The use of genes for performance enhancement: doping or therapy?

Recent biotechnological advances have permitted the manipulation of genetic sequences to treat several diseases in a process called gene therapy. However, the advance of gene therapy has opened the door to the possibility of using genetic manipulation (GM) to enhance athletic performance. In such ‘gene doping’, exogenous genetic sequences are inserted into a specific tissue, altering cellular gene activity or leading to the expression of a protein product. The exogenous genes most likely to be utilized for gene doping include erythropoietin (EPO), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), insulin-like growth factor type 1 (IGF-1), myostatin antagonists, and endorphin. However, many other genes could also be used, such as those involved in glucose metabolic pathways. Because gene doping would be very difficult to detect, it is inherently very attractive for those involved in sports who are prepared to cheat. Moreover, the field of gene therapy is constantly and rapidly progressing, and this is likely to generate many new possibilities for gene doping. Thus, as part of the general fight against all forms of doping, it will be necessary to develop and continually improve means of detecting exogenous gene sequences (or their products) in athletes. Nevertheless, some bioethicists have argued for a liberal approach to gene doping

Cartilha - palestra sobre ferrugem asiática da soja.

Esta palestra trata de aspectos da ferrugem asiática da soja: uma doença recente no Brasil e com alto potencial de dano.bitstream/item/56144/1/ID-26146.pd

The effect of gamma-cyclodextrin addition in the self-assembly behavior of pyrene labeled poly(acrylic) acid with different chain sizes

The interaction between poly(acrylic acid) polymers (PAA) of low- (2000 g/mol) and high- (450,000 g/mol) molecular weight (Mw) hydrophobically modified with pyrene (PAAMePy) and beta- and gamma-cyclodextrins (beta-CD, gamma-CD) was investigated with fluorescent techniques. The interaction with beta-CD promotes little variation in the spectral and photophysical behavior of the polymer, whereas significant changes are observed upon addition of gamma-CD. The degree of inclusion (between the pyrene groups of the polymer and the cyclodextrins) is followed through the observation of the changes in the absorption, excitation (collected in the monomer and excimer emission regions) and emission (IE/IM ratio) spectra and from time-resolved data. Within the studied range of gamma-CD concentration, the fluorescence decays of the long chain (high Mw) PAAMePy polymers were found tri-exponential in the monomer and excimer emission regions in agreement with previous studies. In the case of the low Mw PAAMePy polymers, tri-exponential decays were observed at the monomer and excimer emission wavelengths. However, when a gamma-CD concentration of 0.01 and 0.03 M is reached for, respectively, the low- and high-labeled pyrene short chain (low Mw) polymers, the fluorescence decays in the excimer region become biexponential (two excimers) with no rising component, thus showing that all pyrene groups are encapsulated (and preassociated) into the gamma-CD cavity. In the case of the high Mw polymers, the addition of gamma-CD has been found to change the level of polymer interaction from pure intramolecular (water in the absence of cyclodextrin) to a coexistence of intra- with intermolecular interactions. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 1402-1415, 200

Co‐existing monophasic teratoma and uterine adenocarcinoma in a female dog

Ovarian teratomas are occasionally reported in dogs; the rarest type is the monophasic teratoma,composed of tissues originating from only one germ layer. Canine endometrial adenocarcinomas are also rare in dogs and mainly affect geriatric females. This report describes case of co-existing ovarian teratoma and uterine adenocarcinoma in a 10-year old nulliparous female Boxer presented with lethargy, anorexia and purulent vaginal discharge. Abdominal ultrasonography evidenced pyometra and a mass in the left ovary. This was composed of a uniform whitish tissue with multiple cystic structures. The histology revealed an atrophy of the ovarian parenchyma, compressed by a proliferation of well-differentiated nervous tissue staining positively to vimentin, S100 and neuronal specific enolase (NSE), and negatively to keratin and inhibin. The left uterine horn, whose diameter was markedly increased, showed foci of endometrial cellular atypia, evident nucleoli and mitoses, at light microscopy. To our best knowledge, this is the first report of a coexisting ovarian monophasic teratoma and endometrial adenocarcinoma, two rare reproductive neoplasia in dogs

Arl13b interferes with α-tubulin acetylation

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Quinoidization of regioregular oligo(THIENO[3,4-b]THIOPHENE)s

Caracterización de oligotiofenosUniversidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec