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

Intestinal protozoa parasites association with anemia in people from Brazilian western Amazon communities

Introduction: Nowadays intestinal parasitic infection remains an important public health trouble in Latin and South America, emphasizing the Amazon region. Furthermore, intestinal parasites have been considered important factors in etiology of nutritional anemia and malnutrition. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the intestinal parasitic infection and its possible association with anemia in people from Amazon communities. Methods: The study was a research in documentary records, descriptive, retrospective and cross-sectional, with confirmed cases of parasites infection found in State Hospital of Cacoal-Rondônia, Brazilian Western Amazon. The parameters evaluated were gender, age, race, parasites, hematocrit and hemoglobin. Results: Females where slight higher for the number of cases of parasites occurrence (51%) compared to males (49%) and children had higher parasitic index (43%) followed by adults (37%), teenagers (11%) and seniors (9%). With regards to race, pardos (brown skin color) group was the most affected by the parasites with 69% of cases, followed by caucasians (17%), indians (11%) and blacks (3%). The major parasites diagnosed were Endolimax nana (55%), Giardia lamblia (28%), Entamoeba coli (14%) and Iodamoeba bütschlii (3%). In relation to the association of intestinal parasites and anemia, children had a 60% anemia increase when compared to adults (p <0.05) and the indians increased by 100% anemia when paired against caucasians (p <0.05).Conclusion: Thus, it is suggested that attention should be given to the increase in protozoa parasitic infection prevalence in Amazonian communities and expedite the emergency of improvements in political and sanitation programs of water treatment and waste and sewer management

Substituted diaryl diselenides: Cytotoxic and apoptotic effect in human colon adenocarcinoma cells

AbstractAimsTo investigate the effects and study the underlying cell death mechanisms of diaryl diselenides, including: diphenyl diselenide (C6H5Se)2; 4-chlorodiphenyl diselenide (4-ClC6H4Se)2; 3-(trifluoromethyl)-diphenyl diselenide (3-CF3C6H4Se)2 and 4-methoxydiphenyl diselenide (4-MeOC6H4Se)2, on the human colon adenocarcinoma cell line HT-29.Main methodsThe viability of HT-29 cells after exposure to the diaryl diselenides and its substituted structures was based on the MTT assay. To verify if cell death was mediated throughout apoptosis mechanisms, flow cytometry and real-time PCR (qPCR) analyses were conducted.Key findingsThe MTT assay and flow cytometry analyses showed that (3-CF3C6H4Se)2 and (4-MeOC6H4Se)2 induced cytotoxicity through apoptosis mechanisms in HT-29 cells. qPCR revealed there was an up-regulation of pro-apoptotic (Bax, casapase-9, caspase-8, apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) and Endonuclease G (EndoG)) and cell-cycle arrest genes (p53 and p21) and down-regulation of anti-apoptotic (Bcl-2 and survivin) and Myc genes.SignificanceThese results demonstrate that (3-CF3C6H4Se)₂ and (4-MeOC6H4Se)2 have the potential to induce apoptosis in HT-29 cells through the activation of caspase-dependent and independent pathways and through cell-cycle arrest

Informatização de indicadores para uso em práticas de manejo sustentável da aquicultura.

Apesar da produção anual brasileira de pescado, a atividade ainda não representa o potencial esperado para o país em função de seus aspectos naturais favoráveis. Entretanto, a expansão aquicola deve atentar a práticas que minimizem seus impactos ambientais negativos, incluindo-se aqueles registrados nos ecossistemas aquáticos marinhos. A identificação de boas práticas de manejo e o desenvolvimento de recursos informatizados passíveis de rápida observação na propriedade toma-se fundamental à sustentabilidade ambiental da aquicultura. O presente trabalho tem por objetivo principal apresentar indicadores informatizados que favorecem tanto o monitoramento da qualidade da água por indicadores macroinvertebrado bentônicos,fundamentados em índices BMWP e ASPT, quanto a avaliação do manejo e produção de tilápia por meio de estimativas de biometria. Foram elaborados em linguagens HTML e PHP, em servidor Apache, como parte integrante do Aquisys

Different battlegrounds, similar concerns? The “history wars” and the teaching of history in Australia and England

Debates about the purpose and content of history education in schools have been prevalent in most Westernised democratic nations over the last thirty years. At expense are essential questions concerning national identity/ies, competing narratives and the aims of history education. The impact of “history wars” have been felt within both Australia and England, as conservative commentators – including politicians and historians – have raised concerns about the depth and effectiveness of history education and have sought to make significant changes to the history curriculum for schools. This analysis examines the history wars in Australia and England, exploring the view that history education has been in danger and/or crisis and examining the curricular implications of a move toward greater recognition of national narratives. It raises some essential tensions that remain regarding two aspects of history teaching in both nations – (i) historiography and (ii) chronological understanding

What do general practitioners know about ADHD? Attitudes and knowledge among first-contact gatekeepers: systematic narrative review

