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Purpose—Use a framework of genetic knowledge to investigate the association between the genotypes of various genes with phenotypes, specifically the traits of elite athletes, in order to establish a personal opinion on their relevance to athletic performance.
Methods—Assemble and analyze selected published scientific studies on genotype and athletic performance and lastly to formulate a personal opinion on the value of genetic testing of athletes. ACTN3, ACE, MSTN, and apoE were the genes selected for analyses.
Results—Two genes, ACTN3 and ACE, showed a significant relationship of genotype to phenotypic traits related to athletic performance. ApoE did not demonstrate a phenotypic association with athletic performance, however it showed a correlation with injury susceptibility leading to traumatic brain injury (TBI). MSTN did not show a phenotypic association with athletic performance.
Conclusion—When considering the multifactorial nature of athletics, each sport must be investigated individually due to the different individual requirements. ACTN3 and ACE are the most widely studied genes, therefore, considerable data on their relevance to athletic performance was easily obtained and supported a relationship between genotype and athletic performance.
The United States’ War on Drugs declared in 1971 by President Richard Nixon and revamped by President Reagan in the 1980s has been an objectively failed initiative with origins based in racism and oppression. After exploring the repercussions of this endeavor for societies and individuals around the world, global researchers and policymakers have declared that the policies and institutions created to fight the battle have left devastation in their wake. Despite high economic and social costs, missed opportunities in public health and criminal justice sectors, and increasing limits on our personal freedoms, all the measures taken to eradicate drug abuse and trafficking have been unsuccessful. Not only that, but militarized police tactics, mass incarceration, and harsh penalties that stifle opportunities for rehabilitation, growth, and change disproportionately harm poor and minority communities. <br/>Because reform in U.S. drug policy is badly needed, the goals of America’s longest war need to be reevaluated, implications of the initiative reexamined, and alternative strategies reconsidered. Solutions must be propagated from a diverse spectrum of contributors and holistic understanding through scientific research, empirical evidence, innovation, public health, social wellbeing, and measurable outcomes. But before we can know where we should be headed, we need to appreciate how we got to where we are. This preliminary expository investigation will explore and outline the history of drug use and prohibition in the United States before the War on Drugs was officially declared. Through an examination of the different patterns of substance use, evolving civil tolerance of users, racially-charged anti-drug misinformation/propaganda campaigns, and increasingly restrictive drug control policies, a foundation for developing solutions and strengths-based strategies for drug reform will emerge.
In order to further compare porcine and human-derived enzymes, a determination of the enzyme effectiveness was done via digestion simulation. The digestion for both the human and porcine-derived enzymes consisted of three steps: oral, gastric, and intestinal. After the digestion, the absorbance for each enzyme class as well as a dilution curve of the formula used was read and recorded. Using the standard dilution curve and the absorbance values for each unknown, the formula and thus enzyme concentration that was lost through the reaction was able to be calculated.
The effectiveness of both the human and porcine enzymes, determined by the percent of formula lost, was 18.2% and 19.7%, respectively, with an error of 0.6% from the spectrophotometer, and an error of about 10% from the scale used for measuring the enzymes. This error was likely due to the small mass required of the enzymes and can be prevented in the future by performing the experiment at a larger scale.