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Car News > Ford > Ford Mondeo Review
Ford Mondeo Review
Once a dominant force in the volume saloon market, the Ford Mondeo has faced competition from increasingly talented rivals in recent years. With the all new model not due to reach showrooms until 2015, Ford has introduced two new additions to the line-up: Graphite – an entry level model aimed at retail customers, and the Titanium X Business Edition, tested here.
A trim and equipment upgrade, designed to appeal to tax conscious company car drivers. With company car tax based not only on a car's emissions, but also on its value including optional extras, Ford has thrown in a generous amount of kit as standard, so the nations reps can have upmarket toys without being penalised for them by the tax man.
It's available with a choice of four engines. The single petrol option is Ford's brilliant 1.6-litre Ecoboost motor. Developing 158bhp, it has a similar punch to the 2.0-litre units of old, but with vastly improved CO2 emissions and fuel economy. Diesel power is provided courtesy of a 1.6-litre, developing 113bhp, and a 2.0-litre available with either 138bhp or 161bhp. A six-speed manual gearbox is fitted as standard with a six-speed 'Powershift' automatic available as a cost option.
What is it like to drive?
Ford has long held the upper hand when it comes to mainstream cars that offer an engaging drive and the Mondeo continues this trend. Even in its twilight years it has a litheness to its movement that makes ostensibly more upmarket rivals such as the Volkswagen Passat seem positively wooden. It has clearly been designed by people who know what drivers want: the driving position is good, all of the controls have a similar weight and tactility and body control is exemplary, with very little roll in hard cornering. However, this is likely to be of little concern to buyers, who will more likely spend their time cruising on the motorway. Here, the Mondeo's credible refinement and torquey motors make it ideally suited to the job at hand.
What is it like inside?
While the leather seats and exposed stitching give an upmarket feel, there's no getting around the fact that, in places, the Mondeo's interior is starting to feel a little dated. The vast expanses of plastic surrounding the radio and some of the switchgear only serve to cheapen what is on the whole a very comfortable and agreeable cabin. That said, overall material quality is high, with most surfaces having a substantial feel. Titanium X models are also equipped with some nice tech features, including a large central display between the standard speedometer and rev counter, through which you can manipulate some of the high spec toys, including the digital radio and (optional) radar adaptive cruise control.
Is it practical?
The Mondeo's sheer size can initially seem daunting, particularly when driving around town. That said, parking sensors front and rear are included as standard and a rear-view camera is available as an optional extra. Happily, the exterior size translates into an exceptionally roomy cabin, which offers ample space for four to travel in comfort. The boot, too, is huge at 528 litres – just a few litres shy of the cavernous estate model with the rear seats in place. And, because the Mondeo is a hatchback, you needn't worry about slotting larger items through a letterbox shaped hole like its saloon rivals.
Should I buy one?
Despite being around since 2007, Ford remains at the top of its game in this market sector. In reality, drivers are less likely to be buying for themselves, but rather passing the bill onto their company's accounts department. However, even for private buyers, the Mondeo holds plenty of appeal, being better to drive and to look at than the sensible-shoes Volkswagen Passat and offering greater practicality and somehow being more likeable than the new Mazda 6. It may be in its dotage, but the Ford Mondeo has never been so good.
Don't want to buy new? You can browse for a used Ford Mondeo in our classifieds here.
Ford Mondeo Titanium X Business Edition 2.0 Duratorq TDCi
List price: £23,195
Price as tested: £25,145
Engine: 2.0-litre, four cylinder diesel, turbocharged
Power: 138bhp
Fuel economy: 46.3mpg (urban), 67.3mpg (extra-urban) 57.7mpg (combined)
Emissions: 129g/km CO2
Euro NCAP rating: 5 stars
By Daljinder Nagra
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Concerts are a brilliant example where lights make the show what it is. I have always been really impressed as to how the stages are put together, designed, and how the lights sync up so well with the music. It really is an incredible sight to see and I have always been interested as to how the process works and how everything ultimately comes together. The three most important elements to a great concert is the music, the lighting, and the staging. So let's see what you need for setting the stage.
So first things first, lets talk about the music! Now, the music part is a lot more complex than what you would imagine. The venue has a team of engineers who work constantly to make sure everything is set up and the music sounds good. It ultimately comes down to testing all of the microphones and making sure all of the speakers are doing what they should. There are a ton of logistics involved here that one could talk about forever.
Next, we have the lighting. A great part of any concert of show for me is the lighting. The lighting is a little bit more complex than the music because it has to sync well with the music and be a part of the stage so that it does not look out of place. Lighting and staging definitely go together in the sense that they need to be one nice cohesive unit in order for things to look normal.
The staging is also important because it needs to be firm and sturdy. It also needs to have ample room for the lights which can definitely cause problems. One good sturdy form of a stage and set up that is common is the Truss Display. These displays are a sort of stage that does exactly what one would need at a concert. They have a lot of room overhead for lights to hang down on, and are even made special for DJs. There are a ton of types of Truss Displays, so it is important to find the kind that is right for you.
Truss is not only used in above mentioned venues but can be seen throughout most trade show floors used as display or rigor for show lighting. Lucky for you there are many different types of Truss Displays, from folding, steel frames, to lightweight aluminum. It is important to know what you are purchasing and what your needs are. The folding Truss displays are the best if you find yourself on the go. They are extremely compact and fold into a nice container that you can bring from venue to venue. Some do not require any tools to set up, but obviously others might. The big name brands in this area are Orbital Truss displays by Exhibe Portable.
There are also plastic Truss' that you can purchase! These are often referred to as Cross Wire displays and are very unique. They are very lightweight and require almost no professional experience as they tend to come together like toys! I definitely recommend these for someone who wants that professional aesthetic without paying the bigger bucks for the more sturdy displays. If you are searching for something that is more professional but just as easy to travel with, aluminum displays are your best bet. They are obviously made from aluminum which make them super lightweight and easy to travel with.
Music-based events have always been a popular entertainment form and attract unique audiences. The global industry that has been created around concerts, festivals and related musical events is evolving and developing rapidly especially in the last decade.
Concerts can vary greatly from small local events to large-scale multiple stage concerts that are attended by hundreds of thousands of people. However, the tenets of concert promotions are similar across the board. Concert tickets go on sale as soon as promotion begins. Herein is a comprehensive overview of how concerts are promoted in today's business age.
In today's world, social media is arguably the best event marketing tool that can be leveraged by just about anyone. Social media platforms are the leading digital communication channels especially for people below the age of 40. The social media outlets that are most valuable for concert promotion include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube. They are the most popular online social media outlets. It is important to note that each bears its unique online role.
The first step involves creating an account such as a fan page, concert registration page or YouTube channel that the audience can associate the concert with. Social media promotion often starts a few months/several weeks before the concert in order to create a buzz around it. The registration page is promoted on the fan page where users are encouraged to engage and share. Social media accounts usually contain as much information about the concert as possible.
Radio platforms play a big role in concert promotion today. It is a great asset for concert promotion as they can reach to the specific target audience. Effective radio promotion is more than the 30-second ads.
One method that promoters employ is offering a number of tickets to give away. This guarantees that the concert will be mentioned multiple times for a prolonged period thus ensuring maximum exposure at minimal costs. This is often the best bet for local concerts promotion on local radio stations.
It results in significant saving in the midst of constrained budgets. Sometimes the musicians can be featured on the radio stations. Radio promotion also adds credibility to the event.
E-releases are gradually changing the conventional concert promotion means. Today promoters can send out legal email broadcasts depending on the target audience.
This is especially effective for a target audience that spends most of their time online. There are cost effective services available that can be used to implement an email broadcast strategy including icontact, and MailChimp.
One may be tempted to think that traditional marketing methods do not have a place in the internet era. This is far from the truth. For concert promotion to be successful, it must incorporate all the aspects of advertising within the stipulated budget. Large concerts with looser budgets can incorporate billboard ads while posters can achieve the same effect for local concerts.
The key word here is placement. They are placed next to or in establishments where the target audience frequents. These can include music stores, theaters or clubs. In each case, the concert promoter has to comply with local posting policy and jurisdiction regulations.
There are many other marketing strategies that are employed to promote concerns. They include but not limited to television commercials, mobile app, website ads, brand sponsorship, newspaper ads, direct mail, and flyers.


Children looking at a mural that shows how to wear a motorcycle helmet correctly.
Learn more about NCD work and accomplishments through our stories and blogs.
Dr. Samira Asma discusses CDC's work with Bloomberg Philanthropies on the Data for Health initiative.
The 5-year survival for the same type of cancer ranges from 34% in Mongolia to 54% in Columbia. In some places we do not know the survival rate because there are no cancer registries.
Learn about CDC's work with the Office of International Cancer Control (OICC) around the world.
In recognition of World Cancer Day (February 2nd) learn what CDC is doing along with its partners to prevent and control cancer around the world.
Against this tropical backdrop, Barbadians share some of the same health concerns as other people from around the world, such as high rates of hypertension—more commonly known as high blood pressure.
HIV treatment programs are already in place across Africa, and we can use these programs to bring high blood pressure screening and treatment to more people who need it.
This World Heart Day, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are excited to share their efforts to reduce the global burden of heart-related diseases through the new Global Hearts Initiative.
The people of Barbados struggle with a high burden of hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease. As a native, I was excited to be a Principal Investigator (PI) on a pilot project to improve hypertension control at two local polyclinics in Barbados.
Learn about Million Hearts, the Global Standardized Hypertension Treatment Project, and other efforts to treat hypertension across the globe.
