at Monash University

Job No. 561096 Faculty / Portfolio: Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences School of Biomedical Sciences Department of Physiology Location: Clayton campus Employment Type: Full-time Duration:12 month fixed-term appointment Remuneration: $64,563 - $74,160 pa HEW Level 05 (plus 9.5% employer superannuation)

Achieve at a world top 100 university

Clayton campus

If you're after a rewarding career, Monash University can help make it happen. With leading academics and world-class resources, combined with a ranking in the top 100 universities worldwide, we offer all you need to build a brighter future.

The Opportunity The Department of Physiology is seeking a highly motivated individual to join the research groups of two successful laboratories within the department. The selected candidate will assist with a variety of projects investigating the role of previously unlinked compounds on the metabolic status of mice.

You will be responsible for performing a range of researchrelated activities (including laboratory preparation, and operational and administrative duties) to support the delivery of in vivo physiology studies.

The role involves animal handling, monitoring and colony management; performing glucose tolerance tests, intraperitoneal / subcutaneous / intracerebroventricular injections, blood collection and sample processing; anaesthesia and implantation surgeries; and euthanasia and tissue harvest.

Ideally we are seeking a candidate who has completed a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Biomedical Science or equivalent degree, or someone who has substantial relevant skills and work experience leading to the development of practical expertise in metabolic research.

Enquiries Ms Lauren Kelly, Senior Project Manager, 03 9905 2377

Apply for this role.

If you apply for this position please say you saw it on The Conversation.

Monash University was established in 1958 and welcomed its first intake of students in 1961. In its fifty year history, the university has established itself as one of Australias finest tertiary institutions, building an enviable reputation for both its outstanding teaching and its transformative research. Today, Monash is Australias largest university, boasting a global network of more than 250,000 alumni.

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Research Assistant (Physiology) - The Conversation Job Board - The Conversation AU

Seattle, WA (April 5, 2017) Nuunand company, the leading sports drink brand in sports specialty and natural foods retail, is introducing Performance, the cleanest endurance drink mix formulated from science and rooted in nature, designed for sustained and intense activities. The nuun team partnered with world-renowned Exercise Physiologist and Sports Nutritionist Stacy T. Sims, PhD to use the latest understanding of how athletes systems react under stress, to create a hydration product that is lighter and yet more effective than what has been available. Pure ingredients and Non-GMO Project Verified sourcing contribute to the superior absorption and minimized gastric impact. Performance will be debuted at nuuns expo presence at the Boston Marathon April 13th 16th and Sea Otter Classic April 20th 23rd and will begin being served on course at events this summer.

We challenged ourselves to do what no other sports drink has done. The nuun team wanted to create a product that delivered superior performance withoutcompromising the pure sources that ultimately hydrate you, said Kevin Rutherford, nuun President and CEO. The reality is that we are not as smart as nature which is why thisproduct is the perfect blend of sports science and natural foods.

Performance is the only product to use multiple non-gmo sugar sources, dextrose and sucrose. The combination activates multiple absorption pathways and eliminates the build up of gastric distress. A fifth electrolyte, chloride, has also been added through potassium chloride given its rapid assimilation into the body. Chloride plays a key role in hydration at the cellular level and is needed for the absorption of fluid during prolonged activity.

I am very honored to partner with nuun to continue to evolve the sports drink industry, and Performance is a culmination of everything I have learned through my over 20 years of research in sport nutrition, added Stacy T. Sims PhD. The selection and purity of ingredient sourcing supports the latest research, and this line strategically maximizes fluid absorption and minimizes cellular stress in the digestive system during exercise.

Performance is formulated to work for your body with ingredients that are as close to nature as possible, compromising nothing, from the farm to the bottle. The flavoring is provided from dried fruit powder through an innovative process that maximizes the fruits bioavailability not requiring any fillers. It is also sourced with vegan cane sugar as opposed to the widely used conventional sugar that is processed through bone char. Demonstrating nuuns external commitment to sourcing purity, all ingredients are third party certified as Non-GMO Project Verified and Informed Choice Safe for Sport.

We learned from the latest nuun tablet formulas that using the purist sources of ingredients allows the body to process and utilize them more efficiently while limiting the amount of surplus within the product. shared Vishal Patel, nuun Chief Nutritionist. This methodology was applied to Performance creating a higher performing, lighter hydration powder than was previously available on the market.

