Doping, sport and the law: time for repeal of prohibition?

This article concerns the legal issues that surround the prohibition of doping in sport. The current policy on the use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) in sport is underpinned by both a paternalistic desire to protect athletes��� health and the long-term integrity or ���spirit��� of sport. The policy is put into administrative effect globally by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which provides the regulatory and legal framework through which the vast majority of international sports federations harmonise their anti-doping programmes. On outlining briefly both the broad administrative structures of international sport���s various anti-doping mechanisms, and specific legal issues that arise in disciplinary hearings involving athletes accused of doping, this article questions the sustainability of the current ���zero tolerance��� approach, arguing, by way of analogy to the wider societal debate on the criminalisation of drugs, and as informed by Sunstein and Thaler���s theory of libertarian paternalism, that current policy on anti-doping has failed. Moreover, rather than the extant moral and punitive panic regarding doping in sport, this article, drawing respectively on Seddon���s and Simon���s work on the history of drugs and crime control mentality, contends that, as an alternative, harm reductionist measures should be promoted, including consideration of the medically supervised use of certain PEDs.

LC- HRMS based metabolomics in food safety and doping control ��� DeTECH21

Issues surrounding the misuse of prohibited and licensed substances in animals destined for food production and performance sport competition continue to be an enormous challenge to regulatory authorities charged with enforcing their control. Efficient analytical strategies are implemented to screen and confirm the presence of a wide range of exogenous substances in various biological matrices. However, such methods rely on the direct measurement of drugs and/or their metabolites in a targeted mode, allowing the detection of restricted number of compounds. As a consequence, emerging practices, in particular the use of natural hormones, designer drugs and low-dose cocktails, remain difficult to handle from a control point of view. A new SME-led FP7 funded project, DeTECH21, aims to overcome current limitations by applying an untargeted metabolomics approach based on liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry and bioinformatic data analysis to identify bovine and equine animals which have been exposed to exogenous substances and assist in the identification of administered compounds. Markerbased strategies, dealing with the comprehensive analysis of metabolites present in a biological sample (urine/plasma/tissue), offer a reliable solution in the areas of food safety and animal sport doping control by effective, high-throughput and sensitive detection of exogenously administered agents. Therefore, the development of the first commercially available forensic test service based on metabolomics profiling will meet 21st century demands in animal forensics.

Ultra high performance supercritical fluid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry for screening of doping agents. II: Analysis of biological samples.

The potential and applicability of UHPSFC-MS/MS for anti-doping screening in urine samples were tested for the first time. For this purpose, a group of 110 doping agents with diverse physicochemical properties was analyzed using two separation techniques, namely UHPLC-MS/MS and UHPSFC-MS/MS in both ESI+ and ESI- modes. The two approaches were compared in terms of selectivity, sensitivity, linearity and matrix effects. As expected, very diverse retentions and selectivities were obtained in UHPLC and UHPSFC, proving a good complementarity of these analytical strategies. In both conditions, acceptable peak shapes and MS detection capabilities were obtained within 7min analysis time, enabling the application of these two methods for screening purposes. Method sensitivity was found comparable for 46% of tested compounds, while higher sensitivity was observed for 21% of tested compounds in UHPLC-MS/MS and for 32% in UHPSFC-MS/MS. The latter demonstrated a lower susceptibility to matrix effects, which were mostly observed as signal suppression. In the case of UHPLC-MS/MS, more serious matrix effects were observed, leading typically to signal enhancement and the matrix effect was also concentration dependent, i.e., more significant matrix effects occurred at the lowest concentrations.

Anti-doping testing at the 2008 European football championship.

Big sports events like the 2008 European Football Championship are a challenge for anti-doping activities, particularly when the sports event is hosted by two different countries and there are two laboratories accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency. This challenges the logistics of sample collection as well as the chemical analyses, which must be carried out timeously. The following paper discusses the handling of whereabouts information for each athlete and the therapeutic use exemption system, experiences in sample collection and transportation of blood and urine samples, and the results of the chemical analysis in two different accredited laboratories. An overview of the analytical results of blood profiling and growth hormone testing in comparison with the distribution of the normal population is also presented.

A critical examination of the involvement of Canadian high-performance athletes in the development of anti-doping policy

The use of certain perfonnance enhancing substances and methods has been defined as a major ethical breach by parties involved in the governance of highperfonnance sport. As a result, elite athletes worldwide are subject to rules and regulations set out in international and national anti-doping policies. Existing literature on the development of policies such as the World Anti-Doping Code and The Canadian antiDoping Program suggests a sport system in which athletes are rarely meaningfully involved in policy development (Houlihan, 2004a). Additionally, it is suggested that this lack of involvement is reflective of a similar lack of involvement in other areas of governance concerning athletes' lives. The purpose ofthis thesis is to examine the history and current state of athletes' involvement in the anti-doping policy process in Canada's high-perfonnance sport system. It includes discussion and analysis of recently conducted interviews with those involved in the policy process as well as an analysis of relevant documents, including anti-doping policies. The findings demonstrate that Canadian athletes have not been significantly involved in the creation of recently developed antidoping policies and that a re-evaluation of current policies is necessary to more fully recognize the reality of athletes' lives in Canada's high-perfonnance sport system and their rights within that system.