Late at night in Indonesia, FETP resident Nyoman Purnawan spoke with CDC Director Tom Frieden, in one of a series of one-on-one conversations with the director designed to provide mentorship to FETP residents around the world.
Dr. Pragna Patel describes her experiences working in global health for CDC on HIV and NCDs and her focus on the Global Standardized Hypertension Treatment Project.
In recognition of World Stroke Day (October 29th), CDC recognizes the risk women face from strokes through facts and a personal story.
Mark your calendar for the World Heart Federation's recognition of World Heart Day and learn about improving heart health.
In recognition of World Diabetes Day (November 14th), learn how to live a longer, healthier life.
In recognition of World No Tobacco Day (May 27th) learn about CDC's Global Tobacco Control Branch (GTCB) efforts to understand the burden of tobacco use around the world.
China CDC worked with its partners, including the U.S. CDC, to collect a comprehensive view of adult tobacco use in 14 cities whose populations total nearly 53 million people.
The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) Atlas tracks tobacco surveillance and presents data in a user-friendly way. Learn about the ways this data helps to help decision-makers and public health professionals.


Borno senator Ali Ndume sees the next senate as his chance to fulfill his ambition of becoming senate president. The former senate majority leader made an unsuccessful run for the seat four years ago. His chances this time hit a bump this week following the endorsement of Ahmed Lawan, a Yobe senator, by the chairman of the ruling party, Adams Oshiomhole.
Be smart: Lawan was also the party's preferred choice in 2015, but a political maneuver by Bukola Saraki, saw him defeat the party's favorite to emerge senate president.
Ndume described Oshiomhole's endorsement of his rival as unconstitutional but it is unclear which laws were broken by the endorsement.
Next step for him: He said he would consult the leaders of the party in the North East and his colleagues who are supporting his aspiration, before taking a final position on the issue.
Bottom line: Expect more of the same between now and June when the next senate is inaugurated. Already, President Muhammadu Buhari who adopted a less active approach the last time seems to be getting involved early this season. The presidency which endured a frosty relationship with the last senate would be actively seeking a more friendly senate president.


DavidEllison?-Bey's home was foreclosed and sold by Aurora Loan Services. We're waiting to get an eviction notice. Meanwhile, I'm researching if there are any people filing lawsuits against Aurora Loan Services. In David's case, he was marketed to as a vulnerable senior, African-American and isolated person, but did not receive any service as such. Noone ever came to visit him, talk with him and understand his need for help to organize his bills, to address the injustices done to him, etc.
Appear: Richard Daley Center, 50 W. Washington 8:45am, rm 2801, Tuesday, September 7th, 2010.


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Meet Microsoft, the underdog
Jean Philippe Courtois, president of Microsoft Europe, described the company as an underdog in Paris today.
He said Bing had between three and five percent market share in search and could only grow – although he admitted it could take a long time.
"We are the tiny guy, and the only way to go is up," he said. "It is a reason why we have made a number of key investments in search and have continued to hire over the last 18 months some of the best people in the industry.
"We do expect to keep investing in learning and investing in getting share year after year – it's going to be a long journey."
And Courtois also reacted with irritation to the suggestion that it had missed the boat with social networking.
Questioned by Etre founder Alex Vieux, Courtois said that Microsoft had been an innovator in the social networking market with Messenger, which had half a billion users.
"The first social network in this country is Messenger, and Messenger has extended services, so it can work with other networks too and it's used by a very large number of people, professionals as well," he said. "There's other forums and communities out there."
Courtois said that sales of PC systems had "fallen off a cliff", dropping by between 10 and 15 percent – and that had inevitably affected Microsoft. He said that he regularly talked to industrial giants in every sector and all were saying that they had to watch their costs. He said that customers were actively measuring the costs of their software infrastructure.
Despite Microsoft having to live with open source software for 10 years, it had retained its share in the market place, he said.
Saturn gets another ring – and it's a biggie
Amazon chops Kindle price again

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text: Moderna asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grant an emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine in children 6 months to under 6 years of age. Moderna said last month its COVID-19 vaccine for children — which consists of two 25-microgram doses — generated a strong immune response in children ages 6 months to 5 years. The request comes amid growing impatience from lawmakers and parents for the administration to greenlight a vaccine for the nation's youngest children. (Articles here, here, here, here, and here)


One of the best trainers of all time teamed up with the most dangerous boxer of all time. This combination of 2 exceptional people lead to some of the best boxing I have ever seen. To this day Tyson remains my favorite fighter, and he was at his prime when he was with Cus.
Cus D'Amato talking to a thirteen year old Mike about fear - Boxing is a sport of self-control. You must understand fear so you can manipulate it. Fear is like fire. You can make it work for you: it can warm you in the winter, cook your food when you're hungry, give you light when you are in the dark, and produce energy. Let it go out of control and it can hurt you, even kill you….Fear is a friend of exceptional people.


Phytomonas serpens are flagellates in the family Trypanosomatidae that parasitise the tomato plant (Solanum lycopersicum L.), which results in fruits with low commercial value. The tomato glycoalkaloid tomatine and its aglycone tomatidine inhibit the growth of P. serpens in axenic cultures. Tomatine, like many other saponins, induces permeabilisation of the cell membrane and a loss of cell content, including the cytosolic enzyme pyruvate kinase. In contrast, tomatidine does not cause permeabilisation of membranes, but instead provokes morphological changes, including vacuolisation. Phytomonas treated with tomatidine show an increased accumulation of labelled neutral lipids (BODYPY-palmitic), a notable decrease in the amount of C24-alkylated sterols and an increase in zymosterol content. These results are consistent with the inhibition of 24-sterol methyltransferase (SMT), which is an important enzyme that is responsible for the methylation of sterols at the 24 position. We propose that the main target of tomatidine is the sterols biosynthetic pathway, specifically, inhibition of the 24-SMT. Altogether, the results obtained in the present paper suggest a more general effect of alkaloids in trypanosomatids, which opens potential therapeutic possibilities for the treatment of the diseases caused by these pathogens.
Trypanosomatid parasites are protozoa that are agents of human diseases, such as Chagas disease, African trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis. Many plants also harbour trypanosomatids, which primarily reside in the xylem, phloem tubes (França 1914, Holmes 1925, Harvey & Lee 1943, Dollet 2001), fruits and/or seeds (Jankevicius et al. 1987, 1989, 1993, Conchon et al. 1989, Sánchez-Moreno et al. 1995) of infected plants. The presence of the pathogens in the fruits or seeds may yield local pathological symptoms, but never systemic symptoms. Trypanosomatids are agents of plant diseases, such as Hartrot of the coconut (Parthasarathy et al. 1976), Marchitez of oil palm (Dollet et al. 1977), wilt of the ornamental ginger Alpinia purpurata (Gargani et al. 1992) and coffee tree phloem necrosis. The commercial importance of these crops emphasises the need for more research on these devastating diseases. Such diseases are likely transmitted through the bite of phytophagous insects (Camargo et al. 1990, Camargo & Wallace 1994, Redman et al. 1995). Tomatoes can be infected by Phytomonas serpens without apparent pathological effect, but the fruits present yellow spots that are consequently of low commercial value.
Plants produce compounds that provide chemical defences against pests, pathogens and invasion by neighbouring plants. These compounds include sterols and triterpenes that are formed by cyclisation of 2,3-oxidosqualene. Sterols and triterpenes accumulate as glycoside conjugates and include glycoalkaloids, which are commonly referred to as saponins. Saponins possess antimicrobial and antifungal activities that act as plant defences. Saponins act by increasing membrane permeability because of their ability to form complexes with cholesterol. Tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum L.) produce tomatine, which is a tetrasaccharide linked to the 3-OH group of the aglycone tomatidine (Fig. 1). Immature green tomatoes contain up to 500 mg of tomatine/kg of fresh fruit weight (Friedman 2002). The compound is largely degraded as the tomato ripens until it reaches levels in mature red tomatoes of 5 mg/kg of fresh fruit weight. Glycoalkaloids from potatoes (α-chaconine, α-solanine), eggplant (α-solamargine, solasonine) and tomatoes (tomatine) are growth inhibitors of Trypanosoma cruzi, strain EP, in liver infusion tryptose medium (Chataing et al. 1998).
Fig. 1: structure of tomatine (A) and tomatidine (B).
The major sterols of the trypanosomatids are C28-ergostane (24-methyl group) and C29-stigmastane (24-ethyl) types, in which an extra methyl or ethyl group is added to carbon-24 of the sterol side chain. In contrast, animals synthesise C27 cholestane-based members of the steroid family. The alkylations of the sterol side chain are performed by two distinct 24-sterol methyltransferases (SMT), SMT type 1 (SMT1) and type 2 (SMT2). Various azasterols with a nitrogen substitution in the side chain inhibit C-24 transmethylation reactions involving S-adenosyl methionine as the methyl donor and a ∆24(25)-sterol or ∆24(24`)-sterol substrate. 24-SMT is present in fungi, plants and trypanosomatids, but it is absent in mammals, which makes this enzyme an attractive target for chemotherapeutic agents against pathogens (Haughan et al. 1995, Rodrigues et al. 2002, Roberts et al. 2003, de Souza & Rodrigues 2009).
Here, we investigated the toxicity of tomatine and its aglycone, tomatidine, against P. serpens. Both compounds inhibit the growth of Phytomonas, but they utilise different mechanisms. The glycoalkaloid tomatine disrupts the plasma membrane, which kills the parasite and tomatidine induces notable morphological changes in the parasite, apparently due to the inhibition of alkylated sterols synthesis.
Materials - Tomatine and tomatidine were acquired from Sigma Chemical Co Stock solutions of both alkaloids were prepared in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). DMSO alone had no effect on cell proliferation. BODIPY FL C16 was obtained from Molecular Probes (USA).