Background: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood disorder with international prevalence estimates of 5 % in childhood, yet significant evidence exists that far fewer children receive ADHD services. In many countries, ADHD is assessed and diagnosed in specialist mental health or neuro-developmental paediatric clinics, to which referral by General (Family) Practitioners (GPs) is required. In such ‘gatekeeper’ settings, where GPs act as a filter to diagnosis and treatment, GPs may either not recognise potential ADHD cases, or may be reluctant to refer. This study systematically reviews the literature regarding GPs’ views of ADHD in such settings. Methods: A search of nine major databases was conducted, with wide search parameters; 3776 records were initially retrieved. Studies were included if they were from settings where GPs are typically gatekeepers to ADHD services; if they addressed GPs’ ADHD attitudes and knowledge; if methods were clearly described; and if results for GPs were reported separately from those of other health professionals. Results: Few studies specifically addressed GP attitudes to ADHD. Only 11 papers (10 studies), spanning 2000–2010, met inclusion criteria, predominantly from the UK, Europe and Australia. As studies varied methodologically, findings are reported as a thematic narrative, under the following themes: Recognition rate; ADHD controversy (medicalisation, stigma, labelling); Causes of ADHD; GPs and ADHD diagnosis; GPs and ADHD treatment; GP ADHD training and sources of information; and Age, sex differences in knowledge and attitudes. Conclusions: Across times and settings, GPs practising in first-contact gatekeeper settings had mixed and often unhelpful attitudes regarding the validity of ADHD as a construct, the role of medication and how parenting contributed to presentation. A paucity of training was identified, alongside a reluctance of GPs to become involved in shared care practice. If access to services is to be improved for possible ADHD cases, there needs to be a focused and collaborative approach to training

Study of dimuon production in Indium-Indium collisions with the NA60 experiment

The NA60 experiment at the CERN-SPS is devoted to the study of dimuon production in heavy-ion and proton-nucleus collisions. We present preliminary results from the analysis of Indium-Indium collisions at 158 GeV per nucleon. The topics covered are low mass vector meson production, J/psi production and suppression, and the feasibility of the open charm measurement from the dimuon continuum in the mass range below the J/psi peak.Comment: Contribution at XXXXth Rencontres de Moriond, "QCD and High Energy Hadronic Interactions

ϕ\phi Meson Production in In-In Collisions and the ϕ\phi Puzzle

The NA60 experiment measured dimuon production in In-In collisions at 158 AGeV. This paper presents a high statistics measurement of $\phi\to\mu\mu$ with the specific objective to provide insight on the $\phi$ puzzle, i.e. the difference in the inverse $T$ slopes and absolute yields measured by NA49 and NA50 in the kaon and lepton channel, respectively. Transverse momentum distributions were studied as a function of centrality. The slope parameter $T$ shows a rapid increase with centrality, followed by a saturation. Variations of $T$ with the fit range of the order of 15 MeV were observed, possibly as a consequence of radial flow. The $\phi$ meson yield normalized to the number of participants increases with centrality and is consistently higher than the yield measured by the NA49 experiment at any centrality.Comment: 4 Pages, 2 Figures. Proceedings of the 20$^{th}$ International Conference on Ultra-Relativistic Nucleus Nucleus Collision

Thermal dileptons at SPS energies

Clear signs of excess dileptons above the known sources were found at the SPS since long. However, a real clarification of these observations was only recently achieved by NA60, measuring dimuons with unprecedented precision in 158A GeV, In-In collisions. The excess mass spectrum in the region M<1 GeV is consistent with a dominant contribution from pi+pi- -> rho -> mu+mu- annihilation. The associated rho spectral function shows a strong broadening, but essentially no shift in mass. In the region M>1 GeV, the excess is found to be prompt, not due to enhanced charm production. The inverse slope parameter Teff associated with the transverse momentum spectra rises with mass up to the rho, followed by a sudden decline above. While the initial rise, coupled to a hierarchy in hadron freeze-out, points to radial flow of a hadronic decay source, the decline above signals a transition to a low-flow source, presumably of partonic origin. The mass spectra show at low transverse momenta the steep rise towards low masses characteristic for Planck-like radiation. The polarization of the excess referred to the Collins Soper frame is found to be isotropic. All observations are consistent with the interpretation of the excess as thermal radiation.Comment: Prepared for 20th International Conference on Ultra-Relativistic Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions: Quark Matter 2008 (QM2008), Jaipur, India, 4-10 Feb. 200

First results from the NA60 experiment at CERN

Since 1986, several heavy ion experiments have studied some signatures of the formation of the quark-gluon plasma and a few exciting results have been found. However, some important questions are still unanswered and require new measurements. The NA60 experiment, with a new detector concept that vastly improves dimuon detection in proton-nucleus and heavy-ion collisions, studies several of those open questions, including the production of open charm. This paper presents the experiment and some first results from data collected in 2002.Comment: Paper presented at the XXXVIII Rencontres de Moriond, QCD and High Energy Hadronic Interactions, Les Arcs, March 22-29, 2003. 4 pages, 6 figure