Category Archives: Physiology

Males and females are evolutionarily programmed differently in terms of sex – Tech Explorist

Regardless of sharing a very similar genome and nervous system, males and females vary significantly in reproductive investments. They require different behavioral, morphological, and physiological adaptions, suggests a new study from Oxford, which found sex-specific signals affect behavior.

As the study suggested, Males and females behave differently in terms of sex, but the reality is both are evolutionarily programmed to do so. They both have evolved profoundly different adaptations to suit their own reproductive needs.

In their study, scientists uncovered a novel circuit architecture principle that permits deployment of entirely behavioral repertoires in males and females, with minimal circuit changes.

Scientists found that the nervous system of vinegar flies, Drosophila melanogaster, produced differences in behavior by delivering different information to the sexes.

In the vinegar fly, males compete for a mate through courtship displays; thus, the ability to chase other flies is adaptive to males but of little use. A females investment is focused on the success of their offspring; thus, choosing the best sites to lay eggs is adaptive to females.

While discovering the different roles of only four neurons clustered in pairs in each hemisphere of the central brain of both male and female flies, scientists detected sex differences in their neuronal connectivity. This neuronal connectivity reconfigures circuit logic in a sex-specific manner.

In essence, males received visual inputs and females received primarily olfactory (odor) inputs. Notably, the team demonstrated that this dimorphism leads to sex-specific behavioral roles for these neurons: visually guided courtship pursuit in males and communal egg-laying in females.

Scientists noted, Ultimately, these circuit reconfigurations lead to the same resultan increase in reproductive success.

Our findings suggest a flexible strategy used to structure the nervous system, where relatively minor modifications in neuronal networks allow each sex to react to their surroundings in a sex-appropriate manner.

Professor Stephen Goodwin from the Department of Physiology, Anatomy, and Genetics said, Previous high-profile papers in the field have suggested that sex-specific differences in higher-order processing of sensory information could lead to sex-specific behaviors; however, those experiments remained exclusively at the level of differences in neuroanatomy and physiology without any demonstrable link to behavior. I think we have gone further as we have linked higher-order sexually dimorphic anatomical inputs, with sex-specific physiology and sex-specific behavioral roles.

Scientists noted, In this study, we have shown how a sex-specific switch between visual and olfactory inputs underlies adaptive sex differences in behavior and provides insight on how similar mechanisms may be implemented in the brains of other sexually-dimorphic species.

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Males and females are evolutionarily programmed differently in terms of sex - Tech Explorist

Subadditivity begins to explain the mysteries of the circadian system’s response to light (MAGAZINE) – LEDs Magazine

FIG. 1. Example of how the biological clock perceives light signals differently than the visual system. (Image credits: All illustrations and tables courtesy of Allison Thayer, Lighting Research Center, except where expressly indicated.)

As discussed in the previous article of the circadian light series, Industry must move beyond CCT to articulate circadian metrics, a wide range of photopic illuminance levels at the eye may be required to reach a specific circadian stimulus (CS), even for light sources of the same correlated color temperature (CCT). Since we know the circadian system to be a blue-sky detector, it may be generally true that cooler light-source spectra (>4000K) require a lower illuminance at the eye than warm light-source spectra (

Consider a blue LED (max = 486 nm) that produces 17 lx at the eye this gives a CS = 0.3. If one were to add 100 lx of low-pressure sodium (LPS) to make the combined light appear white (CCT = 3241K), the total illuminance at the eye would obviously be 117 lx, but counterintuitively, the circadian effectiveness of the combined light would drop to CS = 0.27 (Fig. 1). This is known as subadditivity in other words, 1 + 1

For humans, color vision has three dimensions (Fig. 2), each defined by a different neural channel. The first channel is the achromatic (black-and-white) channel that simply adds all the flux incident on the retina the more flux on the retina, the brighter the light will be, if it has no apparent hue. Hue is handled by two chromatic channels one that responds to light as blue or yellow (or nothing if it is black or white), and one that responds to light as red or green (or nothing if it is black or white).