Consumer preferences are changing amongst athletes and there is a movement across the country toward natural sports nutrition products for use during training and competition. Major events are reflecting this trend, shifting to plant-based, low sugar, electrolyte rich and environmentally friendly brands like nuun and away from artificial, high sugar products on course. Performance demonstrates nuuns commitment to the health conscious athlete and the race directors that are serving this significant population. The line will be served on course at nuun sponsored marathons and cycling events over the next year including Seattle to Portland, San Francisco Marathon, the Aids Lifecycle Ride, Long Beach Marathon, NYC Century, and Austin Marathon.

Nuun Performance is debuting with two flavors Mango Orange and Blueberry Strawberry. It will be sold in a 16-serving pouch for $19.99 and single serve sachets for $1.99. The line will be available in April across sports specialty retailers including REI, Performance Bike and Fleet Feet.

Aboutnuun & company nuun, based in Seattle, WA, is on a mission to inspire a healthier, happier, more active lifestyle so that everyone can achieve lifes next personal best. As the pioneer of electrolyte enhanced drink tablets, nuun is passionate about and committed to replenishing active people and our planet by using clean ingredients and practices in the great tasting and industry leading sports drink.Founded in 2004, nuun was the first to separate hydration from fueling, andtwelve years laternuun active hydration remains the #1 selling sport drink product in bike, run, outdoor specialty, and outdoor chain stores. To learn more, visit http://www.nuunlife.comor follow them on social media.

About Stacy Sims Dr. Stacy T. Sims has contributed to the environmental exercise physiology and sports nutrition fields for more than 15 years leading groundbreaking research and innovations throughout her academic and consulting career. Stacy is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Waikato Adams Centre for High Performance advancing research in environmental considerations and sex differences across elite athletes to the general public. Prior, Stacy created natural sports nutrition products to solve problems of gastrointestinal distress and hydration for all athletes. She served as an exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist at Stanford University, the University of Otago and Massey University specializing in sex differences of environmental and nutritional considerations for recovery and performance. Stacy has continually applied her knowledge in the field educating and supporting athletes at the highest level of sport, including Olympians and Tour de France riders, and is an elite athlete herself. Recently she published ROAR with Selene Yeager focusing on food and fitness matched to the female physiology.

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Nuun Debuts Natural Endurance Drink Mix Based on the Latest in ... - BevNET.com

The feminine mystique is not just figurativeit also extends to womens reproductive anatomy. For decades women were excluded from research studies, leading to a dearth of information about female physiology that is only just starting to be filled in. Some insights have come from research on tissue grown in standard petri dishes but these studies still cannot represent the intricacies of a womans menstrual cycle.

Now in a bioengineering first, researchers have created a miniature laboratory model of the entire female reproductive tract, complete with hormone signaling. This 3-D organ-on-a-chip system may improve our understanding of the causes of recurrent miscarriage and fuel new research into birth control and other drug development. The work may also inch medicine toward a future when fertility experts could simply grow a sample of an individual womans cells, place them in this chip system and determine the best treatment.

To model the female reproductive system, a team of researchers led by Northwestern Universitys Teresa Woodruff took lab-grown human and mouse cells from five organs and cultivated them in a network of interconnected cubes. The cubes were fed by tubes that allowed blood and hormones to flow through them, mimicking the fluids movement throughout the body. Valves and pumps also controlled the units pressure and airflow. This environment allowed cells that would normally die in a petri dishsuffocating amid their own cellular wasteto stay alive for a standard 28-day reproductive cycle.

After the researchers jump-started the systems hormonal communication with an injection of pituitary hormone, the cells secreted levels of estrogen and progesterone found in a typical menstrual cycle and the signaling that occurs between female reproductive organs. The team was also able to simulate hormone levels during ovulation as well as the early stages of pregnancy, creating a tool that could potentially yield insight into how to maintain successful pregnancies. The feats are described today in Nature Communications. This represents not only a revolution in cell culture technique [but also] an evolution of the study of the reproductive tract and disease, Woodruff says.

The menstrual-cycle-on-a-chip system includes mouse ovarian cells, along with human cells from the fallopian tube, endometrium and cervix obtained from hysterectomies. (Human ovarian cells were not available, but mouse ovarian cells produce the same hormones.) The system also includes human liver cells, included because that organ breaks down many drugs. The work builds on earlier efforts by Linda Griffith and colleagues at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, to develop a liver on a chip. The menstrual chip research team significantly expanded on that technology and those of many other groups to produce the current design for modeling reproductive cycles.

