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Category Archives: Physiology

Nobel Prize winner shuns ‘luxury journals’

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By Queena Lee-Chua Philippine Daily Inquirer

Last Dec. 10, Randy Wayne Schekman, an American cell biologist at the University of California, Berkeley, with James Rothman and Thomas Sdhof, accepted the 2013 Nobel Prize for Physiology.

The scientists were awarded for their work on machinery involving vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells.

But Schekman announced he would no longer be publishing in the most prestigious scientific journals in the world, such as Nature, Science and Cell, even though their publication of his papers was among the bases for his getting the Nobel.

Calling the publications luxury journals, Schekman accuses them of promoting the flashiest work, not the best.

He likens the publishing culture to that of Wall Street and says that just as huge undeserved bonuses damaged banking and finance, the prestige associated with publishing in luxury journals damaged the culture of research and science as a whole.

Like fashion designers who create limited-edition handbags or suits, [luxury journals] know scarcity stokes demand, so they artificially restrict the number of papers they accept, Schekman says in the British Guardian.

Schekman also says the so-called impact factor, the number of times research papers are cited in subsequent studies, is a deeply flawed measure.

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Nobel Prize winner shuns ‘luxury journals’

Audio-Digest Foundation Announces the Release of Family Practice Volume 61, Issue 41: Topics in Otolaryngology

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Glendale, CA (PRWEB) January 17, 2014

Audio-Digest Foundation Announces the Release of Family Practice Volume 61, Issue 41: Topics in Otolaryngology.

The goal of this program is to improve diagnosis and management of gastroesophageal reflux symptoms and sensorineural hearing loss. After hearing and assimilating this program, the clinician will be better able to:

1. Identify patients with reflux symptoms who are candidates for upper endoscopy. 2. Counsel patients with reflux symptoms about lifestyle modifications. 3. Select appropriate dosing of proton pump inhibitors and/or H2-blockers for treatment of reflux. 4. Use strategies to effectively communicate with patients with hearing loss. 5. Discuss consequences of hearing loss and recommend treatment options.

The original programs were presented by William D. Chey, MD, Professor of Medicine, H. Marvin Pollard Institute Scholar, Director, Gastrointestinal Physiology Laboratory, and Co-Director, Michigan Bowel Control Program, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, and Sarah Sydlowski, AuD, PhD, Audiology Director, Hearing Implant Program, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH.

Audio-Digest Foundation, the largest independent publisher of Continuing Medical Education in the world, records over 10,000 hours of lectures every year in anesthesiology, emergency medicine, family practice, gastroenterology, general surgery, internal medicine, neurology, obstetrics/gynecology, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, otolaryngology, pediatrics, psychology, and urology, by the leading medical researchers at the top laboratories, universities, and institutions.

Recent researchers have hailed from Harvard, Cedars-Sinai, Mayo Clinic, UCSF, The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, The University of Kansas Medical Center, The University of California, San Diego, The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, The University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and many others.

Out of these cutting-edge programs, Audio-Digest then chooses the most clinically relevant, edits them for clarity, and publishes them either every week or every two weeks.

In addition, Audio-Digest publishes subscription series in conjunction with leading medical societies: DiabetesInsight with The American Diabetes Association, ACCEL with The American College of Cardiology, Continuum Audio with The American Academy of Neurology, and Journal Watch Audio General Medicine with Massachusetts Medical Society.

For 60 years, the global medical community of doctors, nurses, physician assistants, and other medical professionals around the world has subscribed to Audio-Digest specialty series in order to remain current in their specialties as well as to maintain their Continuing Education requirements with the most cutting-edge, independent, and unbiased continuing medical education (CME).

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Audio-Digest Foundation Announces the Release of Family Practice Volume 61, Issue 41: Topics in Otolaryngology

Discovery of an early predictor of increased diabetes risk

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

15-Jan-2014

Contact: Julie Langelier julie.langelier@ircm.qc.ca 514-987-5555 Institut de recherches cliniques de Montreal

Montral, January 15, 2014 A Montral research team led by Jennifer Estall at the IRCM discovered that a protein found in muscle tissue may contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes later in life. The study's results, published in today's printed edition of the scientific journal American Journal of Physiology - Endocrinology and Metabolism, indicate that the protein could be a promising early predictor of increased diabetes risk.

