Doping control in sports: chemical and pharmacological aspects that effect the detection of drugs in hair

Análise em cabelo (AC) é bem documentada na área de toxicologia forense. AC tem sido empregada para inferir se o consumo de determinado fármaco é crônico ou esporádico. A Sociedade de Teste Capilar (STC) publicou normas sobre AC em dopagem no esporte, às quais são aceitas em cortes judiciais, apesar de não terem sido incorporadas pelo Comitê Olímpico Internacional (COI). Dentre as substâncias proibidas pelo COI o grande desafio da AC na área de controle de dopagem (CD) é a comprovação da sua viabilidade na detecção de esteróides anabolizantes (EA). Antes de validar a AC para o CD, a comunidade científica tem de responder pelo menos a cinco questões críticas: Qual a quantidade mínima detectável no cabelo após a administração? Qual a relação entre a quantidade detectada e a encontrada no cabelo? Qual a influência da cor do cabelo? Existe algum viés no teste em cabelo? Qual a influência da contaminação exógena e do tratamento capilar e com cosmético? O fator limitante da AC em dopagem de atletas é a carência de dados científicos. O presente artigo faz uma revisão dos trabalhos publicados com um enfoque aos parâmetros analíticos e farmacológicos que limitam o emprego da AC no CD.Hair analysis is very well documented in forensic toxicology. It has been employed for differentiation between chronic or occasional consumption of certain drugs. The Society of Hair Testing published rules about hair analysis in sportive doping, which are accepted in most courts of justice, in spite that they had not been incorporated by the International Olympic Committee. Among the substances forbidden by the IOC, the great challenge of hair analysis in doping control is to confirm his validity in the detection of anabolic steroids. Before validation of hair analysis in doping control, the scientific community has to answer at least five critical questions: (1) What is the minimal amount detectable in hair after administration? (2) What is the relationship between the amount of the drug used and the concentration of the drug or its metabolites in hair? (3) What is the influence of hair's color? (4) Is there any racial bias in hair testing? (5) What is the influence of cosmetic treatments? Until now, the limiting factor for hair analysis in doping control is the lack of scientific data. The present article revises published material with special attention to the analytical and pharmacological parameters that may hinder the use of hair analysis in doping control

Influence of lactic-acid bacteria feed supplementation on free amino acid levels in serum and feces of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss, Walbaum 1792)

IntroductionThe influence of intestinal microbiota, particularly lactic-acid bacteria, on digestion and nutrient metabolic activities has been extensively studied. In this research, we investigated the effects of supplementing the feed of rainbow trout (O. mykiss) with P. acidilactici or L. lactis probiotics. A Control group without probiotic supplementation was also included. The study aimed to evaluate growth, feed conversion indices, free amino acid levels in serum and feces, and the relative gene expression of amino acid solute carrier transporters (SLC).MethodsRainbow trout weighing 73.9±10 g were fed with a basal commercial diet supplemented with mono-strains of P. acidilactici or L. lactis at a dosage of 5 x 108 CFU per gram of feed for 60 days. The trout were reared in 100-liter tanks with independent closed recirculation systems, with a water replacement rate of 80% of the total volume daily and a controlled temperature of 15 ± 0.3 °C. The proximate composition of the basal diet consisted of crude protein (49.8%), fat (32.1%), fiber (1.31%), ash (13%), and moisture (8.3%) on a dry matter basis. The diet was provided at a rate of 2% of bodyweight per day.ResultsNo significant differences (p > 0.05) were observed in growth and feed conversion indices between the experimental groups. However, significant differences in free amino acid levels in feces and serum samples (p ≤ 0.05) were observed. The P. acidilactici group exhibited significantly higher levels of glutamate, lysine, proline, and tyrosine in feces samples, and higher levels of arginine, iso/leucine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, and valine in serum samples compared to the Control group. Additionally, the supplemented probiotic groups showed significant downregulation (p ≤ 0.05) of theslc6a19 and slc7a9 genes, which encode transporters for neutral and cationic amino acids.DiscussionThe autochthonous rainbow trout strain, P. acidilactici, demonstrated more pronounced effects on amino acid levels in feces and serum compared to the non-autochthonous L. lactis strain. However, the increased amino acid levels, particularly in the serum, resulting from P. acidilactici supplementation, did not lead to improved trout growth or feed conversion. Nonetheless, lactic-acid bacteria supplementation induced measurable metabolic effects, as evidenced by elevated levels of specific amino acids in the serum and feces.Future research should focus on evaluating these probiotic effects using specialized diets and considering the observed metabolic effects in this study

Cidadania socioambiental: a proteção ambiental por meio da efetividade das políticas públicas e da atuação do cidadão ambientalmente consciente / Social and Environmental Citizenship: environmental protection through the effectiveness of public policies and the performance of the environmentally conscious citizen

 A cidadania possui um conceito sempre em evolução, relacionando-se diretamente com as questões ambientais contemporâneas e com as constantes conquistas de uma sociedade, a qual deverá estar preparada e informada para, de forma eficaz, realizar verdadeiras ações participativas por via das políticas públicas adequadas, nas quais se tenha por concreto o real interesse público ou social, especialmente para aqueles que são omitidos e descaracterizados em nome do interesse político-econômico. O presente estudo se propõe a avaliar o exercício da cidadania socioambiental considerando a participação social com base em políticas públicas voltadas à efetividade da percepção da cidadania socioambiental, tendo como base o conhecimento do dever compartilhado de tutela ambiental sob o viés do acesso à justiça, através dos instrumentos processuais previstos na Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil de 1998. 

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Effects of caffeine (3 mg) on maximal oxygen consumption, plasmatic lactate and reaction time after maximum effort

Los efectos estimulantes de la cafeína en el desarrollo atlético vienen siendo ampliamente investigados. El consumo Máximo de Oxígeno (VO2 MAX) ha sido empleado en estudios recientes que buscan elucidar los mecanismos de la cafeína durante el esfuerzo máximo através de métodos neurológico así como fisiológicos. En este contexto, este estudio objetiva analizar las variaciones generadas por la cafeína en respuestas ergoespirométrica (VO2 MAX), plasmática (Lactato-L) y motora (Test del Tiempo de Reacción - TTR). Para eso, 5 individuos hígidos, todos hombres, (26 ± 5 años, 67 ± 12,5 kg) se sometieron dos veces a la siguiente rutina: dosaje de lactato plasmático (L0), TTR (0), test de esfuerzo máximo en estera ergométrica, dosaje de lactato (L1), (L2), (L3), y TTR(1). Les fue administrada una cápsula de 400 mg de placebo (almidón de maíz) o 3 mg/kg/peso corpóreo (pc) de cafeína. Fue empleada la ANOVA de dos factores con repetición para la comparación de las variables en los momentos C, P. El momento cafeína presentó reducción no significativa en el tiempo de reacción, en el lactato plasmático y en VO2 MAX. Así, se puede concluir que cafeína 3 mg/kg/pc con abstinencia de 12 h. no presenta efectos significativos en el consumo máximo de oxígeno, así como en la concentración de lactato plasmático y en el tiempo de reacción simple