The new chip system is far from a perfect stand-in for female anatomy: Right now organs-on-a-chip cannot account for something like an early-life [toxic] exposure that might affect future reproductive health, says Kevin Osteen, a professor obstetrics and gynecology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine who was not involved in the study but works on other reproductive chip models. The new chip system also does not include the placenta, which is key to supporting pregnancy, nor does it factor in how inflammation due to a viral infection would affect reproductive organs. Still, Woodruff says, her system opens possibilities for studying a wide range of conditions, such as diseases of the cervix, which cannot be modeled in mice because their cervical cells are completely different from the human variety. She adds, This system will allow us to study infection in that organ in way we havent been able to do in the past.

See more here:
"Menstrual Cycle on a Chip" Offers a New Window into Female ... - Scientific American

Feline anatomyis an interesting and unique subject in the animal kingdom. Cats have extreme strength and agility for their size, along with heightened senses and the ability to reason. Their eyes are complex organs with keen eyesight and a broad range of hearing. Due to the intricate nature of a cats body and physiological properties, a delicate balance must be upheld with care. Cats are extremely resilient, but when the immune system or inner organs are affected by infection or disease, the outcome is often bleak.

Cat anatomy

The feline anatomy consists of many similarities to that of other species, namely the human body. A cat skeleton has a few more bones, but many of these are identical to those of the human skeleton. Uniquely, a cats collar bone is unattached to the other bone structures, and its muscular structure is designed for agility, allowing it to leap, twist and fall with grace. Cats have 30 teeth and claws that not only help with hunting and foraging, but assist the cat in maintaining balance, and scratching.

Cat digestive system

Since a cats dietin the wild consists primarily of the meat of other animals, the feline anatomy contains a digestive systemthat creates acids and enzymes appropriate for the breakdown of food and destruction of bacteria. A cats teeth also play a role in digestion by tearing sharply at meats and other substances. Much like other species, the salivary glands, esophagus, stomach, intestines, liver and kidneys work together to aid the digestive process.

Cat nervous system

A cats nervous systemis a unique part of the feline anatomy. Cats are born both blind and deaf, and these senses normally dont develop until about two weeks of age. The nervous system fully develops as the kitten ages, barring any trauma or infection that can hinder this process. The central nervous system is responsible for the brain and spinal cord messages, the peripheral nervous system affects muscles and movement, and the autonomic nervous system controls the involuntary functions of the body.

Cat reproductive system

The reproductive systemis the part of the feline anatomy thats responsible for mating, copulation, pregnancy and birth. Female cats, or queens, can produce 2 to 3 litters per year and can give birth to multiple kittens per pregnancy. Cats will usually not go into heat in the winter months, and spaying or neuter will not only prevent unwanted litters and strays, but can also make for a calmer and more relaxed house pet.

Feline behavior

A cats behaviouris usually evidenced by its stance or meow. Thebehaviouralaspects of the feline physiology lead us to believe thatitsa very intelligent animal. Cats have reasoning abilities, and express anger with certain posture, movements and sounds. The temperament of cats varies greatly and can swing from docile and laid back to finicky and aggressive, even pertaining to the same cat. A quick change in attitude or evidence of unexpected hiding or aggressive behavior can indicate a problem. Cats dont react well under stressful conditions and an examination may prove helpful in this case.by Dr Ruan Du Toit Bester

Hope this info helps with understanding cats moreTill next week

Ask the Vet:Royal Veterinary CentreTel: +853 28501099, +853 28523678Emergency: +853 66776611Email: info@rvcmacau.com

Dr Ruan

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Ask the Vet | Studying Feline Anatomy and Physiology - Macau Daily Times

Editors note: We are delighted to welcome Dr. Anderson as a new contributor to Evolution News.

I am an anesthesiologist in South Africa. As in the United States, physicians in South African must pass certifying examinations to qualify as anesthesiologists, and I am an examiner for the Faculty of Anaesthesiologists of the College of Medicine of South Africa.