FIG. 2. Schematic of the achromatic and chromatic channels in the retina that enable color vision and brightness perception in humans.

The two chromatic channels blue versus yellow (b-y) and red versus green (r-g) are spectrally opponent, meaning that a greenish red or a bluish yellow cannot exist. All hues we see are combinations of these two spectrally-opponent channel outputs so we can see a greenish blue (turquoise) or a bluish red (purple), for example.

Brightness perception is determined by these two chromatic channels as well as an achromatic, black-and-white channel. When more light is added to the retina, the achromatic channel increases its response. If that light has a hue, it will appear brighter than a white light that produces the same response in the achromatic channel. For example, a red light of 100 lx will look brighter than a white light of 100 lx because its red hue contributes to brightness perception. Because the color channels are spectrally opponent, adding a green light to the red light can make the red light appear less bright even though the achromatic channel increases.

As a specific example, 100 lx of light emitted by a red LED will appear equally as bright as 150 lx from a green LED (Fig. 3). If these two lights are combined, the achromatic illuminance at the eye will be 250 lx and its hue will appear yellow. Remarkably, the resulting yellow light of 250 lx will actually appear less bright than either the red light alone at 100 lx or the green light alone at 150 lx. This is a clear example of subadditivity. The reason behind this surprising outcome is that perceived brightness of a light depends not only on its achromatic light level but also on its apparent hue. Red and green lights are more hueful than a yellow (or white) light. The same basic physiology contributes to circadian light.

FIG. 3. The accompanying chart is the 1931 CIE chromaticity chart with contour lines of chromaticities of equal perceived brightness (Guth et al., 1980). The chromaticities of a red and a green LED are plotted along with a specific combination of light from these two LEDs seen as yellow. For this example, the red LED provides an illuminance of 100 lx, delivering a perceived brightness of B(r) = 100 2.93 = 293; and the green LED provides an illuminance of 150 lx, delivering a brightness of B(g) = 150 2.15 = 322. The combined yellow light has a brightness of B(y) = 1.07 250 = 268. Image adapted from J. Optical Soc. of America, 70, 2, Vector model for normal and dichromatic color vision, by S. Lee Guth, Robert W. Massof, and Terry Benzschawel, 1980; http://bit.ly/3nXBEXr.

The intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) represent the lynchpin between the retina and the biological clock, linking the external 24-hour light dark cycle to our internal rhythms of behavior and physiology. As the name implies, ipRGCs contain the photopigment melanopsin that absorbs light and generates a neural signal for the biological clock. Without ipRGCs, our physiology and behavior would no longer be synchronized with sunrise and sunset. Experiments have shown that as long as the ipRGCs are intact, even without the photopigment melanopsin, light can still synchronize our biological clock to the daily light-dark cycle by neural signals from the rods and cones (photoreceptors responsible for vision). There is no direct connection between these photoreceptors and the ipRGCs rather, their signals are processed by a variety of neural circuits before reaching the ipRGCs. One of these neural circuits is a spectrally-opponent chromatic channel that also affects brightness perception. Specifically, the spectrally-opponent blue-yellow channel processes cone signals before reaching the ipRGC. This is why the blue LED delivering 17 lx at the eye becomes less effective for the circadian system when 100 lx of LPS is added the effectiveness of the blue LED for stimulating the ipRGC is reduced by adding yellow LPS.

As for creating metrics to quantify circadian response, the Lighting Research Center (LRC) uses circadian light (CLA) and circadian stimulus (CS; see the first installment in this series, which defines the terminology). Subsequently, the research team has developed a computational model that includes subadditivity. The spectral sensitivity of the modeled circadian circuit in the eye for one achromatic light level can be graphed with two curves (Fig. 4). It is a two-state model one for white light sources where the b-y channel balance tilts to signal blue or for another light source where it tilts to signal yellow. These white sources would appear cool or warm, respectively, but again the CCT designation will not necessarily be related to the actual appearance of the light.