Cell cultures - P. serpens (CT.IOC 189) were grown at 27ºC in a medium containing 20 g/L sucrose, 20 g/L KCl, 3 g/L peptone and 1 mg/L folic acid, supplemented with 10 mg/L haemin and 10% (v/v) foetal bovine serum.
Effects on growth - Cultures were initiated at a cell density of 1 × 106 cells/mL and drug was added 24 h later, when the number of parasites in the cultures reached approximately 5 × 106 cells/mL. Cell densities were evaluated daily in a Neubauer chamber after 96 h of growth. The half maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50) values were calculated using GraphPad 5.0 software.
Cell permeabilisation assay - Promastigotes of P. serpens were harvested after two days of growth, washed in phosphate buffered saline (PBS), pH 7.2 and counted in a Neubauer chamber. Cells were incubated with tomatine, tomatidine or digitonin at the concentrations indicated in the Figure legends for 10 min. Cell suspensions were centrifuged at 12,000 rpm in an Eppendorf centrifuge for 5 min. The amount of pyruvate kinase (PK) (cytosolic enzyme) in solution was measured in 0.5-mL aliquots of supernatant using a coupled assay in media containing 50 mM Tris HCl pH 8.0, 5 mM MgCl2, 1 mM ADP, 1 mM phosphoenolpyruvate, 100 mM KCl, 0.25 mM β-NADH and 0.1 U lactate dehydrogenase in final volume of 2 mL. Changes in absorbance at 340 nm were monitored at 2-min intervals to estimate the rate of β-NADH consumption.
BODIPY-palmitic acid labelling - Cells were grown for 24 h and 5 µM BODIPY FL C16 was added to 2-mL aliquots of culture, in which 50 µM tomatidine was or was not included. After 48 h, the top 1.5 mL portion of the culture was withdrawn and washed twice with PBS. Cells were fixed using 4% formaldehyde and observed under a fluorescence microscope (Axiovision; Carl Zeiss) using a 505 nm excitation filter and a 515 nm emission filter. The images were further processed using Adobe Photoshop CS2 (Adobe Systems Inc).
Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) - Growing parasites were treated with tomatidine after 24 h and cells were harvested 48 h later, washed with PBS and fixed using 2.5% glutaraldehyde grade I in 0.1 M cacodylate buffer for 2 h at room temperature (RT). Cells were washed twice with 0.1 M cacodylate buffer, pH 7.2 and post-fixed in the dark using 1% osmium tetroxide, 0.8% potassium ferrocyanide and 5 mM CaCl2 in cacodylate buffer for 30 min at RT. Cells were washed with cacodylate buffer, dehydrated in acetone solutions of increasing concentrations and embedded in epoxy resin (Polybeb 812). Ultrathin slices were obtained using a Reichert ultramicrotome, collected on 300-mesh cupper grades and contrasted with 5% uranile for 45 min and lead citrate for 5 min, according to the protocol of Reinolds. The samples were analysed using an electromicroscope Zeiss 900 and Jeol 1200, operating at 80 KV.
Sterol analyses - Parasite lipids were extracted using the method of Bligh and Dyer (1959). Briefly, Phytomonas were washed with PBS and 5 x 107 cells were intermittently agitated for 1 h with ~4 mL of a methanol:chloroform:water (2:1:0.8) mixture. The tubes were centrifuged at 2,000 g (15 min) and the supernatant, which contained the lipids, was separated. The pellets were extracted one more time and the supernatants were combined. A two-phase separation was forced by the addition of 1 mL water and 1 mL chloroform. Samples were agitated and the organic (bottom) phase was separated and dried under a dry N2 stream.
The residue was saponified using alcoholic KOH, extracted and dissolved in pure chloroform. Samples were treated with trimethylchlorosilane and analysed using gas chromatography with detection by mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A GC-MS Shimadzu gas chromatograph was used, model GP2010 Plus, with an RTX®-5 MS (5% phenyl 95% dimethylpolysiloxane) column from Restek® (30 m x 0.25 mm x 0.25 µm). The injector was maintained at 250ºC with a 1:1 split flow ratio. The column oven temperature was maintained at 170ºC for 5 min, then increased to 250ºC with a heating rate of 20ºC min-1 and finally to 280ºC, with a high rate of heating of 5ºC min-1, which was maintained for 20 min. Helium was used as a carrier gas, with a linear velocity of 41.9 cm s-1. Volumes of 1 µL were injected into the chromatograph for analysis.
The MSdetector was equipped with an electron (EI-70 eV) ionisation source and a quadrupole mass analyser, operated in SCAN mode (50-700 µm.a.). The interface was maintained at 230ºC and the ion source was maintained at 200ºC. The components were identified by comparing their mass spectra with spectra in the NIST05 library stored in the computer controlling the mass spectrometer and a critical analysis of fragmentation patterns. Retention indices were also used to confirm the identity of the peaks in chromatograms.
Statistical analysis - Data are expressed as means ± standard error from at least three independent experiments. Statistical significance was calculated using two-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni's post-test. A difference was considered to be statistically significant when p ≤ 0.05. Analyses were performed using GraphPad 5.0 software.
Effects of tomatine and tomatidine on the growth rate of Phytomonas - Tomatine induced a dose-dependent inhibition of Phytomonas growth with an IC50 of 9.9 µM after 48 h of incubation. Fig. 2A shows that the presence of 50 µM tomatine in the culture media caused the death of all cells. Tomatidine also produced a dose-dependent inhibition of growth (IC50 = 14.2 µM). In contrast, 50 µM tomatidine stopped the growth of Phytomonas in culture (Fig. 2B), apparently without killing the cells. This behaviour could be a result of the inhibition of the cell cycle via blockade of nucleus or kinetoplast separation during the mitotic process. However, the results obtained by the labelling of DNA with 4'-6-diamidino-2-phenylindole excluded this hypothesis because no increase in the number of cells containing more than one nucleus or kinetoplast was observed (not shown). Additionally, the fluorescence intensity of these organelles was comparable in normal and treated parasites, which suggests that the amount of DNA per cell was not changed.
Fig. 2A, B: growth curve of Phytomonas serpens in the presence of tomatine and tomatidine. Promastigotes (1 × 106/mL) were grown in medium supplemented with 10% foetal bovine serum at 27ºC. After 24 h of growth, tomatine or tomatidine were added at the indicated concentrations. Each point represents the mean ± standard error of the means of three independent experiments. *: p < 0.05; **: p < 0.001 (2-way ANOVA with Bonferroni's post test). The half maximum inhibitory concentration values obtained after 48 h of treatment were 9.9 μM (for tomatine) and 14.2 μM (for tomatidine). Dimethyl sulfoxide alone had no effect on cell proliferation (data not shown).
Permeabilisation of the cell membrane - Some glycoalkaloids interact with sterols, such as cholesterol and ergosterol, to disrupt the membrane and cause a loss of cellular content (Morrissey & Osbourn 1999). The leaking of PK (which is a cytosolic enzyme) after treatment of Phytomonas with either tomatine or tomatidine was measured to test this hypothesis. Tomatine (10 µM) was very effective in permeabilising the cellular membrane (Fig. 3A). The amount of PK released was proportional to the amount of cells and the release was very similar to the extent of release induced by 200 µM digitonin. This result supports that tomatine kills cells via permeabilisation, which is similar to other glycoalkaloids.
: 1 x 106 cell/mL treated with 10 μM tomatine; □: 3 x 106 cell/mL treated with 10 μM tomatine; : 3 x 106 cell/mL treated with 200 μM digitonin; ▲: 30 mU of purified PK; : 3 x 106 cell/mL treated with 10 μM tomatine and measured in the absence of lactate dehydrogenase; º : 1 x 106 cell/mL treated with 10 μM tomatidine; : 3 x 106 cell/mL treated with 100 μM tomatidine. Each set of curves was repeated three times and the Figure is representative of these experiments.
In contrast, tomatidine concentrations as high as 100 µM did not trigger any membrane leakage (Fig. 3B), which implies a different mechanism of cell poisoning.
Cell morphology alterations - Optical microscopy of Phytomonas treated with tomatidine and stained using Giemsa revealed several clear spots, like "holes", along the cell body (not shown). Treated cells observed under TEM revealed the presence of large rounded bodies, some with multiple membrane layers (Fig. 4B-D) and others with the appearance of lipid bodies (Fig. 4D-E, arrow heads). No significant changes in nuclear or kinetoplast morphologies were observed.
Fig. 4: ultrastructural alterations of Phytomonas serpens induced by tomatidine. A: ultrathin section of P. serpens without treatment which presents a normal ultrastructure of organelles such as kinetoplast (k) and nucleus (N); B-D: electron micrograph of P. serpens treated with 30 μM tomatidine for 48 h presenting many vacuoles (arrows), in some cases localised to the posterior region of the parasite; E: after treatment with 50 μM tomatidine for 48 h, it is possible to observe the presence lipid bodies (arrowheads). Bars = 1 μM (A-C, E) and 0.25 μM (D).
Fatty acid incorporation in Phytomonas - The microscopy data suggested the formation of vacuoles that contained a clear material with the appearance of lipids. Assays of fatty acids incorporation using the fluorescent analogue BODIPY were performed to confirm this hypothesis. Tomatidine-exposed cells presented a build-up of label lipids in rounded structures in the cytoplasm (Fig. 5). These spots had a similar size and distribution to the vacuoles observed in Fig. 4, which indicated that tomatidine may perturb lipid metabolism and membrane organisation.
