Medico-legal autopsies after sunset: Ethical issues

From the British era, regular medico-legal autopsies have never been done in India after sunset, except for those specially permitted by the law enforcement agencies. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, issued a notification on November 15, 2021, regarding the “Conduct of post-mortem in hospitals after sunset”. This has given rise to much debate on whether post-mortems can be conducted after sunset in an ethical manner. Here, we briefly discuss the various issues related to the carrying out of post-mortems after sunset in India.

Determination of common dyes in dyed safflower by near infrared spectroscopy / 中国中药杂志

Because the red and bright color of corolla is the main indicator for the quality assessment of good safflower,the dyed safflower is sometimes found at the herbal market,what is influence on this herb quality and efficacy. A total of 127 safflower samples was therefore collected from different cultivating areas and herbal markets in China to develop a rapid method to identify the dyed safflower. Near-infrared spectroscopy(NIRS) combined with characteristic identification,high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC),principal component analysis(PCA) and partial least squares regression analysis(PLS) were employed to differentiate safflower from dyed safflower samples,and further quantify the levels of the 6 dyes,i.e. tartrazine,carmine,sunset yellow,azorubine,acid red 73 and orange Ⅱ in the dyed safflower. The results indicated that the 50 safflower samples and 77 dyed safflower samples were located at different regions in PCA cluster diagram by NIR spectra. Tartrazine,carmineand and sunset yellow were found in the 77 dyed safflower samples with the amounts of 0. 60-3. 66,0. 11-1. 37,0. 10-0. 71 mg·g-1,respectively. It indicated that the three dyes were the common and main dyes in the dyed safflower. However,azorubine,acid red 73 and orange Ⅱ were not detected in all herb samples. A total of 62 dyed safflower samples were chosen as calibration samples to develop the model for estimating the amount of dyes in dyed safflower. The estimating accuracy was verified by another 15 dyed safflower samples. The values of tartrazine,carmine and sunset yellow in dyed safflower samples were compared between the NIRS and HPLC methods. Each value of mean absolute difference(MAD) was less than 5%. The correlation coefficients of tartrazine,carmineand and sunset yellow were 0. 970,0. 975,0. 971,respectively. It indicated the data quantified by NIRS and HPLC were consistence. It is concluded that NIRS can not only differentiate safflower from dyed safflower,but also quantify the amount of the dyes. NIRS is suitable for rapidly identify the quality of safflower.

Staining fungal structures with artificial dyes used in the industry of juices / Coloração de estruturas de fungos com corantes artificiais usados na fabricação de sucos

ABSTRACT: The objective of this research was to evaluate the efficiency of artificial dyes, sunset yellow and red bordeaux S, and the use of glycerol in different concentrations to consistently stain fungal structures in slides containing spores of Oidium sp., Albugo ipomoeae-panduratae, Pochonia chlamydosporia and hyphae of Phytopythium helicoides. Commercial product mixtures of the artificial dyes at 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 3.0 and 5.0% (w/v) added with glycerol at 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0% were evaluated. To stain chlamydospores, the suspension was placed in the staining solution or heated at 80ºC for 5 minutes. The slides were prepared by the wet mount slide method. Fungal spores were consistently stained starting at a concentration of 2% of the staining solution. The addition of glycerol to the staining solution improved the contrast of the sporangia, hyphae and chlamydospores. Higher intensity and uniformity of chlamydospore's staining was verified using 3% dye solution and 1% heated glycerol, when compared to the unheated and blue-cotton solution.

RESUMO: Neste trabalho, objetivou-se avaliar a eficiência dos corantes artificiais, amarelo crepúsculo e vermelho bordeaux S, e o uso do glicerol em diferentes concentrações, na montagem de lâminas com esporos de Oidium sp., Albugo ipomoeae-panduratae, Pochonia chlamydosporia e hifas de Phytopythium helicoides. Foram avaliadas as concentrações de 0,5, 1,0, 1,5, 2,0, 3,0 e 5,0% (p/v) do produto comercial da mistura dos corantes artificiais e adição de glicerol nas concentrações de 0,25, 0,5 e 1,0%. Para coloração de clamidósporos, a suspensão foi colocada na solução corante ou aquecida a 80ºC por 5 minutos e as lâminas preparadas com líquido de montagem. A partir da concentração de 2% da mistura dos corantes houve maior coloração dos esporos. A adição de glicerol na solução corante melhorou o contraste dos esporângios, hifas e clamidósporos. Maior intensidade e uniformidade de coloração de clamidósporos ocorreram na solução corante 3% e glicerol 1% aquecida, em comparação com a solução sem aquecimento e azul-de-algodão.