FIG. 4. Warm and cool spectral response curves.

Recalling the summary from the previous article, the photopic illuminance level at the eye needs to reach a target CS of 0.3 for light sources categorized by their CCTs of 3000K, 4000K, and 5000K (Fig. 5, top).

The corresponding table in Fig. 5 indicates on which side of the b-y channel warm or cool a given light source falls. One 3000K light source has a cool spectral response unlike the others, and one 4000K light source has a warm spectral response. With regard to all warm sources, the spectral sensitivity of the circadian system (yellow dashed line in Fig. 4) is governed almost exclusively by melanopsin in the ipRGCs. For cool sources, however, subadditivity will come into play as illustrated by the positive and negative lobes of the solid blue line in Fig. 4. Again, adding a yellow light in the negative region to a blue light in the positive region will reduce the circadian effectiveness of the combined light relative to the blue light alone.

FIG. 5. Relating the previously-discussed chart of vertical illuminance values needed to reach 0.3 CS to which spectral response of the circadian system it falls on.

In Fig. 6, the spectral power distributions (SPDs) of a blue LED, a 3000K LED (Maximum), and a 5000K LED (Minimum) are indicated by the black curves, accompanied by the respective modeled spectral sensitivity responses indicated by the blue or yellow curves. Different combinations of spectra and vertical illuminance are required to reach the target CS of 0.3.

FIG. 6. Examples of illuminance at the eye required to achieve a CS of 0.3 using different light spectra.

This is fairly complicated! But the concepts are important to advancing the science behind applying circadian lighting principles. However, now that these complexities have been established, it should be relieving to know that a lighting manufacturer or designer does not need to know all of the intricacies of retinal neurophysiology to provide circadian light to building occupants. The final article of the series will go more into depth on the adaptation of the new language into application.

ALLISON THAYER, MS, BA, is a research specialist at the Lighting Research Center (LRC), formerly part of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She holds a bachelors in architecture, and a masters of science with a concentration in lighting from Rensselaer. Thayer has played a main role in the development of the structure and content of the Healthy Living website.

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Subadditivity begins to explain the mysteries of the circadian system's response to light (MAGAZINE) - LEDs Magazine

When Is Dead Really Dead? Results From the Largest International Study of Its Kind – SciTechDaily

A new international study, led by Dr. Sonny Dhanani of the CHEO Research Institute, and published in the January 28, 2021, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, documents the physiology of the dying process. Working closely with the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program, the research team asked over 600 families to allow their loved ones in the ICU to have their vital signs monitored during the dying process. This is the largest international study of its kind.

For families to choose organ donation when a loved one has died, they must be able to trust that death has really happened and that it is irreversible. Trust allows people to decide to donate at a time of grief and allows the medical community to feel comfortable opening a dialogue about donation. For donation after circulatory-determined death to be medically possible, death must be declared within a window of time after life sustaining measures are withdrawn. Yet, stories persist about people coming back to life following a declaration of death, and there was little evidence to inform the medical understanding of dying.

To do this, we had to go into ICUs and monitor people as they were dying. This is a very personal experience. And here we were collecting data, sending it to a server, downloading it and having people review the vital signs how things stopped and if they restarted. People were worried. Some physicians didnt want to do it. Some researchers felt uncomfortable. But we knew we should keep going when we met Heather.

Dr. Sonny Dhanani, MDDePPaRT Study LeadInvestigator, CHEO Research InstituteChief Critical Care, Childrens Hospital of Eastern OntarioAssociate Professor, University of Ottawa

Dr. Dhanani and his team found that the classic flatline of death is not so straightforward. The study showed that cardiac activity often stops and re-starts several times during the dying process before it finally stops completely but no one regained sustained circulation or consciousness. The study provides evidence to support the current standard to wait for 5 minutes after the heart stops before determining death and proceeding to organ donation.