A while back I was sitting across from a candidate who had been studying hard for his oral certifying exam in anesthesiology. He had already passed his exams in medicine and had been a physician for five years. His internship (called a housemanship in South Africa) was complete; he had finished a year of national community service (required of physicians in South Africa); and he had spent a year gaining experience in ear, nose, and throat surgery before deciding that he wanted to pursue a career in anesthesiology. He had already passed the difficult written exams for his specialization and was waiting to be invited to the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine in Durban to face his oral examiners.

My goal was to help him prepare for the exam by giving him practice orals and tips on how to do well in such a situation. I tried to make the practice exercise as close to the real thing as possible. Even though he knew that our exercise was not for marks and had no bearing on his future career, he was feeling nervous and under pressure to pass.

I asked him about the transport of oxygen in the body, and I concentrated on the features of the hemoglobin molecule that make it well suited for the role it plays. Specifically, the hemoglobin molecule has an increased affinity for oxygen (O2) in the alveoli of the lung, where the O2 level is high. But it has a decreased affinity for O2 in the capillaries of the peripheral tissues, where the O2 is low and the high level of carbon dioxide (CO2) makes the tissues more acidic. (This is called the Bohr effect, after Danish physiologist Christian Bohr.) So hemoglobin releases O2 at precisely the point where it has the shortest path to diffuse from the blood to the mitochondria of the cells.

By a different mechanism, hemoglobin in the peripheral capillaries binds to CO2. This converts the molecule to carbaminohemoglobin, which has a low affinity for O2. In the alveolar capillaries of the lung, where the level of CO2 is low and the level of O2 is high, carbaminohemoglobin releases its CO2 and reverts to hemoglobin, with its high affinity for O2. (This is called the Haldane effect, after Scottish physiologist John Haldane.)

We are able to plot an Oxyhemoglobin Saturation curve comparing the degree of oxygen saturation of hemoglobin to the level of oxygen in the blood. Under conditions in the lung represented by the green curve (high O2, low CO2) hemoglobin takes up oxygen more readily; under conditions represented by the red curve in the peripheral tissues (low O2, high CO2), hemoglobin takes up oxygen less readily

The candidate I was questioning tied himself up in knots trying to remember and explain what factors shift the curve left and what factors shift it right. He had been taught that hemoglobin had evolved by randomly mutating genes and that this amazing molecule was undesigned. But if he had taken a design perspective in physiology, he would have thought, If I were to design a molecule to do this job, what properties would it have? He would have known that a designed molecule would have greater affinity for oxygen in a milieu where it is most advantageous for the body to extract oxygen from its surroundings, and decreased affinity in a milieu where it is most advantageous for the body to receive oxygen, despite there being no advantage to the molecule itself. From a design perspective, it would be common sense to know what would shift the curve left or right.

The candidate was not unintelligent; quite the contrary. Its just that the Darwinian evolution he was taught was like a millstone holding him back, whereas an understanding of intelligent design would have freed him to embrace physiology for all it is worth. Hemoglobin is only one molecule, and its changing affinity for oxygen relative to its position in the body is only one aspect of it. Name any organ, structure, enzyme, or function of the body, and I will happily explain its design features.

The progress of my career from wide-eyed and nervous first year medical student to head of an anesthesiology department and examiner for the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa was at no point aided by an understanding of Darwinian evolution, even though I was taught it and was first in my university class in biology. And my understanding of Darwinian evolution has not in any way benefited the manner in which I treat patients. Quite the opposite!

Every year, when I give the annual opening address at our hospital when welcoming new graduates and senior medical officers, I point out that it is only when you understand the human body as the pinnacle of design that you can truly care for patients.

Studying the Darwinian theory of evolution at medical school may align the beliefs of medical students with those of their colleagues in the biology department, but it in no way benefits them as physicians or helps them practice medicine. On the contrary, as the candidate I was helping illustrates, a lack of understanding of design in physiology may hinder their performance. A student happy to embrace design will have one less mental hurdle to overcome.

Images: Top: Anesthesiologist, U.S. Navy photo, by Photographers Mate 2nd Class Jeffrey Russell [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons; lower: oxyhaemoglobin dissociation curve, by Ratznium [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

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Why Understanding Intelligent Design Helps Us to Understand Physiology - Discovery Institute

By Russ Daly Professor, SDSU Extension Veterinarian, State Public Health Veterinarian

The routine calving check is one of the most important tasks on the list of beef cattle producers during calving season.