A Pragmatic Approach to Ethical Inquiry on Transhuman Athletes and Gene Doping in Sport

Gene doping is the most recent addition to the list of banned practices formulated by the World Anti-doping Agency. It is a subset of doping that utilizes the technology involved in gene therapy. The latter is still in the experimental phase but has the potential to be used as a type of medical treatment involving alterations of a patient���s genes. I apply a pragmatic form of ethical inquiry to evaluate the application of this medical innovation in the context of sport for performance-enhancement purposes and how it will affect sport, the individual, society and humanity at large. I analyze the probable ethical implications that will emerge from such procedures in terms of values that lie at the heart of the major arguments offered by scholars on both affirmative and opposing sides of the debate on gene doping, namely fairness, autonomy and the conception of what it means to be human.

The Application of a Pluralist Approach of Global Administrative Law on the Governance of Doping in Sport

Plusieurs probl��mes li��s �� l'utilisation de substances et m��thodes interdites de dopage dans les sports posent de grands d��fis �� la gouvernance antidopage. Afin de lutter contre le dopage, certains pays ont mis en oeuvre des cadres juridiques bas��s exclusivement sur le droit p��nal tandis que d'autres pays ont plut��t mis�� sur des m��canismes et organismes sp��cialis��s trouvant fondement en droit priv�� ou sur un r��gime hybride de droit public et priv��. Ces diff��rentes approches r��glementaires ont pour cons��quence de faire en sorte qu���il est tr��s difficile de lutter efficacement contre le dopage dans les sports, notamment parce que leur ex��cution requiert un degr�� de collaboration internationale et une participation concert��e des autorit��s publiques qui est difficile �� mettre en place. �� l���heure actuelle, on peut par exemple observer que les ��tats n���arrivent pas �� contrer efficacement la participation des syndicats et organisations transnationales li��s au crime organis�� dans le march�� du dopage, ni �� ��liminer des substances et m��thodes de dopage interdites par la r��glementation. Par ailleurs, la gouvernance antidopage bas��e sur les r��gles prescrites par l���Agence mondiale antidopage pr��voit des r��gles et des normes distinctes de dopage distinguant entre deux cat��gories de personnes, les athl��tes et les autres, pla��ant ainsi les premiers dans une position d��savantageuse. Par exemple, le standard de responsabilit�� stricte sans faute ou n��gligence impos�� aux athl��tes exige moins que la preuve hors de tout doute raisonnable et permet l'utilisation de preuves circonstancielles pour ��tablir la violation des r��gles antidopages. S'appliquant pour prouver le dopage, ce standard mine le principe de la pr��somption d'innocence et le principe suivant lequel une personne ne devrait pas se voir imposer une peine sans loi. D���ailleurs, le nouveau Code de 2015 de l���Agence attribuera aux organisations nationales antidopage (ONADs) des pouvoirs d'enqu��te et de collecte de renseignements et ajoutera de nouvelles cat��gories de dopage non-analytiques, r��duisant encore plus les droits des athl��tes. Dans cette th��se, nous discutons plus particuli��rement du r��gime r��glementaire de l���Agence et fond�� sur le droit priv�� parce qu���il ne parvient pas �� r��pondre aux besoins actuels de gouvernance mondiale antidopage. Nous pr��conisons donc l���adoption d���une nouvelle approche de gouvernance antidopage o�� la nature publique et p��nale mondiale du dopage est clairement reconnue. Cette reconnaissance combin�� avec un mod��le de gouvernance adapt�� bas�� sur une approche pluraliste du droit administratif global produira une r��glementation et une administration antidopage mieux accept��e chez les athl��tes et plus efficace sur le plan des r��sultats. Le nouveau mod��le de gouvernance que nous proposons n��cessitera toutefois que tous les acteurs ��tatiques et non-��tatiques ajustent leur cadre de gouvernance en tenant compte de cette nouvelle approche, et ce, afin de confronter les d��fis actuels et de r��gler de mani��re plus satisfaisante les probl��mes li��s �� la gouvernance mondiale du dopage dans les sports.