How do you ask a family whose loved one is dying in the ICU to participate in a research study on organ donation? DePPaRT was empowered by the support and perspectives of a family partner, Ms. Heather Talbot, a woman whose son became a donor after dying in a car accident. The Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Programs Patient, Family and Donor Partnership Platform connected Heather with the DePPaRT team in 2015, and she took on the emotional challenges of joining as a consultant. Heather provided feedback from a familys perspective, contributing ideas on how to appropriately approach families of dying patients. Her ability to reflect on her experiences and apply them to the study was pivotal for the projects success. Her contributions helped achieve a family consent rate of 93% and dampened the teams fears of overstepping boundaries. Her sons gift of organ donation saved at least four lives and her involvement in DePPaRT is multiplying those gifts.

This is an outstanding example of the powerful impact that a national framework for collaborative team science can achieve. Through the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program, we have brought together different research communities, patient, family and donor partners, stakeholder organizations, and health care professionals who take non-traditional paths to doing research. This has created new synergies and new knowledge that will help more Canadians become donors and more patients receive transplants.

Dr. Lori West, MD, DPhilCanada Research Chair in Cardiac Transplantation, University of AlbertaDirector, Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research ProgramOfficer of the Order of Canada (2020)

Families and health care teams can trust that when death is determined, it is safe to begin the organ donation process. DePPaRT study data can now be used to inform policy and guidelines for determining death for organ donation both nationally and internationally. Further work using the study data will allow donation and transplant teams to predict how long it will take patients to die after removing life-sustaining measures. Predicting a time of death would be immensely useful to coordinate a donation and improve how organs are allocated.

On behalf of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), I would like to congratulate CDTRP and the DePPaRT team on the publication of this important study. CIHR is very pleased to be supporting a national network like CDTRP that has been able to bring together multiple stakeholders in the transplant area. This study is an example of the impactful work collaborations such as this one can achieve that will lead to improved outcomes for Canadians waiting for transplants.

Dr. Charu Kaushic, MSc, PhDScientific Director, CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity

Reference: Resumption of Cardiac Activity after Withdrawal of Life-Sustaining Measures by Sonny Dhanani, M.D., Laura Hornby, M.Sc., Amanda van Beinum, M.Sc., Nathan B. Scales, Ph.D., Melanie Hogue, M.Sc., Andrew Baker, M.D., Stephen Beed, M.D., J. Gordon Boyd, M.D., Ph.D., Jennifer A. Chandler, L.L.B., L.L.M., Michal Chass, M.D., Ph.D., Frederick DAragon, M.D., Ph.D., Cameron Dezfulian, M.D., Christopher J. Doig, M.D., Frantisek Duska, M.D., Ph.D., Jan O. Friedrich, M.D., D.Phil., Dale Gardiner, M.D., Teneille Gofton, M.D., Dan Harvey, M.D., Christophe Herry, Ph.D., George Isac, M.D., Andreas H. Kramer, M.D., Demetrios J. Kutsogiannis, M.D., David M. Maslove, M.D., Maureen Meade, M.D., Sangeeta Mehta, M.D., Laveena Munshi, M.D., Loretta Norton, Ph.D., Giuseppe Pagliarello, M.D., Tim Ramsay, Ph.D., Katerina Rusinova, M.D., Ph.D., Damon Scales, M.D., Ph.D., Matous Schmidt, M.D., Andrew Seely, M.D., Ph.D., Jason Shahin, M.D., C.M., Marat Slessarev, M.D., Derek So, M.D., Heather Talbot, B.Ed., Walther N.K.A. van Mook, M.D., Ph.D., Petr Waldauf, M.D., Matthew Weiss, M.D., Jentina T. Wind, R.N., Ph.D. and Sam D. Shemie, M.D. for the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group and the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program, 27 January 2021, New England Journal of Medicine.DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2022713

This research was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research as part of the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program, the CHEO Research Institute, and Karel Pavlk Foundation.