Most producers have their own plan for how often they give their calving herd the once-over, but some may have not considered how their animals physiology should guide this schedule.

Incredible advances in technology have made it easier for producers to perform calving checks.

Wireless cameras in the calving barn mean producers can monitor cows and heifers without leaving the warmth of the house.

Devices strapped to the back end of cows can send an alert to a smartphone when the calving process commences, and drones can even be used to check up on cattle in remote areas.

Labor stages and calving: Significant events

While how cattle producers check their animals may have changed rapidly in recent years what they are watching for the stages of labor and calving have not changed.

The normal progression of labor should guide how often cattle producers walk out to the calving pen, or whip out the smartphone for a look.

Of course, the most optimal frequency of observation occurs when people dont miss events too important to miss.

Some examples are:

Cows or heifers spending too much time in Stage I labor (the preparatory stage of labor). This varies greatly among cattle based on their parity, but will normally last two-to-six hours.

Stage I labor lasting more than eight hours means a greater chance the calf will be stillborn or oxygen deprived at birth.

Cows or heifers spending too much time in or giving up on Stage II labor (the delivery stage).

Once the delivery phase begins, steady progress should be made, culminating in a live calf somewhere between 30 minutes and two hours after it commences.

Signs of distress in a calf during labor, such as a swollen tongue or signs of an abnormal (backwards, breech, etc.) birth.

A live-born calf that needs timely help starting to breathe, nurse or to be protected from cold, wet conditions.

How often should you check in?

A common rule of thumb is that cows and heifers should be checked every three hours.

Comparing this to the information above, however, would indicate that should be sufficient to determine whether a cow has been messing around (stage I labor) too long, but maybe not long enough to determine whether a cow has been in the delivery phase (stage II labor) for two hours.

Many cattle producers check their calving areas less frequently than every three hours on average. This is often a compromise among labor, time and the risk of losing a calf.

Most producers also realize, however, that certain factors can result in a group needing more or less frequent observation, such as:

First-calf heifers: More frequent checking vs. older cows.

How many cows are calving: More calving means more frequent checking.

Previous indications of dystocia problems: bigger calves than expected means more frequent checking.

Weather: cold wet weather means more frequent checking, in order to assist calves after birth.

The bottom line

All beef cattle producers want to maximize the number of live calves born. Offering timely assistance to cows and heifers having problems, and providing prompt attention to newborns are some of the ways this can be done during the calving season.

As such, erring on the side of checking calving areas more often rather than less often can be a good idea.

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Let cows' physiology guide calving check schedule - Farm Forum

Returning to their own backyard again this year, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) 2017 Scientific Sessions kick off next Friday with high hopes of giving the world some headlines to compete with other news coming out of the nations capital. Among the hot-ticket items on this years roster are a large, cardiovascular outcomes trial for a market-approved PCSK9 inhibitor, a randomized comparison of a non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC) against aspirin in acute coronary syndromes, and 2-year outcomes from ABSORB III, the pivotal randomized trial that led to US approval of the first bioresorbable scaffold in 2016.

According to the ACC 2017 program chairs, who spoke with media via a telebriefing last week, this years conference attracted over 2,600 abstracts, of which 114 were late-breaking clinical trial (LBCT) submissions. A full 23 of these were selected as late breakers, and an additional 17 submissions are grouped in the featured clinical research sessions. There are a total of five LBCT sessions and three featured clinical research sessions distributed throughout the 3-day congress, which runs from Friday, March 17, through Sunday, March 19.

Were incredibly excited about this upcoming meeting, Jeffrey Kuvin, MD (Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Manchester, NH), enthused during the telebriefing. Were confident there will be numerous practice-changing science presentations.

Chief among those is shaping up to be FOURIER, the 27,500-patient cardiovascular outcomes trial testing the PCSK9 inhibitor evolocumab on top of statin therapy against statins alone for the prevention of cardiovascular death, nonfatal MI, nonfatal stroke, hospitalization for angina, or coronary revascularization. As previously reported by TCTMD, the company announced in February that the trial had met its primary and secondary endpoints, but full details on those will be released in the opening LBCT session at ACC.

This is undoubtedly going to be a widely noted study and has the potential to be truly game changing, Kuvin said

Fleshing out Fridays opening LBCT session are the SPIRE I and II results looking at cardiovascular outcomes with a second PCSK9 inhibitor, bococizumab. These trials were stopped early in late 2016 after trial monitors noticed an unanticipated attenuation of LDL cholesterol lowering over time combined with an increase in immunogenicity and injection-site reactions.

