

Assistant Professor

School of Forensic Science and Risk Management,

Raksha Shakti University, Lavad, Gandhinagar, Gujarat

Let’s have a look at the answers of the Quiz:

Que1. Name the first treatise written by Mathieu Joseph BonaventureOrfila?

A) Traité des poisons

B) Traité des arrowens

C) Traité des Toxidromes

D) Traité dedrugugdedrugu

Answer: (A) Traité des poisons

Explanation - Mathieu Joseph Bonaventure Orfila (1787–1853), often called the "Father of Toxicology," was the first great 19th-century exponent of forensic medicine. Although poisons have been studied and written about since the ninth century, the true origin of modern toxicology goes back to the early 1800’s when Mathieu Orfila produced a scientific work titled Traité des poisons: tires des règnes mineral, vegetal et animal; ouToxicologiegénérale. Orfila analyzed poison’s effects on humans and created a method of detecting the presence of arsenic within murder victims. His book discussed the techniques he devised, and soon became a commonly used guideline for murder cases in which detectives suspected the use of poison.

Que 2. What does NPS Stands for?

A) Novel Psychotropic substances

B) Noble Psychotropic substances

C) Nodal Psychotropic substances

D) None of the above

Answer: (A) Novel Psychotropic substances

Explanation – NPS are defined as psychoactive substances that legally mimic the effects of traditional drugs of abuse, such as heroin or cannabinoids, but are not internationally controlled. In 2016 the Psychoactive Substances Bill banned trading but not possession of all current and future novel psychoactive substances (NPS), sometimes incorrectly called “legal highs,” in an attempt to overcome rapid proliferation of these compounds.

Que 3. Golden triangle does not incudes which of the following countries?

a) Laos

b) Thailand

c) Ireland

d) Burma

Answer: (C) Ireland

Explanation- The Golden Triangle is the area where the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet at the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong rivers. The name "Golden Triangle"—coined by the CIA—is commonly used more broadly to refer to an area of approximately 950,000 square km that overlaps the mountains of the three adjacent countries.

Along with Afghanistan in the Golden Crescent, it has been one of the largest opium-producing areas of the world, since the 1950s. Most of the world's heroin came from the Golden Triangle until the early 21st century when Afghanistan became the world's largest producer. Myanmar is the world's second largest producer of illicit opium, after Afghanistan and has been a significant cog in the transnational drug trade since World War II. According to the UNODC it is estimated that in 2005 there wеrе 430 square km of opium cultivation in Myanmar.

Que 4. If the no. of packages during a narcotic drug seizure obtained at the scene are 225, then how many should be sampled?

A) 16

B) 15

C) 14

D) 20

Answer: (B) 15

Explanation- Drawing two representative samples from seized packages is easy and manageable, but only when the number of packages is few. However, the DLEO frequently encounters situations where the number of packages recovered is very large. Drawing two representative samples from truckloads of seized drugs would be a lengthy exercise. In such cases, bunching of packages into lots is done. Here’s what the guidelines say: (i) When the package/containers seized are of identical size and weight, bearing identical markings and the contents of each package are of similar color, texture and give identical results on colour test by the test kit, conclusively indicating that packages are identical in all respect, the same may be carefully bunched into lots of 10 packages/containers except in case of ganja and charas in which case 40 packages can be bunched into a lot. For sampling purposes, these lots will be considered as one unit. A small quantity of substance will be taken out from each of the member packages of the particular lot, mixed thoroughly to make the mixture homogeneous from which two representative samples weighing the prescribed quantity of 5gms or 24 gms, as the case may be, will be drawn.

Que 5. LSD is derived from which of the following plant?

(A) Cannabis sp.

(B) PapaverSomniferum

(D) Clavicepspurpurea

Answer: (D) Clavicepspurpurea

Explanation- LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide) are powerful hallucinogens. They are obtained from the sclerotia of ergot fungus, Clavicepspurpurea, present on rye plant. They are natural and powerful hallucinogens that change mood, behaviour and thoughts. They may cause pleasant or unpleasant sensations in the body. They effect cerebrum and sense organs and produce euphoria (excitement).

Que 6. Minamata Disease is caused by which of the following?

(A) MeHg

(B) MeSe

(D) MeAu

Answer: (A) MeHg

Explanation- Minamata disease, sometimes referred to as Chisso-Minamata disease, is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning. Symptoms include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, narrowing of the field of vision and damage to hearing and speech.

Que 7. Who among the following was involved in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy?