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When Is Dead Really Dead? Results From the Largest International Study of Its Kind - SciTechDaily

Impact of Obesity and Its Associated Comorbid Conditions on COVID-19 P | DMSO – Dove Medical Press

Osama Mehanna,1,2 Ahmad El Askary,3,4 Ebtesam Ali,5 Basem El Esawy,3,6 Tamer FathAlla,7 Amal F Gharib3,8

1Department of Medical Physiology, College of Medicine, Taif University, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Medical Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, New Damietta, Egypt; 3Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Taif University, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia; 4Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, New Damietta, Egypt; 5Directorate of Health Affairs, Gharbia Governorate, Ministry of Health and Population, Cairo, Egypt; 6Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Al Mansurah, Egypt; 7Department of Anaesthesia and ICU, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, New Damietta, Egypt; 8Department of Medical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt

Correspondence: Osama Mehanna Email dr587@yahoo.com

Background: There is great variability in clinical presentation of COVID-19 worldwide. The current study evaluated the impact of obesity and its related complications on the course of COVID-19 in Egyptian patients.Methods: We included 230 COVID-19 Egyptian patients from Tanta City. According to their body-mass index (BMI), patient were divided into three groups: normal weight (BMI < 25 kg/m2), overweight (BMI > 25< 30 kg/m2), and obese (BMI 30 kg/m2). Patients glycemic status, lipid profile, and serum levels of acute-phase reactants were assessed. The number of patients receiving intensive care and the number of deaths in each group were counted.Results: Mean values of random blood sugar, serum cholesterol, triglycerides, serum ferritin, erythrocyte-sedimentation rate, LDH, CRP, D-dimer levels, and blood pressure were significantly higher in obese patients (165.6, 129.5, 105, 1,873, 26, 403, 56.45, 977.16 and 142/87, respectively) than in normal-weight (97.2, 103.5, 70.4, 479, 17.4, 252, 23.2, 612.4, and 118.6/76.8, respectively) and overweight patients (111.4, 106.3, 78.13, 491.3, 19.8, 269.27, 25.42, 618.4, and 120.3/79.3, respectively). Lymphopenia was also significantly predominant in the obese group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that elevated serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, low densitylipoprotein cholesterol, blood pressure, ferritin, CRP, and low relative lymphocyte count were significant risk factors in obese COVID-19 patients.Conclusion: Obesity and its related complications increase the risk of presenting a more severe form of COVID-19 in Egyptian patients.

Keywords: obesity, COVID-19, Egyptian

This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License.By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.

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Impact of Obesity and Its Associated Comorbid Conditions on COVID-19 P | DMSO - Dove Medical Press

Insecticide on flowers can stop bees and flies from getting sleep – THE WEEK

Pesticides used on plant can make flies, like bees, mad without sleep, say researchers who studed the impact of common pesticides on the insect brain.

Just like us, many insects need a decent night's sleep to function properly, but this might not be possible if they have been exposed to neonicotinoid insecticides, the most common form of insecticide used worldwide, suggests research by academics at the University of Bristol.

Two studies by scientists at Bristol's Schools of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience and Biological Sciences have shown these insecticides affect the amount of sleep taken by both bumblebees and fruit flies, which may help us understand why insect pollinators are vanishing from the wild.

Dr Kiah Tasman, Teaching Associate in the School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience and lead author of the studies, said: "The neonicotinoids we tested had a big effect on the amount of sleep taken by both flies and bees. If an insect was exposed to a similar amount as it might experience on a farm where the pesticide had been applied, it slept less, and its daily behavioural rhythms were knocked out of synch with the normal 24-hour cycle of day and night."

The fruit fly study has been published in Scientific Reports.

As well as finding that typical agricultural concentrations of neonicotinoids ruined the flies' ability to remember, the researchers also saw changes in the clock in the fly brain which controls its 24-hour cycle of day and night.