The third trial in what the ACC has dubbed its opening showcase is SURTAVI, the pivotal trial testing the CoreValve transcatheter valve (Medtronic) in intermediate-risk patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis. The trial, which was initially launched outside the United States and then extended to include US patients, is anticipated to pave the way for an expanded US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved indication later this year.

Day two of ACC 2017 includes two LBCT sessions, the first of which is jointly hosted by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and the Journal of the American Medical Association.

During the telebriefing, Kuvin highlighted EBBINGHAUS, a cognitive function substudy from FOURIER, as well as two NOAC studies in that session. The first of these, EINSTEIN CHOICE, is looking at rivaroxaban versus aspirin for extended treatment of venous thromboembolism, while the second, GEMINI-ACS-1, is comparing rivaroxaban and aspirin on top of P2Y12 inhibition for patients post-ACS.

ACC 2017 Vice Chair Andrew Kates, MD (Washington University in St. Louis, MO), also speaking on the media telebriefing, took over from Kuvin to list some of the highlights of the remaining two LBCT sessions. Topping Kates list was ABSORB III. When the primary results of the study were released in 2015, the Absorb BVS (Abbott Vascular) was noninferior to DES at 1 year, Kates noted, adding that severalbut not allstudies have pointed to an increased rate of scaffold thrombosis with the bioresorbable device after 1 year. What were excited about at ACC 17 is well be hearing the interval data between years 1 and 2 [as well as the] the 2-year data in this session, Kates said, adding, Certainly its going to be important data that were looking forward to hearing.

Kates highlighted a number of other key trials throughout the program. These included LEVO-CTS looking at the use of levosimendan in patients with LV systolic dysfunction undergoing cardiovascular surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass, part of Sundays LBCT IV session co-hosted by JACC and the New England Journal of Medicine. Also in LBCT IV, Kates noted, is a trial testing a cerebral protection device during cardiac surgery.

While using embolic protection devices is safe and does capture embolic material, Kates said, its really not clear whether these devices really do anything to prevent strokes, or if they may reduce cognitive decline after surgery. This is certainly a very important topic that we all care about.

Finally, from LBCT V, Kates highlighted two heart rhythm studies, RE-CIRCUIT and ARISTOTLE. The first is looking at a relatively new drug, dabigatran (Pradaxa, Boehringer Ingelheim), used without interruption during ablation for atrial fibrillation. The second is looking at an old drug, digoxin, in A-fib patients with and without heart failure.

For Interventionalists: TAVR and FFR/iFR

Interventionalists attending ACC 2017 will find plenty of other late breakers relevant to their subspecialty. Updates from transcatheter valve studies are dotted throughout the LBCT and featured clinical research sessions, including, in LBCT IV, an MRI analysis of microbleeds during TAVR and two studies looking at subclinical leaflet thrombosis in surgical and transcatheter valve prostheses. Saturdays featured clinical research session is focused on interventions and comparisons of SAVR and TAVR; transcatheter valve replacement for native versus failed surgical bioprostheses; and TAVR for bicuspid versus tricuspid valve disease. The same session also has a presentation addressing 1-year outcomes with the MitraClip (Abbott) in the US following FDA approval.

Coronary disease is also front and center, particularly in LBCT IV. This session includes a trial of culprit lesion versus complete revascularization in STEMI, plus two randomized trials of fractional flow reserve (FFR) versus instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR): DEFINE-FLAIR and iFR-SWEDEHEART. These two large CV outcomes trials will determine how the physiologic information provided by iFR compares with the usefulness of FFR in guiding treatment.

Research and Practice

Beyond the late breakers and featured research, this years ACC has11 learning pathways including one on special topics spanning everything from malpractice minefields to public reporting. There are also seven keynote lectures, including one by Janet S. Wright, MD, executive director of the joint Centers for Disease Control/Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Million Hearts initiative, now perilously close to its deadline of preventing 1 million heart attacks and strokes by the end of 2017. Another keynote will be delivered by NEJM Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Drazen, MD, speaking on data sharing in clinical trials. Drazen famously penned a controversial editorial in the journal poking holes in the Open Data proposal set forth in draft form by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors and referring to the risk of research parasites, a position he revised in a second editorial days later.