Spray Pyrolysed Zinc Oxide Thin Films : Effects of Doping and Ion Beam Irradiation

In recent years scientists have made rapid and significant advances in the field of semiconductor physics. One of the most important fields of current interest in materials science is the fundamental aspects and applications of conducting transparent oxide thin films (TCO). The characteristic properties of such coatings are low electrical resistivity and high transparency in the visible region. The first semitransparent and electrically conducting CdO film was reported as early as in 1907 [1]. Though early work on these films was performed out of purely scientific interest, substantial technological advances in such films were made after 1940. The technological interest in the study of transparent semiconducting films was generated mainly due to the potential applications of these materials both in industry and research. Such films demonstrated their utility as transparent electrical heaters for windscreens in the aircraft industry. However, during the last decade, these conducting transparent films have been widely used in a variety of other applications such as gas sensors [2], solar cells [3], heat reflectors [4], light emitting devices [5] and laser damage resistant coatings in high power laser technology [6]. Just a few materials dominate the current TCO industry and the two dominant markets for TCO���s are in architectural applications and flat panel displays. The architectural use of TCO is for energy efficient windows. Fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO), deposited using a pyrolysis process is the TCO usually finds maximum application. SnO2 also finds application ad coatings for windows, which are efficient in preventing radiative heat loss, due to low emissivity (0.16). Pyrolitic tin oxide is used in PV modules, touch screens and plasma displays. However indium tin oxide (ITO) is mostly used in the majority of flat panel display (FPD) applications. In FPDs, the basic function of ITO is as transparent electrodes. The volume of FPD���s produced, and hence the volume of ITO coatings produced, continues to grow rapidly. But the current increase in the cost of indium and the scarcity of this material created the difficulty in obtaining low cost TCOs. Hence search for alternative TCO materials has been a topic of active research for the last few decades. This resulted in the development of binary materials like ZnO, SnO2, CdO and ternary materials like II Zn2SnO4, CdSb2O6:Y, ZnSO3, GaInO3 etc. The use of multicomponent oxide materials makes it possible to have TCO films suitable for specialized applications because by altering their chemical compositions, one can control the electrical, optical, chemical and physical properties. But the advantages of using binary materials are the easiness to control the chemical compositions and depositions conditions. Recently, there were reports claiming the deposition of CdO:In films with a resistivity of the order of 10-5 ohm cm for flat panel displays and solar cells. However they find limited use because of Cd-Toxicity. In this regard, ZnO films developed in 1980s, are very useful as these use Zn, an abundant, inexpensive and nontoxic material. Resistivity of this material is still not very low, but can be reduced through doping with group-III elements like In, Al or Ga or with F [6]. Hence there is a great interest in ZnO as an alternative of ITO. In the present study, we prepared and characterized transparent and conducting ZnO thin films, using a cost effective technique viz Chemical Spray Pyrolysis (CSP). This technique is also suitable for large area film deposition. It involves spraying a solution, (usually aqueous) containing soluble salts of the constituents of the desired compound, onto a heated substrate.

Effect of Chromium Doping on the Diffraction Efficiency of Methylene Blue Sensitized PVA/Acrylamide Films

The effect of chromium doping on methylene blue sensitized Poly (vinyl alcohol)/Acrylamide was carried out by varying the ratios of Ammonium dichromate and methylene blue. In the case of films without ammonium dichromate, the diffraction efficiency was found to decrease on storage. On chromium doping the storage life was improved. Interestingly, a self-enhancement in efficiency was observed for a particular ratio of methylene blue and ammonium dichromate.

Engineering the Properties of Indium Sulfide for Thin Film Solar Cells by Doping

In the present work, structural, optical and electrical properties of indium sulfide are tuned by specific and controlled doping. Silver, tin, copper and chlorine were used as the doping elements. In2S3 thin films for the present study were prepared using a simple and low cost ���Chemical Spray Pyrolysis (CSP)��� technique. This technique is adaptable for large-area deposition of thin films in any required shape and facilitates easiness of doping and/or variation of atomic ratio. It involves spraying a solution, usually aqueous, containing soluble salts of the constituents of the desired compound onto a heated substrate. Doping process was optimized for different doping concentrations. On optimizing doping conditions, we tuned the structural, optical and electrical properties of indium sulfide thin films making them perform as an ideal buffer layer.

Effect of Te doping on thermal diffusivity of Bi2Se3 crystals: A study using open cell photoacoustic technique

An open cell configuration has been employed for the photoacoustic measurement of the thermal diffusivity of undoped Bi2Se3 crystals and Bi2Se3 crystals doped with various concentrations of Te. The amplitude of the photoacoustic signal obtained under heat transmission configuration as a function of chopping frequency is used to evaluate the numerical value of thermal diffusivity, ��. Doped samples show a substantial reduction in the value of �� compared to undoped samples. The variations in the thermal diffusivity of the doped samples are explained in terms of the phonon assisted heat transfer mechanism. It is seen that �� is very sensitive to structural variations arising from doping. The experimentally observed results are correlated with X-ray diffraction studies.