The Detection of Doping in Sport and the Role of Forensic Science

The detection of doping in sport is a vital component to creating a fair competitive environment for athletes. Educating athletes on the process of doping detection from start to finish may help them make better decisions when they are faced with doping, either intentionally or unintentionally. The doping detection process starts with the World Anti-Doping Agency and other Anti-Doping Organizations deciding what athletes should be tested and what they should be tested for, and ends with either a positive or negative doping test. Athletes’ knowledge on the doping detection process often ends when their sample is collected, unless they are accused of doping and face consequences of suspension or even being banned from the sport. However, athletes should be more knowledgeable on the testing procedures used once their samples are collected. Today, the most common tests used are gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, liquid-chromatography-mass spectrometry, and mass-spectrometry-mass spectrometry, among others. These techniques can be used to detect steroids, narcotics, stimulants, masking agents, contaminants of dietary supplements, and other substances on the WADA Prohibited List. Innocent athletes should be able to defend themselves if a test method gives a false-positive result, and understanding the accuracy of these test methods and how many different techniques there are should deter dishonest athletes from doping. Advancements are constantly being made to detect new substances and better detect substances that are commonly used. Informing athletes of the possible health risks and how certain drugs may even decrease their athletic performance should be deterrents as well. Educating the athletic community on the doping process from start to finish is the key to creating a doping free environment for competitive sports

Exploring Children\u27s Literature through Writing

Children’s literature is a unique genre of literature that can best be understood by examining its creation. In order to better understand this area of literature, an attempt was made to create an original work of children’s literature To begin, children’s literature as a whole was researched, including the history, picture books, realistic fiction, writing process, history of publishing, and publishing process. This research was then used to produce a picture book entitled Sophie’s Long Weekend, a story about a third grade girl who is spending the weekend away from home for the first time. Next, after several revisions, the book was read to an audience of 24 third grade students who were then given a survey. Data was collected from these surveys to illustrate the students’ reaction to the creative work. Finally, these results were analyzed to verify the success of the process

Exploring Children\u27s Literature through Writing

Children’s literature is a unique genre of literature that can best be understood by examining its creation. In order to better understand this area of literature, an attempt was made to create an original work of children’s literature To begin, children’s literature as a whole was researched, including the history, picture books, realistic fiction, writing process, history of publishing, and publishing process. This research was then used to produce a picture book entitled Sophie’s Long Weekend, a story about a third grade girl who is spending the weekend away from home for the first time. Next, after several revisions, the book was read to an audience of 24 third grade students who were then given a survey. Data was collected from these surveys to illustrate the students’ reaction to the creative work. Finally, these results were analyzed to verify the success of the process

Defending Democracy: Addressing the Dangers of Armed Insurrection

The growing presence of firearms in political spaces endangers public health, safety, and the functioning of democracy. Far from being an outlier, the January 6th insurrection at the United States Capitol was part of a long line of events in which individuals have sought to use political losses to justify violence or threats of violence to disrupt our government and limit civic engagement. These attacks on our nation and democratic institutions are preventable, but not without purposeful action.This report is both an examination and a warning of the threat that armed insurrectionism poses to democracy in the United States. It also counters the reckless and false narrative that the Constitution creates rights to insurrection and the unchecked public carry of any firearm, and rejects the notion that violence has any place in our nation's politics. The report concludes with recommended policy approaches that policymakers and advocates can use to address the dangers posed by armed insurrectionism.

Randomized community-level HIV prevention intervention trial for men who drink in South African alcohol-serving venues

South African alcohol-serving establishments (i.e., shebeens) offer unique opportunities to reduce HIV risks among men who drink. Purpose: To test an individual- and a social structural-level HIV prevention intervention for men who drink in shebeens. Methods: Twelve matched pairs of township neighbourhoods were randomized to receive either (i) an HIV prevention intervention (guided by Social Action Theory) to reduce sexual risk and increase risk reduction communication in social networks, or (ii) an attention-matched control intervention that focused on the prevention of relationship violence. At the individual level, the interventions delivered skills building workshops focused on sexual risk reduction. At the social structural level, the intervention aimed to increase conversations about safer sex among men in the shebeens, distributed small media and implemented community educational events. Individual-level outcomes were assessed by following the workshop cohorts for 1 year (N = 984), and community-level outcomes were examined through cross-sectional community surveys conducted for 1 year in the shebeens (N = 9,678). Results: Men in the HIV prevention workshops demonstrated greater condom use, more HIV prevention-oriented conversations and greater perceptions of safer sex norms than men in the comparison workshops. Changes at the community level demonstrated significant differences in condom use, although the pattern was not consistent over time. Conclusions: Multi-level interventions that target men who drink in South African shebeens may help reduce risks for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.Web of Scienc