The entire TCTMD editorial teamCaitlin Cox, Yael Maxwell, Laura McKeown, Todd Neale, Michael ORiordan, and me, Shelley Wood, will be on the ground at ACC 2017. Follow us on Twitter for breaking news and find our in-depth stories on our conference coverage page.

Read more:
ACC 2017: CVD Outcomes for Evolocumab, Intermediate-Risk TAVR, Coronary Physiology Tests, and More - TCTMD

McGill University is the worlds third-best university for the study of Anatomy & Physiology, behind only the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, according to the 2017 QS World University Rankings by Subject.

The seventh edition of QS Quacquarelli Symondss analysis of subject-specific university performance, released today, lists the worlds best universities for the study of 46 different subjects. Anatomy & Physiology is one of four new subject categories introduced in this years listing.

We are extremely pleased to rank among the worlds top three universities in the study of anatomy and physiology, said David Eidelman, Vice-Principal of Health Affairs and Dean of Medicine at McGill. This is a direct outcome of the quality of our academics and staff in these departments, who I congratulate for their stellar and hard work on behalf of our students. I am also gratified to see McGills rankings rise this year in the medicine and pharmacology categories.

McGills ranking in the Medicine subject category rose to 22nd this year from 27th in 2016. In Pharmacology, McGill moved up to the 31st spot from 37th a year ago.

Another standout performance came in the Engineering Mineral and Mining category, with McGill rising to a tie for sixth place globally this year from 13th place last year. We are very proud to be ranked so highly along with our counterparts in other Canadian institutions, said Jim Nicell, McGills Dean of Engineering. The mining industry is an essential part of the economy of Canada, so we must always do our best to stay at the forefront in our teaching and research in support of this sector.

More broadly, McGill is listed this year in the top 50 in 7 of 10 subjects in Arts & Humanities, 3 of 6 subjects in Engineering & Technology, 7 of 9 in Life Sciences & Medicine, 6 of 7 in Natural Sciences, and 9 of 14 in Social Sciences & Management.

The full QS World University Rankings by Subject tables can be foundhere. The full methodology can be foundhere.

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McGill ranked world's 3rd best university for study of Anatomy & Physiology - McGill Newsroom

CARDIAC physiologists carry out a range of investigations for people with potential, or known, heart problems.

Their work includes performing electrocardiograms (ECGs), putting people on treadmills to evaluate their hearts response to exercise, performing cardiac ultrasound scans, checking and programming implanted pacemakers and implantable defibrillators, and monitoring the blood pressure and heart rhythm while stents are fitted in the cardiac catheter lab.

Claire Murray, a cardiac physiologist at Salisbury District Hospital, said: We are involved with any investigation relating to your heart. We see everybody from babies to the elderly if patients have a problem with their heart, we are involved in their care.

Cardiac physiology is one of more than 20 healthcare sciences. They involve the life sciences such as microbiology, histology and genetics, the physical sciences like medical engineering, medical physics and nuclear medicine and then the physiological sciences with people going into audiology and neurophysiology, Claire says.

Cardiac physiology is very patient-focused, which is what appealed to me.

Some of the other healthcare sciences are much more in the lab or using physics.

Cardiology is always changing theres a lot of investment into cardiac health care and theres always research going on and new developments.

We use a lot of technology and equipment and there is always something to learn which I really enjoy.

You get that feeling of really making a difference if someone comes in with a heart rate of 20 and has a pacemaker fitted, theyre instantly better. Thats so satisfying.

Procedures generally take between 10 minutes and half an hour with a cardiac physiologist writing up a report after analysing results. We are quite autonomous in our working, Claire says. For example, after doing an ultrasound, we would create a technical report on what we have found which goes back to the clinician whos asked us to do it and they will then prescribe medication or further procedures.

The most common route into cardiac physiology is a BSc in clinical physiology. Once complete, you are a healthcare science practitioner, becoming a scientist after completing the three-year Scientist Training Programme (STP).

People are educated to different levels within the scientific banner people have come in with degrees in medical engineering or microbiology, a lot of people have masters or PhDs, Claire says.

As healthcare scientists our careers have come across quite convoluted paths to get to where we are currently in the healthcare science programme.

Today, everyone will be doing science and maths as A-levels but after that point it can be very split. A lot of our scientist programmes are done as part of a national recruitment process to train people.