(A) William Astute

(B) Julian Assange

(D) Karl Marx

Answer: (C) Warren Anderson

Explanation- Warren Martin Anderson (November 29, 1921 – September 29, 2014) was an American businessman who was Chair and CEO of the Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) at the time of the Bhopal disaster in 1984. He was charged with manslaughter by Indian authorities.

Que 8. The book famously known in Toxicology “Silence of spring” by Rachel Carson describes the effects of which poison?

(A) DDT

(B) BHC

(D) Carbamates

Answer: (A) DDT

Explanation- Rachel Carson's seminal 1962 book, Silent Spring, told the real-life story of how bird populations across the country were suffering as a result of the widespread application of the synthetic pesticide DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), which was being used widely to control mosquitoes and others insects which led to the ban on domestic use of DDT in 1972 due to its widespread overuse and harmful impact on the environment.

Que 9. Which of the following has been declared as the largest drug-trafficking organisations in the world in Mexico in the year of 2019?

(A) Mexican Cartel

(B) Sino Cartel

(D) Sinaloa Cartel

Answer: (D) Sinaloa Cartel

Explanation- The United States Intelligence Community considers the Sinaloa Cartel "the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world" and in 2011, the Los Angeles Times called it "Mexico's most powerful organized crime group." According to the National Drug Intelligence Center, within the U.S. the Sinaloa Cartel is primarily involved in the distribution of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana and MDMA. It is also the majority supplier of illicit fentanyl to North America.

Que 10. Who is the first known victim of lethal polonium 210-induced acute radiation syndrome?

(A) Alexander Litvinenko

(B) VladimirVladislav

(D) BogdanMikhailBogdanMikhail

Answer: (A) Alexander Litvinenko

Explanation- On 1 November 2006, Litvinenko suddenly fell ill and was hospitalised in what was established as a case of poisoning by radioactive polonium-210; he died from the poisoning on 23 November. He became the first known victim of lethal polonium 210-induced acute radiation syndrome.

Que 11. Which of the following drugs are responsible for the sickening of vultures feeding on treated carcasses reported in the recent years?

(A) Aspirin

(B) Declofenac

(D) None of the above

Answer: (B) Declofenac

Explanation- Diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory commonly prescribed for arthritis and pain in people, caused acute kidney failure in vultures when they ate the carcasses of animals that had recently been treated with it. The findings, which followed a two-year investigation by an international team of 13 scientists, were published online by the journal Nature.

Que 12. Synaesthesia is observed in which of the following poisons?

(A) LSD

(B) Endrin

(D) None of the above

Answer: (A) LSD

Explanation- Synesthesia is a neurological condition in which information meant to stimulate one of your senses stimulates several of your senses. People who have synesthesia are called synesthetes .The word “synesthesia” comes from the Greek words: “synth” (which means “together”) and “ethesia” (which means “perception). Synesthetes can often “see” music as colors when they hear it, and “taste” textures like “round” or “pointy” when they eat foods.

Que 13. ____________was first tested as a biological warfare agent by Unit 731 of the Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria during the 1930s

(A) Anthrax

(B) Botulinum

(D) None of the above

Answer: (A)Anthrax

Explanation- Concentrated anthrax spores were used for bioterrorism in the 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, delivered by mailing postal letters containing the spores. The letters were sent to several news media offices and two Democratic senators: Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Patrick Leahy of Vermont. As a result, 22 were infected and five died. Only a few grams of material were used in these attacks and in August 2008, the US Department of Justice announced they believed that Bruce Ivins, a senior biodefense researcher employed by the United States government, was responsible. These events also spawned many anthrax hoaxes.

Due to these events, the US Postal Service installed biohazard detection systems at its major distribution centers to actively scan for anthrax being transported through the mail of 2020, no positive alerts by these systems have occurred.

Que 14. Rectified spirit as preservative is contra-indicated in cases of poisoning by :

(A) Alcohol

(B) Phosphorus

(D) All of above

Answer: (D) All of above

Explanation- Rectified spirit is considered to be ideal preservative with exceptions in cases of alcohol, kerosene, chloroform, ether, chloral hydrate, formic acid, carbolic acid, phosphorus and paraldehyde. Because organic acids and paraldehyde are soluble in rectified spirit and phosphorescence of phosphorus are diminished by it.

Que 15. Organophorous compounds and carbamates are powerful inhibitors of

(A) Cholinesterase

(B) Acetylcholin esterase

(D) None of the above

Answer: (A) Cholinesterase

Explanation: Cholinesterase is an enzyme required for function in the nervous system and is responsible for breaking down acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter), so that it does not over-stimulate post-synaptic nerves, muscles, and exocrine glands. It can be affected by genetic factors and poisoning.

Tip to Toe of Toxicology

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