Fig. 5: fatty acid incorporation in Phytomonas serpens vacuoles. P. serpens was grown for two days in the presence of 5 μM labelled BODIPY-palmitic acid (green) and in the absence (A) or presence (B) of 50 μM tomatidine as described in Materials and Methods, then harvested and resuspended in phosphate buffered saline for fluorescence microscopy. Right panels are images obtained by interferential contrast microscopy. The inserts represents typical cells in detail. Bars = 10 μM; inserts = 0.25 μM.
Analysis of lipid composition - Lipids extracted from Phytomonas were analysed using GC-MS (Table). The most abundant Phytomonas sterols were cholesterol (14.8 %), ∆7- ergosterol (15 %), ∆7-sitosterol (37.9 %) and 24 ethyllophenol (20 %). Phytomonas and other trypanosomatids do not have a complete pathway for cholesterol synthesis. Therefore, the presence of cholesterol must be a consequence of its uptake from the culture media.
The sterol pattern was deeply modified when the cells were grown for 48 h in the presence of tomatidine. The cells exhibited an intense decrease in 24-alkylatedsterols and a marked increase in desalkyl sterols, including zymosterol and cholesta-7,24-dien-3β-ol (Table). DMSO (vehicle) had no effect on sterol composition (not shown). The accumulation of zymosterol is consistent with an inhibition of 24-SMT. This enzyme is responsible for the incorporation of methyl groups at position 24 of sterol intermediates, which is an essential step for the production of ergosterol and other 24-alkylated sterols in protozoan parasites (Urbina et al. 1996, Nes 2000, de Souza & Rodrigues 2009).
The antifungal effect of azasteroids has been known for quite a long time, but the recognition of these agents as efficient chemotherapeutics against trypanosomatids was only recognised recently (Burbiel & Bracher 2003). Natural azasteroids are found in plants as part of the defence barrier against fungi and yeasts. Azasteroids are steroidal alkaloids that are hydroxylated in the three position, conjugated with glycosides and referred to as saponins. Tomatine is the most abundant saponin in the tomato plant and its antifungal properties are well documented (Sandrock & VanEtten 1998, Ito et al. 2007). However, the defensive properties of the aglycone tomatidine have been neglected because its concentration is nearly 100-fold lower than tomatine.
Some pathogenic fungi have acquired the ability to hydrolyse the glycoside portion of the glycoalkaloid, which produces compounds with no toxic characteristics. Removal of the terminal glucose of α-tomatine yields β-tomatine, which exhibits little or no toxicity against some fungi (Sandrock & VanEtten 1998). Removal of all four sugars yields the aglycone tomatidine, which maintains toxic properties against fungi, such as Neurospora crassa [50% effective dose (ED50) 51 µM], Aspergillus nidulans (ED50 81 µM), Cryphonectria parasitica (ED50 81 µM) and Stemphylium solani (ED50 300 µM) (Sandrock & VanEtten 1998). This study showed that tomatidine exhibited toxicity against P. serpens. However, tomatidine levels in the tomato fruit are too low to be an effective barrier against infection by this trypanosomatid. Tomatine was more effective against Phytomonas and it must be the more important defensin because of its elevated concentrations in green tomatoes. The tomatine content of tomatoes decreases during maturation. Roddick (1976) attempted to define the distribution in plant tissues and the dynamics of the synthesis and degradation of tomatine during ripening in a series of studies. Tomatine was found in the supernatant of suspensions of pericarp tissue of green tomato fruit and the expressed sap from intact tissues. This glycoalkaloid is synthesised in microsomal organelles and it accumulates in vacuoles and/or the soluble phase of the cytoplasm. The tomatine content of sap was 0.4 mM (Roddick 1976, Eltayeb & Roddick 1984). Tomato glycoalkaloids content depends on cultivar, fruit ripening stage and agricultural practices (Friedman 2002).
The action of tomatine, like other glycoalkaloids, is likely an efficient permeabilisation of the cell membrane as a consequence of the formation of complexes with steroids, such as polyene antibiotics or the induction of apoptosis mediated by reactive oxygen species (Ito et al. 2007). The leaking of PK from cells in P. serpens suggests that the primary mechanism of cell death is cell membrane disruption. Fig. 2A shows that no cells were found in the culture media after treatment with tomatine (50 µM). All cells precipitated to the bottom of the bottle. However, only 10 µM was used for the cell permeabilisation experiments. Part of tomatine likely interacts with sterols in the serum, which explains this difference in drug sensitivity.
In contrast, tomatidine inhibited the growth of P. serpens and caused important morphological and sterol level alterations instead of membrane leakage. Nakamura et al. (1999) determined that ergosterol is the main sterol component in Phytomonas. We did not detect this sterol in our cells. One likely reason for this discrepancy is the poor resolution of the thin layer chromatography used in the previous study. The complexity of sterol composition in the living organism can only be resolved using sensitive instrumentation, such as GS-MS, which was used in the present study.
Some of the remarkable effects of tomatidine on Phytomonas were a decrease in the amount 24-alkylated sterols (∆7-ergosterol, ∆7-sitosterol, ∆7-avenasterol, 24 ethyllophenol and 24 ethylidenelophenol) and an increase in proportion of nonalkylated sterols (cholesta-8,24-dien-3β-ol and its isomer cholesta-7,24-dien-3β-ol) (Table). This pattern is consistent with an inhibition of 24-SMT, which is the enzyme responsible for the addition of these alkyl groups to carbon C-24. The inhibition of 24-SMT of Leishmania amazonensis was also suggested as the primary mechanism of tomatidine toxicity on this parasite (Medina et al. 2012).
Tomatidine inhibits ergosterol biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and prevents cell growth (Simons et al. 2006). The decrease in ergosterols in Saccharomyces occurs in parallel with an increase in zymosterol, which was interpreted as an inhibition of 24-SMT (Simons et al. 2006). Notably, other structural analogues of tomatidine, such as solanidine and solasodine, which are naturally present in potatoes and eggplant, respectively, are growth inhibitors of the yeast-like alga Prototheca wi- ckerhamii (Mangla & Nes 2000). These authors showed an in vivo inhibition of sterol biosynthesis in this alga and inhibition of 24-SMT in a cell-free preparation.
Membrane sterols in trypanosomatids are present as a complex mixture of 24-ethyl sterols and 24-methyl sterols, with cholesterol as a minor component. Our results show an increase in cholesterol levels in parasites treated with tomatidine (Table). These parasites may attempt to counterbalance the altered sterol biosynthesis with a higher cholesterol uptake from the medium. These results are consistent with a previous study (Haughan et al. 1995, Medina et al. 2012) in which an inhibition of sterol biosynthesis increased the amount of exogenous cholesterol uptake. Exogenously acquired cholesterol in trypanosomatids may also presumably be incorporated into the membranes, but cholesterol apparently cannot totally substitute the endogenously synthesised 24-alkylated sterols (Roberts et al. 2003).
Phytomonas have a high proportion of C24-ethylated sterols, such as ∆7-sitosterol. ∆7-avenasterol and ∆7-sitosterol are present in some plants, including American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium L.) (Beveridge et al. 2002). The presence of C24-ethyl sterols in trypanosomatids was described previously (de Souza & Rodrigues 2009) and, in some cases, such as T. cruzi epimastigotes, these sterols represented up to 30% of the total sterols (Beach et al. 1986). The biosynthesis of these compounds involves the participation of a putative SMT2, which, as a rule, adds a second methyl group at C24. SMT2 exhibits distinct inhibitor sensitivities that were described previously in T. cruzi (Urbina et al. 1995). However, more studies are needed to assess the sensitivity of SMTs to tomatidine. Sterols of in the C28-ergostane (24-methyl group) and C29-stigmastane (24-ethyl) types are essential for trypanosomatids. Therefore, the introduction of the alkyl group at C24 of the sterol side chain must confer a desirable property that is needed for some essential cellular function (Haughan et al. 1995, Roberts et al. 2003). In addition to their altered sterol compositions, cells treated with tomatidine showed significant ultrastructural changes and membrane disorganisation, including the appearance of large vacuoles in the cytoplasm that localised to the posterior region of the parasite in some cases. Our results suggest that the main target of tomatidine in P. serpens is the 24-methylation reaction, which causes a depletion of the C29 and C28-sterols and an accumulation of C27-sterols.
Tomatine does not appear to be toxic when consumed orally in moderate amounts (Friedman et al. 2000a, b). The absence of a 5,6-double bond in the B-ring of tomatidine results in a much less toxic molecule in both pregnant and non-pregnant mice compared to the structurally similar solasodine (which contains such a double bond). Friedman et al. (2003) confirmed related findings by Gaffield and Keeler (1993, 1996) on the influence of the structure of glycoalkaloids and aglycones on teratogenicities in hamsters.
In conclusion, our results indicate that tomatine disrupts the plasma membrane, which causes death of the parasite and tomatidine interferes with the growth and ultrastructure of P. serpens, apparently due to the inhibition of alkylated sterols synthesis. There is a clear necessity for novel drugs against trypanosomatids and apicomplexa parasites to help control the diseases caused by these pathogens. Our previous study reported that tomatidine was toxic to the promastigote form of L. amazonensis (Medina et al. 2012). Additional studies are needed to determine whether other trypanosomatids are also sensitive to this alkaloid and whether they have synergistic effects with other antiparasitical drugs to evaluate the potential of tomatidine as an adjuvant in the treatment of parasitic diseases.
To Rosângela Ferreira, for technical assistance.
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Medina JM, Rodrigues JCF, de Souza W, Atella GC, Barrabin H 2012. Tomatidine promotes the inhibition of 24-alkylated sterol biosynthesis and mitochondrial dysfunction in Leishmania amazonensis promastigotes. Parasitology 139: 1-13.