Previously, as a trainee cardiac physiologist, you would be employed by a hospital and do your training over four years which involved being hospital-based and going to university on block release but now you come out of university with qualifications and then look for a job.

Claires own route into the profession involved going straight from GCSEs into a two-year regional training programme.

I started in 1990, she said. The first eight months was spent in audiology, neurophysiology, respiratory physiology and cardiology. After that I chose which one and as I just loved cardiology, I spent the rest of the two years on that, doing a BTEC in medical physics and physiological measurements.

Claire has been at SDH for 15 years and is one of 12 cardiac physiologists. For any students considering a career in cardiac physiology, you have to be of scientific mind and enjoy the sciences, she says.

Its important to like working with people, you need to be prepared to talk to anybody, have excellent communication skills as we often have to explain complicated information to our patients or their carers, and have an interest in technology because everything we do is with medical equipment.

Its also about being able to keep calm in stressful situations and work as a team.

From a practical aspect, we dont tend to work shifts, although some of our role includes being on call from home, so it is very appealing from that point of view.

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Behind the scenes of cardiac physiology at Salisbury District Hospital - Salisbury Journal

What happens in your brain when you tell a joke? Well, that appears to depend on whether you do that for a living.

Researchers in USCs Image Understanding Laboratory studied professional improvisation comedians many from the Los Angeles Groundlings comedy troupe and amateur comics in the act of coming up with a quip. Their aim: Gain a better understanding of the neural correlates of humor creativity that is, see how the brains physiology changes when a person tries to be funny.

For the study, both pro and amateur comedians, as well as a control group of non-comedians, viewed New Yorker cartoons without words and were asked to come up with two captions for them one funny and one mundane.

Participants were scanned by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machines to track their brain activity as they created the captions. Each comic scanned and an outside panel of participants rated each of the captions for humor.

The results showed that two regions of the brain were activated when the participants came up with jokes the medial prefrontal cortex and the temporal association regions. However, the regions activated were different depending on the persons level of expertise.

What we found is that the more experienced someone is at doing comedy, the more activation we saw in the temporal lobe, said USC doctoral student Ori Amir, who led the study with Irving Biederman, professor of psychology and computer science. The temporal lobe receives sensory information and is the region of the brain key to comprehending speech and visual cognition. Its also where abstract information, semantic information and remote associations meaningfully converge.

In contrast, the amateur comedians and non-comedians relied on their prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for executive functions like planning complex cognitive behavior and decision-making.

The professional improv comedians let their free associations give them solutions, Biederman said.

To put it another way, The more experience you have doing comedy, the less you need to engage in the top-down control and the more you rely on your spontaneous associations, Amir said.

The researchers also found that funniness ratings were higher for captions created while the participants had higher activity in the temporal regions of their brain during humor creation.

Amir noted that across different studies that seek to understand the neural correlates of creativity in the brain, the medial prefrontal cortex is the one region consistently connected to creativity.

The question is what does it do exactly? It seems like its not the source of creativity, but rather the cognitive control top-down director of the creative process, he said. The creativity itself appears to occur elsewhere depending on the creative task.

In the past, scientists have studied the neural correlates of creativity with tasks such as writing a poem, improvising jazz or drawing a picture, but humor offered Amir and Biederman a unique pathway to study how the brain processes creation.

Humor is an outstanding testbed for studying creativity, Biederman said. It has a clear beginning, middle and end with a duration brief enough for neuroimaging. Also, the end product is easy to evaluate: Does it make you laugh? When someone creates an original composition or a poem, assessing the quality is not as clear-cut.

The study builds on the research from Biedermans Image Understanding Laboratory, which studies the cortical basis of high-level visual recognition. The same temporal lobe regions that show high activation from humor are also activated by the aesthetic experience of appreciating a magnificent vista, for instance.

Biederman noted that the activation, and hence the pleasure, is greatly reduced by the repetition of any experience. The thrill is gone the second time we hear the joke, read the book or see a movie. Thus the pleasure isnt an end in and of itself, but it is what drives us to continually seek new and richly interpretable experiences. This then renders us, as Biederman has termed it, infovores, meaning humans are hardwired to crave new information and experiences.

Biederman holds the Harold Dornsife Chair in Neurosciences at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Amir is now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Their findings were published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

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How being funny changes your brain - USC News