An analysis of Act 92: how inpatient admission versus observation status affects cost of care and health outcomes

Background/Objective: Dual-eligible Medicare-Medicaid beneficiaries account for a disproportionate average cost per person for both Medicare and Medicaid – twice the cost compared to any other Medical Assistance recipients. In Pennsylvania, there are over 350,000 dual-eligible beneficiaries. Pennsylvania enacted Act 92 in 2016, creating set fees for observation services in acute care hospitals, aimed at controlling hospitalization costs. The overall objective of this study was to examine the effect of Act 92 on hospitalization costs of dual Medicare-Medicaid beneficiaries. Methods: The study population consisted of Gateway Health members who reported to the hospital with a claims data diagnosis code of ‘chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchiectasis’ or ‘nonspecific chest pain’ between July 1, 2015-January 28, 2016 (prior to Act 92) and between July 1, 2016-January 28, 2017 (after Act 92). Linear regression models assessed the significance of the association between time period and index hospitalization costs, and logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association of time period with the probability of inpatient admission. Results: Non-parametric Wilcoxon test had a significant difference in mean index payments between beneficiaries hospitalized prior to Act 92 compared to after Act 92 (p<0.0001). Generalized linear regression model results showed reporting to the hospital prior to Act 92 compared to after did not have a statistically significant association with cost of hospitalization (β=255.09, p=0.2003) when adjusting for covariates. After adjusting for covariates, a logistic regression model showed reporting to the hospital after Act 92 was associated with a statistically significant reduction in inpatient admission (OR=0.672, P=0.0472). Conclusion: Act 92 had no direct impact on total cost of an index hospitalization, but reporting to the hospital after the enactment of Act 92 was associated with a statistically significant decrease in likelihood of being admitted as an inpatient compared to before Act 92. This topic is worth further studies with larger populations, more diagnosis codes, and longer follow-up times for readmission. The public health significance of Act 92 is reduced spending for health insurance companies, which can trickle-down to reduce burdensome healthcare costs for observation hospital stays for special needs population of beneficiaries

Breeding Densities, Biogeography, and Nest Depredation of Birds on Igloolik Island, N.W.T.

The avifauna of Igloolik Island and immediate vicinity was studied during two breeding seasons in 1985-86. This is the first study to compile an intensive record of avifaunal migration patterns and nesting activity, density and success for Igloolik Island. Data for these years are supplemented by the observations of earlier explorers and researchers. During our two seasons of survey, we recorded 40 species of birds, of which 25 nested on the island. Combining our records with previously published data, a total of 48 species have been recorded, with 30 species nesting. Several interspecies matings of gulls and the first confirmed breeding record of purple sandpiper (Calidris maritima) for the Melville Peninsula area were recorded. The density of breeding birds on Igloolik Island (28.5 pairs/sq. m) is similar to other eastern high arctic sites at that latitude. Issues related to the biogeographic comparisons of arctic sites are discussed. In late August, the eastern end of the island acts as a significant staging area for gull species, oldsquaw (Clangula hyemalis) and arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea). A combined average of 58.3% of the nests of six species were depredated. As many as 73% of red-throated loon (Gavia stellata) and 93% of arctic tern nests suffered mainly human-related egg predation.Key words: Arctic, Igloolik Island, breeding avifauna, density, interspecies matings, biogeographyR&Eacute;SUM&Eacute;. On a &eacute;tudi&eacute; l&rsquo;avifaune de l&rsquo;&icirc;le Igloolik et de son voisinage imm&eacute;diat au cours de deux saisons de reproduction, en 1985 et 1986. Cette &eacute;tude est la premi&egrave;re &agrave; compiler un dossier en profondeur du comportement migratoire de l&rsquo;avifaune ainsi que de l&rsquo;activit&eacute;, de la densit&eacute; et du taux de r&eacute;ussite de la nidification dans l&rsquo;&icirc;le Igloolik. Des observations faites ant&eacute;rieurement par des explorateurs et des chercheurs viennent compl&eacute;ter les donn&eacute;es recueillies durant l&rsquo;&eacute;tude. Au cours des deux ann&eacute;es de l&rsquo;&eacute;tude, on a relev&eacute; 40 esp&egrave;ces d&rsquo;oiseaux, dont 25 se reproduisaient sur l&rsquo;&icirc;le. Si l&rsquo;on combine nos relev&eacute;s avec des donn&eacute;es publi&eacute;es pr&eacute;c&eacute;demment, 48 esp&egrave;ces au total ont &eacute;t&eacute; enregistr&eacute;es, dont 30 se reproduisent sur l&rsquo;&icirc;le. On a observ&eacute; l&rsquo;accouplement de plusieurs mouettes d&rsquo;esp&egrave;ces diff&eacute;rentes et enregistr&eacute; la premi&egrave;re occurrence de nidification du b&eacute;casseau violet (Calidris maritima) pour la p&eacute;ninsule de Melville. La densit&eacute; des oiseaux nicheurs sur l&rsquo;&icirc;le Igloolik (28,5 paires,km-&rsquo;) est semblable &agrave; celle d&rsquo;autres sites de l&rsquo;Extr&ecirc;me-Arctique oriental &agrave; la m&ecirc;me latitude. On discute de questions relatives aux comparaisons biog&eacute;ographiques de sites arctiques. A la fin du mois d&rsquo;ao&ucirc;t, la portion orientale de l&rsquo;&icirc;le fait office d&rsquo;importante aire de repos pour les esp&egrave;ces de mouettes, le canard kakawi (Clangula byemalis) et la sterne arctique (Sterna paradisaea). Une moyenne combin&eacute;e de 58,3 p. cent des nids de six esp&egrave;ces ont &eacute;t&eacute; pill&eacute;s. La pr&eacute;dation des oeufs, principalement par l&rsquo;homme, a affect&eacute; un nombre aussi &eacute;lev&eacute; que 73 p. cent des nids de huarts &agrave; gorge rousse (Gavia stellata) et 93 p. cent des nids de sternes arctiques.Mots cl&eacute;s: Arctique, &icirc;le Igloolik, avifaune reproductrice, densit&eacute;, accouplements d&rsquo;esp&egrave;ces diff&eacute;rentes, biog&eacute;ographi