Morrissey JP, Osbourn AE 1999. Fungal resistance to plant antibiotics as a mechanism of pathogenesis. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 63: 708-724.
Nakamura CV, Waldow L, Pelegrinello SR, Ueda-Nakamura T, de Abreu Filho BA, Dias Filho BP 1999. Fatty acid and sterol composition of three Phytomonas species. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 94: 519-525.
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Roberts CW, McLeod R, Rice DW, Ginger M, Chance ML, Goad LJ 2003. Fatty acid and sterol metabolism: potential antimicrobial targets in apicomplexan and trypanosomatid parasitic protozoa. Mol Biochem Parasitol 126: 129-142.
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Rodrigues JCF, Attias M, Rodriguez C, Urbina JA, de Souza W 2002. Ultrastructural and biochemical alterations induced by 22,26-azasterol, a Δ24,25-sterol methyltransferase inhibitor, on promastigote and amastigote forms of Leishmania amazonensis. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 46: 487-499.
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Here we introduce a new family hotel – Sandro papa - to you where you can rest and enjoy natural wealth of the resort Bakuriani.
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Movement is an integral part of your long term health and recovery. It's easy to create short term relief from pain or dysfunction with manual therapy. Exercise is the key to making the short term changes permanent. How you move and your movement patterns, habits and dysfunctions are developed over time. Learning how to move again is vital to long term health and a pain free life.
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This book introduces the amazing creatures that populated the planet before the Age of Dinosaurs. Journey to a time when the first quadrupedal vertebrates appeared. During this time animals began to emerge from the seas, each more astonishing than the last.
Learn how paleontologists become detectives as they uncover and interpret ancient clues to help them piece together what life was like on prehistoric Earth.
This book is a colorful, entertaining, and informative guide to an astonishing and bizarre time in history. Contains full-color artwork, diagrams, charts, and photographs. A fascinating read!


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Justia Dockets & Filings Tenth Circuit Utah District Court Wing v. Kendrick et al Filing 18
Wing v. Kendrick et al
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER denying 5 Motion to Dismiss. Signed by Judge Dee Benson on 5/14/09 (alt)
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF UTAH CENTRAL DIVISION ROBERT G. WING, as Receiver for VESCOR CAPITAL CORP., a Nevada corporation, VESCOR CAPITAL, INC., a Nevada Corporation, VESCORP CAPITAL, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, VESCORP CAPITAL IV-A, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, and VESCORP CAPITAL IV-M, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, and their related entities, Plaintiffs, MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER vs. BRAD B. KENDRICK, an individual, AMY C. KENDRICK, an individual, and ABDF, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, Defendants. Case No. 2:08-CV-01002-DB Judge Dee Benson Before the Court is a motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) brought by Defendants Brad B. Kendrick, Amy C. Kendrick, and ABDF, LLC (collectively, "Kendrick"). The Court held a hearing covering this motion on Monday, April 20, 2009, at which the defendants were represented by Mark R. Gaylord and Melanie Vartabedian. The Receiver, Robert G. Wing, was present and represented by M. David Eckersley. After review and 1 consideration of the briefs submitted by the parties, the Court enters the following Memorandum Decision and Order. I. Factual Background This action is one of many arising out of the collapse of an alleged Ponzi scheme orchestrated and run by Val Edmund Southwick through a complex web of over 150 corporations and limited liability companies. On February 6, 2008, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filed suit against Southwick and VesCor, alleging violations of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. On March 31, 2008, in a separate state action, Southwick pleaded guilty to nine counts of securities fraud, each a felony in the second degree, in the Third District Court of Utah, and was later sentenced to serve nine consecutive 1-15 year prison terms, the maximum allowed by State law. On May, 5, 2008, the Court appointed Robert G. Wing as Receiver for VesCor Capital Corp., VesCor Capital, Inc., VesCorp Capital, LLC, VesCorp Capital IV-A, LLC, VesCorp Capital IV-M, LLC, and all affiliated limited partnerships, corporations or other business entities (collectively, "VesCor"). The Receiver filed this lawsuit on December 31, 2008, seeking the return, as fraudulent transfers, of various payments made to Kendrick, who was an employee of, consultant for, and investor in, VesCor. Complaint, Dkt. 2, � 17. The Complaint alleges that during his term of employment with VesCor, Kendrick received commission payments, execution bonuses, as well as other bonus payments and consulting fees. Id. � 18-20. In addition, it alleges that VesCor also paid Kendrick's residential mortgage and vehicle lease payments, and agreed to "tax shelter" Kendrick's base income throughout his employment. Id. � 21-22. Kendrick also invested 2 approximately $97,000 with VesCor in 2001. Id. � 23. Kendrick resigned from VesCor in August, 2003, and the parties were soon embroiled in litigation over what went wrong. Memorandum in Support of Motion to Dismiss, Dkt. 6, � 9-12. Shortly thereafter, in July, 2004, the parties entered into a settlement agreement. Complaint, � 24. Kendrick was paid approximately $135,341.92 and the agreement also called for payment of an additional $300,000 to settle the claims by Kendrick against Southwick. Id. � 26. II. Discussion Kendrick has moved this court to dismiss the Receiver's claims pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). Kendrick advances three main arguments: (1) the Complaint fails to adequately plead the Receiver's fraudulent transfer claims; (2) the settlement agreement between Kendrick and VesCor bars the Receiver's claim; (3) the Utah Fraudulent Transfer Act's ("UFTA") statute of limitations bars the Receiver's claim. The Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires only "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." In Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, the United States Supreme Court held that to meet this threshold requirement, a plaintiff's pleading must "nudge[] their claims across the line from conceivable to plausible." 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). This requirement serves both "to weed out claims that do not (in the absence of additional allegations) have a reasonable prospect of success [and] to inform the defendants of the actual grounds of the claim against them." Robbins v. Oklahoma, 519 F.3d 1242, 1248 (10th Cir. 2008). "The court's function on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion is not to weigh potential evidence that 3 the parties might present at trial, but to assess whether the plaintiff's complaint alone is legally sufficient to state a claim for which relief may be granted." Tal v. Hogan, 453 F.3d 1244, 1252 (10th Cir. 2006) (quoting Sutton v. Utah State Scho. For the Deaf & Blind, 173 F.3d 1226, 1236 (10th Cir. 1999)). "In doing so, all facts alleged in the complaint are taken as true and all reasonable inferences are indulged in favor of the plaintiffs." Id. (quoting GF Gaming Corp. v. City of Black Hawk, Colo., 405 F.3d 876, 881 (10th Cir. 2005)). This presumption applies to well-pleaded facts in the complaint, but not conclusory allegations. Id. (quoting Mitchell v. King, 537 F.2d 385, 386 (10th Cir. 1976)). First, the Complaint sufficiently alleges the existence of a Ponzi scheme. The Complaint provides enough history regarding the manner in which Southwick borrowed, comingled, and transferred investor funds. Southwick's conviction of nine counts of securities fraud for transactions occurring during the period he allegedly was operating VesCor as a Ponzi scheme further underscores the plausibility of the Receiver's claim. In addition, the fact that the Court in 2008 opted for the "extraordinary remedy" of appointing a Receiver, while not alone dispositive, also supports the plausibility of the allegation that Southwick's scheme was a Ponzi scheme. See, e.g., Citibank, N.A. v. Nyland, Ltd., 839 F.2d 93, 97 (2d Cir. 1988) (stating that a receivership is an extraordinary remedy that should be "employed only where no lesser relief will be effective"); Ferguson v. Tabah, 288 F.2d 665, 673 (2d Cir. 1961) (describing a receivership as a "drastic remedy usually imposed only where no lesser relief will be effective"). Second, because the Complaint sufficiently pleaded the existence of a Ponzi scheme, the inference of fraudulent intent applies to transfers made by Southwick during the course of 4 carrying out his scheme, even transfers made pursuant to a settlement agreement containing a clause in which the parties thereto have released each other from future liability associated with a particular set of transactions. Kendrick is correct in noting that Utah courts generally uphold settlement agreements and releases. See, e.g., Otsuka Electronics (USA, Inc.) v. Imaging Specialists, Inc., 937 P.2d 1274 (Utah Ct. App. 1997). However, Kendrick is not correct in his belief that the Receiver possesses only the rights and remedies that would have been available to the VesCor entities while they were under Southwick's control. In Scholes v. Lehmann, the Seventh Circuit set out in considerable detail the unique position an equity receiver occupies in a Ponzi scheme case. 56 F.3d 750, 754 (7th Cir. 1995). It necessarily follows that a Receiver is not always subject to the claims and defenses that could have been raised against the entity before the Receiver was appointed. See, e.g., Bermant v. Broadbent, No. 2:05-CV-466, 2006 WL 3692661, at *6 (D. Utah. Dec. 12, 2006) ("Courts routinely hold that federal equity receivers, appointed in conjunction with SEC enforcement actions, are not necessarily subject to all claims that could have been raised against an entitiy before the establishment of a receivership."); S.E.C. v. Cook, No. 3:00-CV-272-R, 2001 WL 256172, at *2 (N.D. Tex. Mar. 8, 2001) ("[W]hile the general rule is that the receiver may only bring actions that could have been brought by the entity in receivership, `there are certain situations where the receiver is permitted to assert rights and defenses not available to the insolvent.'" (quoting Butcher v. Howard, 715 S.W.2d 601, 604 (Tenn. App. 1986))). Accordingly, the Receiver is not barred from asserting his claims against Kendrick merely because Kendrick included a broadly worded release provision as part of the settlement agreement he reached with Southwick, the operator of the fraudulent scheme. 5 Kendrick is free to establish, at a later point in the proceedings, that this settlement agreement was legitimate in that he that he took the settlement payment (as well as the other payments at issue in this suit) from VesCor in good faith and for a reasonably equivalent value. Finally, the Receiver is not barred by the statute of limitations applicable in this case. Under the UFTA, a fraudulent transfer claim must be brought "within four years after the transfer was made or the obligation was incurred or, if later, within one year after the transfer or obligation was or could reasonably have been discovered by the claimant." Utah Code Ann. � 25-6-10. The discovery rule generally applies in cases involving Ponzi scheme entities that have been placed in the hands of an equity receiver because the fraudulent nature of the transfers can only be discovered once the Ponzi operator has been removed from the scene. See, e.g., Quilling v. Cristell, 2006 WL 316981, at *6 (W.D.N.C. Feb. 9, 2006) ("The fraudulent transfers involved in this lawsuit could not have been discovered because at that time, Gilliland was in control of the Gilliland Entities. Equitable tolling principles recognize that so long as a corporation remains under the control of wrongdoers, it cannot be expected to take action to vindicate the harms and injustices perpetrated by the wrongdoers." (citing Martin Marietta Corp. v. Gould, Inc., 70 F.3d 768, 772 (4th Cir. 1995))). Kendrick claims that the Receiver is not entitled to the benefit of the discovery rule in this case by virtue of the fact that he stands in the shoes of the VesCor entities, who presumably were on notice of the transfers the moment they occurred. However, as noted above, the Receiver is not identically situated with Southwick, the alleged wrongdoer in this case. Consequently, the Receiver is entitled to the benefit of the discovery rule. The Receiver was 6 appointed on May 5, 2008 and filed this case on New Year's Eve of the same year; accordingly, his claims against Kendrick are not barred by the UFTA's statute of limitations. III. Conclusion For the foregoing reasons, Kendrick's Motion to Dismiss the Receiver's fraudulent transfer claim pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) is DENIED. IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED this 14th day of May, 2009. Judge Dee Benson United States District Court 7


Dozens of firefighters in Tehran are feared dead after the city's oldest high-rise building caught fire and collapsed.