"Being able to tell time is important for knowing when to be awake and forage, and it looked like these drugged insects were unable to sleep. We know quality sleep is important for insects, just as it is for humans, for their health and forming lasting memories," said Dr James Hodge, Associate Professor in Neuroscience in the School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience and senior author for the study.

"Bees and flies have similar structures in their brains, and this suggests one reason why these drugs are so bad for bees is they stop the bees from sleeping properly and then being able to learn where food is in their environment, explained Dr Sean Rands, Senior Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences and co-author.

"Neonicotinoids are currently banned in the EU, and we hope that this continues in the UK as we leave EU legislation."

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Insecticide on flowers can stop bees and flies from getting sleep - THE WEEK

Physiology: What it takes to run a two-hour marathon – AW – Athletics Weekly

Study highlights the physiological demands linked to breaking the fabled barrier

Elite marathon runners need a specific blend of physiological traits to stand a chance of breaking two hours in the marathon, according to a study from the University of Exeter published in the Journal of Applied Physiology.

Eliud Kipchoge was one of the athletes tested by Andy Jones, professor of applied physiology at Exeter and the study author, along with 16 others who took part in the selection stage of the ambitious Nike Breaking2 project of 2017. Kipchoge was to record 1:59:40.2 in the INEOS 1:59 challenge after the trial had finished.

READ MORE: Eliud Kipchoge runs sub-two-hour marathon

Jones reported that a perfect balance of a high VO2 max (maximal oxygen uptake) and high lactate turn point (the percentage of someones VO2 max that can be sustained before anaerobic respiration, and fatigue, set in) were also necessary attributes of potential sub-two-hour runners.

His findings showed that a 59kg runner would need to take in about four litres of oxygen per minute (or 67ml per kg of weight per minute) to maintain two-hour marathon pace (21.1km/hr) meaning they take in oxygen during a marathon at double the speed a normal person of the same age would while sprinting flat out.

Some of the results particularly the VO2 max were not actually as high as we expected, Jones says. But these runners possess a perfect balance of characteristics for marathon performance.

Supreme efficiency of movement or an effective running action were also a requirement, to enable the body to use oxygen efficiently.

Of the athletes studied, 15 were from East Africa and, says Jones, seemed to know intuitively how to run just below their critical speed, close to the lactate turn point but never exceeding it.

Across the board, they displayed remarkable fatigue resistance.

Jones says: The requirements of a two-hour marathon have been extensively debated, but the actual physiological demands have never been reported before now.

This article was first published in the November 2020 edition of AW magazine, which is available to order online in print hereandread digitally here

See AW magazine each month for the latest performance news

For more on the latest athletics news, athletics events coverage and athletics updates, check out theAW homepageand our social media channels onTwitter,FacebookandInstagram

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Physiology: What it takes to run a two-hour marathon - AW - Athletics Weekly

Senior Lecturer in Physiology job with ULSTER UNIVERSITY | 242508 – Times Higher Education (THE)

Faculty of Life and Health SciencesSchool of MedicineSenior Lecturer in Physiology Salary 52,590 - 60,939 pa Closing date: 31 January 202Campus: Magee Ref 003402

As Northern Irelands civic University, Ulster is grounded in the heart of the community and strives to make a lasting contribution to society. Renowned for its world-class teaching, Ulster aims to transform lives, stretch minds and develop the skills required by a growing economy.

This is an exciting time for the University as we develop our new School of Medicine: our aim is to deliver Graduate Entry Medical Education as a means of widening access to medicine in Northern Ireland, seeking to produce doctors who are locally focussed, globally ambitious change agents who will work in and lead teams to improve the health of their patients and the wider community.

The creation of the new School offers a unique opportunity for the successful candidate to join a team of like-minded medical educators. The post is a key early appointment to the School allowing the successful applicant to play a pivotal part in shaping our educational delivery. We are seeking capable team players who are willing to explore new ways of delivery and who are enthused by the prospect of being involved in establishing a new School.

The successful candidate will work closely with the Foundation Dean and Director of Education to design, develop and deliver an imaginative and integrated approach to the learning of Physiology for medical students.