Rapid detection of Chinese herbal medicine dyed by auramine O, amaranth and sunset yellow by ion mobility spectrometry / 中国药学杂志

OBJECTIVE: To develop a fast detecting method for three dyes (auramine O, amaranth and sunset yellow) illegally added into Chinese herbal medicine by ion mobility spectrometry (IMS). METHODS: The analysis was performed on ion mobility spectrometry, with source voltage 1 800 V for negative source and 2 300 V for positive source, drift tube voltage 7 500 V, gas inlet temperature 180℃, drift tube temperature 180℃, gate voltage 45 V, gate pulse width 120 μs, drift gas flow 1.2 L·min-1, exhaust pump 0.8 L·min-1, run time 30 s and spectrum length 25 ms. The samples were extracted by methanol, and then injected into the IMS system. The judgement of whether dye was added or not was made by comparing the migration time of the test samples with that of the reference substances. RESULTS: The auramine O, amaranth and sunset yellow could be rapidly identified. The minimum detection concentration of each compound was determined according to the signal to noise ratio (S/N) of 3. CONCLUSION: The IMS method for detecting auramine O, amaranth and sunset yellow illegally added into Chinese herbal medicine is simple, rapid and expected to be used as an initial screening method in drug rapid detecting system.

Protective effect of Sunset Abelmoschus on podocyte injury in adriamycin-induced nephropathy rats / 中华肾脏病杂志

Objective To explore the effect of Sunset Abelmoschus on podocyte injury in adriamycin-induced nephropathy rats.Methods Fifty male SD rats were randomly divided into five groups:sham operation group (n=10),model group (n=10),Sunset Abelmoschus low dose group (0.5 g·kg-1· d-1 n=10),middle dose group (1.0 g· kg-1· d-1,n=10) and high dose group (2.0 g· kg-1· d-1,n=10).Unilateral nephrectomy combined repeated adriamycin injection were performed to establish adriamycininduced nephropathy models.The rats were administered with the corresponding dose of Sunset Abelmoschus during the experiment period.Urinary protein,urinary N-acetyl glucose aminotransferase (NAG),serum albumin,serum creatinine and blood lipid were measured before operation and 2,4,6,8 weeks after operation.The rats were sacrificed on week 8 for the renal histological examination,including light microscope and electron microscope.Expression of nephrin was examined by immunofluorescence assays.Results As compared to model group,urinary protein and NAG significantly decreases in Sunset Abelmoschus groups in each time point,especially in high dose group (P＜0.01),meanwhile the serum albumin increased and the disturbance of lipid metabolism was improved in Sunset Abelmoschus groups (P＜0.05).Compared with sham group,Scr increased significantly in model group and Sunset Abelmoschus groups at the 4th week.At the 8th week,Scr in high dose group was lower than that in model group (P＜0.05),and the ratio of glomerular globe sclerosis and segmental sclerosis,tubulointerstitial damage reduced in Sunset Abelmoschus groups,especially in high dose group.The podocyte damage and the extent of foot process fusion were improved in Sunset Abelmoschus groups compared with model group.Expression of nephrin increased in Sunset Abelmoschus groups than that in model group.Conclusion Sunset Abelmoschus can ameliorate proteinuria and renal tissue damage of adriamycin-induced nephropathy rats,whose mechanism may be associated with the improvement of podocyte injury.

Methodological Validation on Microbil Limit Test of Dental Ulcer Pellicles of Sunset Abelmoschus Flower / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE:To validate the test condition and test method of the microbil limit test of the Dental ulcer pellicles of Sunset Abelmoschus Flower.METHODS:The methodological validation was carried out in accordance with the standard for microbil limit test stated in the appendix of China Pharmacopoeia(2005 Edition,VolumeⅠ).RESULTS:By membrane-filter procedure,the recovery rates of different test strains in the samples were all over 70%.CONCLUSION:The membrane-filter procedure can more effectively eliminate the bacteriostatic action of Dental ulcer pellicles of Sunset Abelmoschus Flower so as to result in accurate microbil limit test results.