The 17-storey Plasco building, a landmark 1960s shopping centre in the heart of the Iranian capital close to the British embassy, caught fire in the early hours of Thursday, the flames initially engulfing upper floors before spreading throughout.
The Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, ordered a full investigation into the collapse, dramatic images of which were aired live on state television. The Fars news agency, quoting an unnamed source, reported that 30 firefighters were feared to have died in the blaze and ensuing collapse.
The deaths have not been confirmed. The mayor of Tehran, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, said: "About 20 to 25 firefighters have been trapped beneath the rubble." A spokesperson for the rescue operation put the number of those stuck in the ruins as between 30 and 50, the state Irna news agency reported. A group of firefighters were reported to have been inside the building trying to put out the blaze when it collapsed.
At least 70 people were reported to have been injured, many of whom have been taken to hospital. The British embassy was reported to have been evacuated.
The Plasco, considered Iran's first modern high-rise tower block, housed several businesses involved in the distribution of clothes, a factor which reportedly exacerbated the fire's rapid spread.
An Iranian journalist who witnessed the incident said the fire, which local media reported started at 7.30am, had soon spread to the lower floors despite attempts to contain it.
"I was in Jomhouri street just by the Plasco at about 8.20am this morning. In the beginning only the upper floors were burning but by 9am, it had spread to lower floors," the journalist, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Guardian by phone from Tehran.
"Firefighters were trying to stop the fire through a crane because waters from the ground could not reach the upper floors, but they were unsuccessful. The police soon cordoned off the area, particularly from the nearby Istanbul juncture, but it was full of chaos; you could see no crisis management," she said.
Ghalibaf also went to the scene. "The fire was reported at 7.59am and within two minutes firefighters reached the area," he said.
Pictures showed shocked firefighters mourning their colleagues after one of the biggest rescue operations in Tehran in recent years. One, seen in photographs taken by the local Tasnim news agency, wept as he knelt on the ground. Another hugged a colleagues who had returned alive from the scene.
The 56-year-old Plasco, which housed 400 businesses, was built by Habibollah Elghanian, a former head of Tehran's Jewish society, who named the building after his plastics manufacturing company. Elghanian was the first senior member of Iran's Jewish religious minority to be executed at the time of the 1979 Islamic revolution over allegations of spying for Israel. His death led to an exodus of a considerable number of Iranian Jews abroad, mainly to Israel.
Eghbal Shkeri, a senior official from Tehran's city council, said previous warnings in regards to the building's safety had been ignored. "Repeated warnings had been given about the building and its fire control system was very weak," he said, according to the state-run Iribnews.ir.


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text:
Operation Puerto and it's Legacy Part 2
Before getting started I just wanted to say a massive thank you to anyone who read part one of this story I massively appreciate it! If anyone hasn't yet read it yet they can find it here.
Last time we made it up to early 2006 and by this time not much had happened with Manzano's allegations. A Spanish Sports Council investigation was dropped due to lack of evidence and the sport of cycling moved on denying any of his allegations. Things began changing in early 2006 when the Spanish Guardia Civil opened a police investigation on these allegations based on endangering public health crimes.
The police began investigating Fuentes using wire taps of his phone and covert surveillance on his movements. What they were quickly able to establish was that Fuentes had become a major player in the doping of professional cyclists. Just in May alone they were able to place him with a wealth of Spanish connected riders.
Whether it was Santiago Botero and Constantino Gutierrez on the 4th May, Oscar Sevilla on the 13th May or Jorg Jaksche on the 14th May it was clear that Fuentes offices in Madrid had become a one-stop doping shop for most in the peloton. Multiple blood bags with dates matching their arrivals would later be found in medical freezers in Fuentes apartments. As well as cyclists flying in on an almost daily basis Fuentes was also orchestrating doping for many top name riders competing in the 2006 Giro D'Italia that month also.
Phone records from this time period show Fuentes talking with his assistants Alberto Leon Herranz and Jose Luis Merino Batres, along with Comunidad Valenciana DS Ignacio Labarta Barrera, who were organising the doping in Italy. After both stages seven and eight on the 13th and 14th of May Fuentes and Labarta Barrera comment on the days stage, talking about the contenders they have doping links with.
Ivan Basso grimaces during his victorious 2006 Giro D'Italia win. Months later he would prove a key player in Operation Puerto, casting overwhelming doubt on his Giro win being clean. Photo: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com.
Those include dominant overall winner Ivan Basso, who is linked in the documents with having taken a blood bag two days before his first stage win on the 14th May, however this has never been confirmed. Second place Jose Enrique Gutierrez was also listed as a client of Fuentes, with his documents suggesting he took two bags, one days before the Giro and the second on the 12th the same as Basso. Michele Scarponi and Unai Oso Eizaguirre were also mentioned as having finished well with both later being implicated by documentation to using Fuentes for doping.
The first shocks of this investigation were felt on the 23rd May with Spanish police arresting Liberty-Seguros directeur sportif Manolo Saiz along with Fuentes and three others. Raids of Fuentes medical practices found a trove of performance enhancing drugs and documents linking him to professional cyclists.
Between two medical practices in Madrid Spanish police uncovered 185 refrigerated blood bags along with plasma bags to maintain the blood and medical equipment for blood transfusions. Police also found Actovegin,Andriol (testosterone), Eposino (EPO),Jintropin (HGH),Synacthene, Vivarin (Caffeine tablets) and six different varieties of Insulin. The majority of these medications were illegal in Spain and were bought from counterfeit labs across the world. Along with these were a trove of legal medical products such as Prozac and Diazepam.
Police also found a jar of white pills with a hand-written known which they believed to be a steroid called Oxitosone. They uncovered a mysterious red powder which they believe was given to athletes to use to contaminate any doping tests to ensure they would not test positive.
The man at the centre of this scandal, Eufemiano Fuentes leaves Spanish court during his trial for charges of endangering public health. The case has floundered in court since his initial arrest in May 2006. Photo:AP.
In police interviews on the 24th May Liberty-Seguros team director sportif Manolo Saiz noted star rider Roberto Heras requested working with Fuentes in early 2004. From here fellow former Kelme riders Marcos Serrano and Angel Vicioso made similar requests. After impressive 2nd and 7th places in the 2003 and 2004 Vuelta Saiz then requested that Isidro Nozal work with Fuentes from late 2004 onwards.
Barely six months later Nozal would be suspended for two weeks after registering a hematocrit of over 50% at the 2005 Dauphine Libere, a key Tour de France warm-up race. He would later admit to having done three blood transfusions with Fuentes in 2005.
What the documents would show was that Fuentes had extensive links with the doping of the two Spanish teams Liberty-Seguros and Comunidad Valenciana. He appeared to have a personal relationship with Liberty-Seguros DS Manolo Saiz and Comunidad DS Jose Ignacio Labarta along with his prior relationship to the team as their former doctor in their Kelme days as well as having his sister Yolanda Fuentes as the teams doctor from 2001-2006.
He was directly linked to the likes of Roberto Heras, Jorg Jaksche, Joseba Beloki, Isidro Nozal, Marcos Serrano, Michele Scarponi, Angel Vicioso and David Etxeberria at Liberty-Seguros to name just a select few of many. He had similar longstanding links at Comunidad Valenciana along with a wealth of foreign riders who used him for doping.
Spanish climber Roberto Heras wearing the leaders jersey at the 2005 Vuelta a Espana. After a positive EPO test from the penultimate day Heras was stripped of victory but was later reinstated in 2012 after numerous court appeals. Heras had requested working with Fuentes 18 months prior to this race. Photo: Rodolfo Espinosa/Brand.