"My team and I studied PGC-1, a protein responsible for regulating the production of energy in cells," explains Dr. Estall, Director of the Molecular Mechanisms of Diabetes research unit at the IRCM. "Surprisingly, we found that young mice lacking this protein in their muscle tissue appeared healthier, as they had lower blood sugar levels before and after meals. So, at first, we thought having less of this protein was actually better."

"However, as they aged, the mice lacking the PGC-1 protein developed significant glucose intolerance and insulin resistance, which are hallmarks of type 2 diabetes," adds Dr. Estall. "As a result, we discovered that chronically low levels of this protein in muscle may contribute to the development of diabetes later in life."

While the levels of PGC-1 were only altered in muscle, the scientists observed detrimental effects on the health of other tissues. The study showed that the absence of PGC-1 in muscle increases inflammation in the liver and adipose tissue (fat), revealing a novel link between muscle metabolism and the chronic inflammatory state of the body often associated with metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

"Our study also suggests that low levels of PGC-1 in muscle could be a promising new way of predicting increased risk of type 2 diabetes at a young age, and drugs to increase the levels of this protein may help prevent or delay the progression of the disease," concludes Dr. Estall.

According to the Canadian Diabetes Association, more than nine million Canadians are living with diabetes or prediabetes, and 90 per cent of those with diabetes have type 2 diabetes. The Association states that the first step in preventing or delaying the onset of complications associated with diabetes is recognizing the risk factors, signs and symptoms of the disease.

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Discovery of an early predictor of increased diabetes risk

Researchers identify key components linking circadian rhythms, cell division cycles

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Jan. 14, 2014 Researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have identified key molecular components linking circadian rhythms and cell division cycles in Neurospora crassa, providing insights that could lead to improved disease treatments and drug delivery.

The researchers in the UC College of Medicine Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, led by Christian Hong, PhD, published their findings Monday, Jan. 13, online ahead of print in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).

"Our work has large implications for the general understanding of the connection between the cell cycle and the circadian clock," says Hong, an assistant professor in the molecular and cellular physiology department who collaborated with an international team of researchers on the project.

Funding for Hong's research was provided by a four-year, $3.7 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense. He also received startup funds from UC's molecular and cellular physiology department.

The circadian rhythm, often referred to as the biological clock, is a cycle of biological activity based on a 24-hour period and generated by an internal clock synchronized to light-dark cycles and other external cues.

"Everything has a schedule, and we are interested in understanding these schedules at a molecular level," Hong says. "We also wanted to know the components that connect two different oscillators (the circadian clock and cell division, or mitosis)."

Using the filamentous (thread-like) fungi Neurospora crassa, the researchers investigated the coupling between the cell cycle and the circadian clock using mathematical modeling and experimentally validated model-driven predictions. They demonstrated a mechanism that is conserved (constant) in Neurospora as in mammals, which results in circadian clock-gated mitotic cycles.

"The cell divisions happened during a certain time of day," Hong says, "and they were molecularly regulated by the mechanisms of circadian rhythms."

The researchers showed that a conserved coupling between the circadian clock and the cell cycle exists via serine/threonine protein kinase-29 (STK-29), the Neurospora homolog (possessing similar DNA sequence) of mammalian WEE1 kinase.

Additionally, the researchers conducted phase-shift experiments in which they transferred Neurospora to constant darkness, then administered a 90-minute pulse of white fluorescent light at indicated time points in order to induce phase-shift.

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Researchers identify key components linking circadian rhythms, cell division cycles

Researchers identify key components linking circadian rhythms and cell division cycles

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

14-Jan-2014

Contact: Keith Herrell keith.herrell@uc.edu 513-558-4559 University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center

CINCINNATIResearchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have identified key molecular components linking circadian rhythms and cell division cycles in Neurospora crassa, providing insights that could lead to improved disease treatments and drug delivery.

The researchers in the UC College of Medicine Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, led by Christian Hong, PhD, published their findings Monday, Jan. 13, online ahead of print in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).