Selective and Differential Feeding on Marine Prokaryotes by Mucous Mesh Feeders

Microbial mortality impacts the structure of food webs, carbon flow, and the interactions that create dynamic patterns of abundance across gradients in space and time in diverse ecosystems. In the oceans, estimates of microbial mortality by viruses, protists, and small zooplankton do not account fully for observations of loss, suggesting the existence of underappreciated mortality sources. We examined how ubiquitous mucous mesh feeders (i.e. gelatinous zooplankton) could contribute to microbial mortality in the open ocean. We coupled capture of live animals by blue-water diving to sequence-based approaches to measure the enrichment and selectivity of feeding by two coexisting mucous grazer taxa (pteropods and salps) on numerically dominant marine prokaryotes. We show that mucous mesh grazers consume a variety of marine prokaryotes and select between coexisting lineages and similar cell sizes. We show that Prochlorococcus may evade filtration more than other cells and that planktonic archaea are consumed by macrozooplanktonic grazers. Discovery of these feeding relationships identifies a new source of mortality for Earth\u27s dominant marine microbes and alters our understanding of how top-down processes shape microbial community and function

Active Gaming and Energy Expenditure in Healthy Adults

poster abstractThe rise in sedentary behavior in US society, along with the associated health risks, makes it necessary to find effective solutions to increase physical activity at all levels. Studies on active gaming have shown promising results in the use of active gaming as a viable exercise tool that combines physical activity with entertainment. However, the research is still mixed on whether active games can elicit similar responses as traditional cardiovascular exercise, such as jogging on a treadmill. This study examined whether participants playing active games could reach a moderate intensity level as defined by the American College of Sports Medicine as 3.0 METs while playing with and without specific instructions designed to maximize physical activity. Twenty young adult participants completed one training session and four experimental sessions. During each session, participants played two 15-minute periods of either Kinect tennis, Kinect boxing, Wii tennis, and Wii boxing. In period one, participants played at a self-selected intensity. During period two, participants were given specific instructions on how to play which were designed to maximize movement during play and down time. During game play, participants wore a portable gas (VO2/VCO2) analyzer to measure energy expenditure. Metabolic equivalents (METS) were analyzed with a repeated measures ANOVA. During period 1, Kinect boxing was able to elicit the highest METs, 3.097±0.3, from the participants. METS during period 2 was significantly greater than during period 1 across all games (p<.001). Participants were able to reach higher than 3.0 METs while playing each of the games during period 2. Regardless of the period, Kinect boxing elicited greater METS than Wii boxing and Wii Tennis (P<.001). This shows evidence that active gaming not only can elicit a moderate intensity level of physical activity, but that specialized instructions can enhance the effects of the active games