In this early stage however this information was not public with media speculation leaking slowly as more and more riders were speculated to have worked with Fuentes. Amid this hysteria the teams looked to protect themselves with T-Mobile asking riders to formally distance themselves from Fuentes whilst Phonak suspended star riders Santiago Botero and Jose Enrique Gutierrez.
On the 1st June Comunidad Valenciana DS Jose Ignacio Labarta resigned, as Liberty-Seguros ended their sponsorship of the old ONCE team. This left the team scrambling as they transitioned from Liberty-Seguros-Wurth to Astana-Wurth. The sport was descending into farce as Astana-Wurth were first banned and then allowed to compete in the 2006 Tour de France as the 2006 Spanish National Road Race was cancelled after 500 meters because of a mass rider protest.
The biggest drama from the case would come only two days before the start of the 2006 Tour de France. I'll explain what happened and bring us to the modern day in the third and final installment of this thread which will be coming very soon!
Thank you for reading part two if you have any feedback or comment at all feel free to leave it below you can find me on Twitter @JWjournalism.
Posted in Cycling, Uncategorized and tagged Actovegin, Alberto Leon, Angel Vicioso, Astana-Wurth, Comunidad Valenciana, Constantino Gutierrez, Dauphine Libere, David Etxeberria, EPO, Eufemiano Fuentes, Giro D'Italia, Guardia Civil, HGH, Isidro Nozal, Ivan Basso, Jorg Jaksche, Jose Enrique Gutierrez, Jose Ignacio Labarta, Jose Luis Merino Batres, Joseba Beloki, Kelme, Liberty-Seguros, Manolo Saiz, Marcos Serrano, Michele Scarponi, ONCE, Oscar Sevilla, Roberto Heras, Santiago Botero, Synacthene, T-Mobile, Testesterone, Tour de France, Unai Oso, Vuelta a Espana, Yolanda Fuentes on May 25, 2019 by brfcjordan95. Leave a comment
Cycling Still Has A Way To Go
Professional cycling is the sport most keenly associated with the abuse of performance enhancing drugs. Other sports such as athletics and baseball have similar problems which blighted their sport, however the story of Lance Armstrong was so captivating it brought the sport's problem to the forefront of our minds.
In the last decade it has made a sizeable attempt to change the culture from one of doping to a cleaner, purer public image. Innovations such as the biological passport and greater out-of competition testing have made it much harder for cyclists to dope.
All of these testing measures and the attempts to change the culture within the sport have meant and end to the wild west era's of the 1990's and early 2000's when riders were transfusing multiple blood bags, EPO, testosterone, cortisone and HGH to name just a few. Despite all of these new preventative measures being put in place some within the peloton still give in to temptation and use doping products.
In recent months the sport has been hit with a setback from Operation Aderlass. Whilst this is not Operation Puerto where multiple top name riders were linked with doping, this German police investigation into blood doping has uncovered links with cyclists. So far the majority of named athletes have been cross country skiing, but so far two Austrian cyclists have confessed to blood doping during this investigation.
Lance Armstrong is the most recognizable cyclist because of his comeback from cancer and subsequent downfall for doping. Here he celebrates his seventh and final Tour victory in 2005 alongside Italian Ivan Basso and German Jan Ullrich. All three would later be implicated in doping scandal. Photo: Christophe Ena/AP.
The doctor at the centre of the scandal, Dr Mark Schmidt, has previous experience in cycling with links to the Gerolsteiner and Milram teams in the late 2000's as team doctor. Disgraced Austrian cyclist Bernhard Kohl previous alleged that Schmidt organised doping within the Gerolsteiner team at the 2008 Tour de France. Kohl finished third in that race but was later busted for using EPO variant CERA at the 2008 Tour.
The police investigation is still ongoing, and so far Austrian cyclists Stefan Denifl and Georg Preidler have confessed to blood doping using Schmidt. The police have uncovered 40-60 blood bags from athletes from a diverse range of sports and more names are sure to be revealed as the investigation progresses.
Along with this news Trek-Segafredo climber Jarlinson Pantano was found last month to have failed an out-of competition test in late February for EPO. He was a previous winner of a stage at the Tour de France in 2016. The important thing with all of these cases is that none of these riders with respect is a superstar within the sport. These are not contenders for the major races and yet they have been busted for doping.
Whilst this is not an indictment that the top-level riders are doping, it does raise the question as to the sincerity of the results we see in recent years if riders who are not achieving massive results are doping would they not be better contenders than they have been if everybody else is not doping. This is a simplistic mindset not backed up by facts but this is how ordinary fans of cycling might think.
Georg Preidler on the left and Stefan Denifl on the right were the two cyclists currently implicated in Operation Aderlass. Both admitted to blood doping and are currently suspended by the UCI. Photo: BBC
It's likely that these riders were doping merely to compete or to give themselves a better chance at success to earn a lucrative new contract in the future. Only they can explain their actions if they ever will.
The sport of cycling is making massive progress in it's fight against doping, with all sides making proactive steps after years of burying their heads in the sand about the problem. All of these steps are helping make the future of the sport much healthier, however it is also very difficult to quickly change a doping culture that has existed in the sport dating back over 110 years to it's origins. This will take time and a sustained effort from all involved to change this culture and ensure the public can have faith that the results they are seeing are credible.
Cycling is on the right path for the first time in a long while, and it needs to continue doing everything it can to combat doping. In all sport athletes will cheat because of the massive fame and fortune at stake if they can get away with it. Cycling is no different in this regard. The UCI and the national anti-doping bodies need to continue to punish those who do cheat to send a clear message to the peloton that doping will not be tolerated in any form. The UCI currently has 19 male and female riders under suspension for doping, showing they are taking the right steps to combat this problem.
Of course all of this talk might be a smokescreen as we do not know what exactly goes on within the world of professional cycling. Riders might have found a way around the testing measures although until we see major evidence indicating this we can't assume this. Only time will tell if this era of results we are eagerly watching are credible or just another grand deceit.
A massive thank you for reading this article and if you have an opinion on this article feel free to leave a comment below or get in touch with me on Twitter @JWjournalism.
By Jordan Wilkins
Posted in Cycling, Uncategorized and tagged Anti-Doping, Bernhard Kohl, Biological Passport, Blood transfusions, Cortisone, Cycling, Doping, EPO, Georg Preidler, Gerolsteiner, HGH, Jarlinson Pantano, Lance Armstrong, Milram, Operation Aderlass, Operation Puerto, Stefan Denifl, Steroids, Testosterone, UCI on April 30, 2019 by brfcjordan95. 1 Comment
Operation Puerto still hangs over cycling ten years later
June 29th 2006. As the cycling world prepares for the centre piece Tour de France, their biggest race returned to the dark days of it's recent past. Operation Puerto would prove to be a scandal which brought huge change to the sport, and it's impact is still being felt today, ten years later.
The world was looking forward to the most open Tour de France since 1998, yet sadly the race would be mired in the same controversy that dogged the notorious 1998 edition of the great race. Just as the words 'Festina affair' became as much a part of the cycling lexicon as 'peloton', so too would 'Operation Puerto'.
After years of speculation throughout professional cycling as to widespread doping, the ball would finally be set rolling several years before. Spanish rider Jesus Manzano had detailed to the media the intricate doping practices on his previous Kelme team. This kick started a Spanish police investigation into the allegations made by Manzano.
Their investigation made the headlines two years later in May 2006, when police raided the offices of former Kelme team doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, arresting him and several other key members from two of Spain's professional teams, Liberty-Seguros and Comunidad Valenciana. What would be found would shock the professional peloton and have wide reaching consequences.
Eufemiano Fuentes arriving for his Operation Puerto trial. He was originally found guilty of public health laws violations but this was later overturned. Photo copyright Associated Press.
Police found 186 blood bags with code names, along with the equipment needed to freeze and ultimately transfuse the blood. They also found huge quantities of performance enhancing drugs such as EPO,HGH and steroids along with race schedules and information for payments from a large client list of professional athletes. Whilst athletes from other sports were linked to Fuentes, it was cycling that was the most damaged by the scandal.
Almost immediately Liberty Seguros withdrew their sponsorship, leaving the team struggling to find a new sponsor so they could carry on competing past 2006. Very quickly information trickled through to the media concerning the cyclists involved. The big name riders began to fall very quickly, with the Phonak team quickly suspending Santiago Botero, a former world time trial champion and Jose Enrique Gutierrez, who had finished 2nd in the 2006 Giro D'Italia.
The Spanish national road race championship was abandoned after only 500 meters when the riders boycotted the race in protest of the media information detailing the riders who were working with Fuentes. With the sport in the midst of another major doping scandal, the real hammer blow would be delivered only two days before the start of the Tour de France.
The Spanish authorities released their summary into the investigation, formally detailing all 56 professional cyclists known to be linked with Fuentes. The unofficial total was said to be much higher, as it increasingly became clear that Fuentes and his employees were working with seemingly over half of the professional peloton, once again exposing how doping in cycling was pervasive and widespread to the extreme.
The implications were both widespread and immediate. Top riders such as superstar 1997 Tour winner Jan Ullrich and promising climber Oscar Sevilla were immediately suspended by their T-Mobile team. Other riders soon followed. 2006 Giro D'Italia winner Ivan Basso was suspended by Team CSC, whilst GC contender Francisco Mancebo was also dropped by his AG2R team. A large portion of other riders were removed from the race, especially from the former Liberty Seguros team.
Jan Ullrich riding at the 2006 Giro D'Italia. A few months later his illustrious career was effectively ended by Operation Puerto. Photo sourced from cyclingweekly.co.uk.