The focus of the School is educational excellence and, as such, will require partnership working with colleagues throughout the University and with a wide range of clinical stakeholders. The University has a global research profile to complement its strong educational achievements and maintenance of research activity is also supported and encouraged.

We prefer to issue and receive applications via our on-line recruitment website by clicking Apply.

Hard copy applications can be obtained by telephoning 028 7012 4072

The University is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applicants from all sections of the community, particularly from those with disabilities.Appointment will be made on merit.

Ulster University holds a Bronze Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advancing gender equality in higher education. Read more on our website https://www.ulster.ac.uk/peopleandculture/employee-benefits/equality-diversity/athena-swan. The University has a range of initiatives to support a family friendly working environment, including flexible working.

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Senior Lecturer in Physiology job with ULSTER UNIVERSITY | 242508 - Times Higher Education (THE)

Application of Nanotechnology in the COVID-19 Pandemic | IJN – Dove Medical Press

Dongki Yang

Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Gachon University, Incheon, 21999, South Korea

Correspondence: Dongki YangDepartment of Physiology, College of Medicine, Gachon University, Incheon 21999, South KoreaTel +82-32-899-6072Fax +82-32-899-6588Email dkyang@gachon.ac.kr

Abstract: COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection, has been prevalent worldwide for almost a year. In early 2000, there was an outbreak of SARS-CoV, and in early 2010, a similar dissemination of infection by MERS-CoV occurred. However, no clear explanation for the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and a massive increase in the number of infections has yet been proposed. The best solution to overcome this pandemic is the development of suitable and effective vaccines and therapeutics. Fortunately, for SARS-CoV-2, the genome sequence and protein structure have been published in a short period, making research and development for prevention and treatment relatively easy. In addition, intranasal drug delivery has proven to be an effective method of administration for treating viral lung diseases. In recent years, nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems have been applied to intranasal drug delivery to overcome various limitations that occur during mucosal administration, and advances have been made to the stage where effective drug delivery is possible. This review describes the accumulated knowledge of the previous SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV infections and aims to help understand the newly emerged SARS-CoV-2 infection. Furthermore, it elucidates the achievements in developing COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics to date through existing approaches. Finally, the applicable nanotechnology approach is described in detail, and vaccines and therapeutic drugs developed based on nanomedicine, which are currently undergoing clinical trials, have presented the potential to become innovative alternatives for overcoming COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, antiviral drug, vaccines, nanoparticles, nanotechnology

This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License.By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.

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Application of Nanotechnology in the COVID-19 Pandemic | IJN - Dove Medical Press

Conservation physiology and the COVID-19 pandemic – DocWire News

This article was originally published here

Conserv Physiol. 2021 Jan 12;9(1):coaa139. doi: 10.1093/conphys/coaa139. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health measures have had unanticipated effects on ecosystems and biodiversity. Conservation physiology and its mechanistic underpinnings are well positioned to generate robust data to inform the extent to which the Anthropause has benefited biodiversity through alterations in disturbance-, pollution- and climate change-related emissions. The conservation physiology toolbox includes sensitive biomarkers and tools that can be used both retroactively (e.g. to reconstruct stress in wildlife before, during and after lockdown measures) and proactively (e.g. future viral waves) to understand the physiological consequences of the pandemic. The pandemic has also created new risks to ecosystems and biodiversity through extensive use of various antimicrobial products (e.g. hand cleansers, sprays) and plastic medical waste. Conservation physiology can be used to identify regulatory thresholds for those products. Moreover, given that COVID-19 is zoonotic, there is also opportunity for conservation physiologists to work closely with experts in conservation medicine and human health on strategies that will reduce the likelihood of future pandemics (e.g. what conditions enable disease development and pathogen transfer) while embracing the One Health concept. The conservation physiology community has also been impacted directly by COVID-19 with interruptions in research, training and networking (e.g. conferences). Because this is a nascent discipline, it will be particularly important to support early career researchers and ensure that there are recruitment pathways for the next generation of conservation physiologists while creating a diverse and inclusive community. We remain hopeful for the future and in particular the ability of the conservation physiology community to deliver relevant, solutions-oriented science to guide decision makers particularly during the important post-COVID transition and economic recovery.