"Our work has large implications for the general understanding of the connection between the cell cycle and the circadian clock," says Hong, an assistant professor in the molecular and cellular physiology department who collaborated with an international team of researchers on the project.

The circadian rhythm, often referred to as the biological clock, is a cycle of biological activity based on a 24-hour period and generated by an internal clock synchronized to light-dark cycles and other external cues.

"Everything has a schedule, and we are interested in understanding these schedules at a molecular level," Hong says. "We also wanted to know the components that connect two different oscillators (the circadian clock and cell division, or mitosis)."

Using the filamentous (thread-like) fungi Neurospora crassa, the researchers investigated the coupling between the cell cycle and the circadian clock using mathematical modeling and experimentally validated model-driven predictions. They demonstrated a mechanism that is conserved (constant) in Neurospora as in mammals, which results in circadian clock-gated mitotic cycles.

"The cell divisions happened during a certain time of day," Hong says, "and they were molecularly regulated by the mechanisms of circadian rhythms."

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Researchers identify key components linking circadian rhythms and cell division cycles

Symptoms Of Hypothyroidism Part 2: Thyroid physiology and testing – Video

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Symptoms Of Hypothyroidism Part 2: Thyroid physiology and testing
The thyroid gland is one of the body #39;s major metabolic engines. Understanding how thyroid hormone is made, how it interacts, other hormones that impact it and tests that you can do to assess...

By: Metabolic Effect

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Symptoms Of Hypothyroidism Part 2: Thyroid physiology and testing - Video

Audio-Digest Foundation Announces the Release of Oncology Volume 04, Issue 15: Current and Future Treatment of …

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Glendale, CA (PRWEB) January 09, 2014

Audio-Digest Foundation Announces the Release of Oncology Volume 04, Issue 15: Current and Future Treatment of Advanced Prostate Cancer.

The goal of this program is to improve the management of advanced prostate cancer. After hearing and assimilating this program, the clinician will be better able to:

1. Choose effective therapy for castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). 2. Recognize the role of androgen suppression in the treatment of CRPC. 3. Compare the benefits and risks of - and -emitting radiopharmaceuticals. 4. Describe the mechanism of action and advantages of fluorodeoxyuridine monophosphate (FdUMP) polymer in cancer treatment. 5. Consider the potential role of agents that target prostate-specific membrane antigen in the treatment of PC.

The original programs were presented by Daniel P. Petrylak, MD, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, Co-Director, Signal Transduction Research, and Program Head, Prostate and Urologic Cancers Program, Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, CT, and William H. Gmeiner, PhD, Professor, Cancer Biology, Wake Forest University Graduate School, Department of Integrative Physiology and Pharmacology PhD Program, Winston-Salem, NC.

Audio-Digest Foundation, the largest independent publisher of Continuing Medical Education in the world, records over 10,000 hours of lectures every year in anesthesiology, emergency medicine, family practice, gastroenterology, general surgery, internal medicine, neurology, obstetrics/gynecology, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, otolaryngology, pediatrics, psychology, and urology, by the leading medical researchers at the top laboratories, universities, and institutions.

Recent researchers have hailed from Harvard, Cedars-Sinai, Mayo Clinic, UCSF, The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, The University of Kansas Medical Center, The University of California, San Diego, The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, The University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and many others.

Out of these cutting-edge programs, Audio-Digest then chooses the most clinically relevant, edits them for clarity, and publishes them either every week or every two weeks.

In addition, Audio-Digest publishes subscription series in conjunction with leading medical societies: DiabetesInsight with The American Diabetes Association, ACCEL with The American College of Cardiology, Continuum Audio with The American Academy of Neurology, and Journal Watch Audio General Medicine with Massachusetts Medical Society.

For 60 years, the global medical community of doctors, nurses, physician assistants, and other medical professionals around the world has subscribed to Audio-Digest specialty series in order to remain current in their specialties as well as to maintain their Continuing Education requirements with the most cutting-edge, independent, and unbiased continuing medical education (CME).

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Audio-Digest Foundation Announces the Release of Oncology Volume 04, Issue 15: Current and Future Treatment of ...


  1. Physiology