The timing could not have been worse for the sport, with their greatest race marred with yet another doping scandal which cast a shadow over the entirety of the 2006 edition. The race was suddenly blown open as none of the top five from the 2005 Tour de France were competing a year later, therefore it was a relatively new cast that took on the mantle of competing to win the race.
The 2006 edition would prove a compelling race with an intense battle for the maillot jaune(yellow jersey) right up until the final stages. Whilst the fans and organisers would have wanted the attention switched to the exciting fight for the lead, yet again the 2006 race would find itself a victim of a doping scandal. American Floyd Landis emerged from the shadow of Lance Armstrong to win the 2006 race, only to be stripped of victory in disgrace a few days later after testing positive for testosterone after his remarkable victory in Stage 17.
The reputation of the sport was once again taking a battering, as Landis became embroiled in a court battle to claim back his victory. After the dust had settled Landis admitted to micro-dosing EPO and taking blood transfusions during the race, but always denied taking testosterone. After the initial denials the riders soon changed their tune. Over the next year the likes of Basso, Jorg Jaksche and Michele Scarponi all admitted to working with with Fuentes, whilst Ullrich was also strongly linked to him.
Fast forward to 2016 and this case is still hanging over professional cycling. Riders linked with Fuentes such as Alberto Contador(cleared),Basso and Scarponi they are still involved with sport as they reach the final stages of their careers. Fuentes himself was originally found guilty, although he has since has his conviction and suspended one year prison sentence overruled.
Floyd Landis celebrating on the podium after winning the 2006 Tour de France. A few days later and he would be stripped of his victory in shame after testing positive for testosterone. Photo sourced from velonews.com .
In June of this year Spanish authorities ruled they would hand over the blood bags found in Fuentes possession to anti-doping authorities for evaluation. It's unclear at this present moment whether these authorities will make public their findings, but with roughly 200 bags to sort through, it's clear the sport of cycling may well be rocked again if the full influence of Fuentes and his doping practices on the sport are revealed to the public.
In the last ten years the sport of cycling has appeared to have worked very hard to eliminate doping from it's realm. There have been widespread changes to improve anti-doping testing, and since then there have not been any further major doping scandals within the sport. How much of this can be attributed to Operation Puerto and it's impact cannot be quantified, but for sure it will have had an effect on enforcing change in the sport.
Cycling is still in the process of recovering from it's past demons, and for some people they will never again be able to trust the athletes and the sport after years of lies and denials. It's debateable whether Operation Puerto was the metaphorical straw which broke the camel's back, but the fact this was the last major scandal before significant change was implemented would seem to support this argument. It was ten years ago, but the sport and the characters involved are still struggling to recover from it's impact. For American Floyd Landis, it took until this year's race to return to Paris to watch it in person. It ended the careers of high profiles names in the sport both in terms of riders and team principals. Who knows whether the true impact will only become known in the coming years, if the anti-doping authorities decide to publish their findings. For the sport of cycling, it will undoubtedly open some very old and raw wounds should that happen.
Feel free to comment on this article with your thoughts and a huge thank you for reading. If you want to find me I'm on Twitter @brfcjordan95.
Posted in American sports, Cycling, Uncategorized and tagged EPO, Floyd Landis, Giro D'Italia, HGH, Jan Ullrich, Operation Puerto, Testesterone, Tour de France on August 22, 2016 by brfcjordan95. Leave a comment
Let me start part 2 of this blog entry by setting the scene from the previous few years of cycling. After the nightmare 1998 Tour de France, everyone involved was thrilled to have a relatively controversy free 1999 Tour de France whereby the public were very happy to support cancer survivor and fundraiser Lance Armstrong as he completed a fairy tale comeback to win the Tour.
What the public didn't know however was that Armstrong was using suspicious doctor Dr Michele Ferrari to support him with an organised doping programme, which included Armstrong's gardener following the Tour throughout the three weeks on his red motorbike, ready to deliver banned performance enhancing substances such as EPO to Lance and several other team mates. Whilst the public saw and the organisers pushed forward the ideal of a new clean, era of professional cycling started by Lance Armstrong, the truth was that cycling was entering it's worst ever period of doping.
The new millennium was the completion of a transition within doping, as gone were the days of the teams running professional doping programmes for their riders, who were forced to sort out their doping themselves now as the teams wanted no part of it after the Festina affair in 1998. 2000 also saw the UCI finally make a step forward to curb the rampant doping, with a new test being developed to detect EPO. The test was initially put in place for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, although it was then used in the 2000 Tour de France.
Armstrong's doctor Dr Michele Ferrari was always kept up to date with the latest tests being developed to curb doping, therefore with the advent of a new EPO test Lance and his United States Postal Service team shied away from using EPO during the Tour, instead choosing to use a more old fashioned and natural performance enhancer: blood transfusions.
Whilst this wasn't a new technology, taking out a blood bag several weeks before the Tour and then infusing it back in during a crucial part of the Tour would provide a natural boost in red blood cells which was also very hard to detect. With this innovation in cycling Armstrong and several team mates followed this process in the weeks leading up to the Tour. Armstrong's team mate Tyler Hamilton speaks of this in his brilliant book The Secret Race where he states after winning a key warm up race for the Tour the Criterium Dauphine Libere only days before doing the transfusion, and struggling to ride up a small hill in the aftermath of taking out a blood bag.
The 2000 Tour de France was once again free of major doping scandal as Lance Armstrong successfully defended his 1999 Tour de France triumph over Jan Ullrich and Joseba Beloki. The sport appeared to be cleaning itself up after two relatively quiet years in terms of riders being busted for doping, although this would all change with the advent of the new EPO test.
Armstrong in action during the 2000 Tour de France.
Thanks to http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-24/lance-armstrong-rides-in-the-2000-tour-de-france/4221010 for the image.
2001 saw several riders test positive for EPO, with the first ever being prominent Danish rider Bo Hamburger, although he would later be acquitted after irregularities with his B sample. The 2001 Giro D'Italia would also be marred with doping scandals. Leading contender Dario Frigo would be expelled from the race after police found banned substances when searching several teams hotels. Police uncovered a significant amount of doping products as they searched riders from all 20 teams, leading to several riders being thrown out of the race.
This would prove to be the only major doping incidents during the 2001 season, as Armstrong raced to a third successive Tour de France title. 2002 would be more of the same as both previous winners of the Giro D'Italia Stefano Garzelli and Gilberto Simoni would test positive for drugs and face suspensions. 2002 also provided a perfect snapshot of the lack of concern around rampant doping in cycling as the UCI failed to strip 3rd place rider Raimondas Rumsas of his podium position in the Tour de France despite his wife being found with vast quantities of performance enhancing drugs including EPO and growth hormone. His wife explained the drugs were for her mother in law. Rumsas would later be banned for one year in 2003 after testing positive for EPO during that years Giro D'Italia.
Raimondas Rumsas on the podium at the end of the 2002 Tour de France on the far right in 3rd place overall.
Thanks to L'Equipe for the photo http://www.lequipe.fr/Cyclisme-sur-route/Diaporama/Un-palmares-a-recreer/254
2003 would look from the outside like any other year with a number of riders being banned for doping, although it would have much wider implications as Jesus Manzano retired from cycling and turned whistle blower with the Spanish Guardia Civil, who's investigation became known as Operacion Puerto. After becoming disillusioned with cycling he was fired by his Kelme team, Manzano turned whistle blower to the doping practices of the team, which included blood transfusions and various injections of performance enhancing drugs, in co-operation with Spanish doctor Dr Eufemiano Fuentes.
The team doctor for the Kelme team would later become synonymous with doping, much like fellow former cycling team doctor Dr Michele Ferrari. For now all the allegations were strenously denied, although these allegations refused to go away. 2004 was another bad year for doping with two well known riders being suspended. Firstly the Brit and former yellow jersey holder in previous Tour de France races David Millar was suspended for two years after police searched his house and found doping products. Millar admitted to using EPO three times in previous years and was banned until 2006.
American and former Tour de France contender Tyler Hamilton was also suspended for two years after testing positive for a blood transfusion both after winning the gold medal in the 2004 Olympics men's individual time trial and during the 2004 Vuelta a Espana. After initially denying his positive tests, once his front line career was over once he returned to cycling he admitted to using performance enhancing drugs in his brilliantly honest book The Secret Race.
Tyler Hamilton on the podium celebrating his 2004 Olympic gold medal. This would later be stripped from him after testing positive for a blood transfusion twice in the ensuing moths. Photo credit goes to Greg Wood of AFP/Getty Images. Sourced from http://sports.nationalpost.com/2012/08/10/tyler-hamilton-officially-stripped-of-2004-olympic-gold-medal-in-cycling/
2005 was another run of the mill year with several riders being eliminated from the Tour de France for doping, whilst Vuelta a Espana specialist Roberto Heras was stripped of his win in the 2005 Vuelta after testing positive for EPO that year on stage 20. He was stripped of his record breaking fourth win in the Vuelta a Espana, before being reinstated in 2012 after procedural errors with the testing.
As the Lance Armstrong era came to a close in 2005, the world of cycling was still being barraged with doping scandals which seriously undermined the heroics presented to the fans and TV audiences by the riders. Whilst the UCI hoped to ride out the storm, little did anyone know the fuse on another major doping scandal was about to blow up in their faces. Please stay tuned for part 3 coming up soon.
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged 2004 Olympics, Cycling, EPO, Lance Armstrong, Operacion Puerto, Performance enhancing drugs, Tyler Hamilton, USA on December 29, 2014 by brfcjordan95. 1 Comment


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