PMID:33469469 | PMC:PMC7805516 | DOI:10.1093/conphys/coaa139

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Conservation physiology and the COVID-19 pandemic - DocWire News

This Easy 7-Minute Workout Will Help You Burn Fat, Says Science | Eat This Not That – Eat This, Not That

In 2013, Chris Jordan, MS, CSCS, NSCA-CPT, ACSM EP-C/APT, an elite exercise physiologist with experience training armed forces who is currently the director of exercise physiology at the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute, created a simple bodyweight exercise routine that instantly took the fitness world by storm. It was called the "7-Minute Workout," and the instructional app containing variations of the routinecomplete with videos of Jordan himself offering stern instruction and demonstrationswiftly became one of the most-downloaded fitness apps on the market.

The 7-Minute workout preached the benefits of a type of training that was quickly gaining in popularity at the time: high-intensity interval training, or doing short bursts of really intense exercise split up by short periods of rest. Though the mechanics of HIIT were actually nothing newelite athletes have been doing several versions of it since the 1930sthe routine promised something truly incredible to busy, working Americans everywhere: Yes, you can get fitter fasterin less than 10 minutes!and you can do so in any basement or hotel room, using only the weight of your body, a wall, and perhaps a chair. Jordan published the compelling findings of his research on the benefits of the 7-Minute Workout in the American College of Sports Medicine's Health & Fitness Journal, and a phenomenon was born.

For anyone who has tried the 7-Minute Workout and may have found it too difficult to complete, Jordan just released a newer and "gentler" variation of it: The Standing 7-Minute Workout. The idea behind this new version, as Jordan explained to The New York Times, is to make the 7-Minute Workout more accessible to as many people as possible, including "my triathlete elder brother and my 82-year-old mother."

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In this version, as the name suggests, he eliminates all of the exercises that may cause strain on the person's body by having them drop to the floor, including more difficult moves such as planks, pushups, and crunches. "Like the original workout, the standing workout includes exercises for cardio fitness, the lower body, the upper body, and core musclesin that order," explains the Times. "Each exercise lasts just 30 seconds with just five seconds of rest in between. To get the most out of the workout, do each exercise at relatively high intensityabout a 7 or 8 on a scale of 1 to 10."

You can view a video of Jordan explaining and demonstrating the workout here.

If you have doubts that you can burn fat by exercising in such a short amount of time, Jordan has plenty of science to back him up. "When it comes to the immediate health benefits of this sort of high-intensity exercise, it's all about blood sugar," Timothy Church, Ph.D., a professor of preventive medicine at Louisiana State University, explained to Men's Journal. If you're jumping rope or running sprints, for example, your body instantly gets to processing your blood sugar, which aids in weight loss, and the stress on your muscles leads to greater conditioning. The benefits simply compound from there.

"As with other forms of exercise, when your muscles grow, they pull on your skeletal system, increasing your bone density," explains Men's Journal. "A lot of new research also shows that interval training triggers the release of macrophages and killer T cells, boosting the body's immune function for hours after your last pushup or pullup."

As your fitness grows, know that you can perform these exercises for longer periods of time than 7 minutesbut we're not talking about hours. Ten, 15, or 20 minutes is plenty of exercise, as LSU's Church told Men's Journal. After all, think of all of the weight lifters who do their sets, and then simply walk around the gym staring at the clock, their heads bobbing to music. "Most people are really doing hard work for only 15 to 20 minutes anyway," he said.

For more great weight loss advice, make sure you're aware of The One Workout That Drives 29 Percent More Fat Loss, According to Science.

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This Easy 7-Minute Workout Will Help You Burn Fat, Says Science | Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That