Life Lines by Dr. Dolittle

Sponsored by the American Physiological Society

Physiology in Nebraska

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Continuing on our journey across the country…the University of Nebraska at Omaha hosted the Nebraska Physiological Society’s annual meeting on Saturday.

Image result for Timothy Musch

This year’s keynote speaker was Dr. Timothy Musch, University Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Kinesiology & Anatomy and Physiology at Kansas State University. Dr. Musch spoke about factors that regulate blood flow to skeletal muscle and how oxygen delivery to muscle changes with chronic heart failure.

Image result for Xuejun “XJ” Wang

Dr. Xuejun “XJ” Wang, Professor at the University of South Dakota-Sanford School of Medicine, was also a guest speaker. His talk was titled, “Pathophysiology of cardiac protein quality control.” Dr. Wang’s research focuses on heart disease and how the heart remodels itself with disease.

Here are just some of the poster presentations that caught my eye:

Ki-Dong Sung, graduate student at Pusan National University, presented research on The effects of a 12-week jump rope exercise program on abdominal adiposity, vasoactive substances, inflammation, and vascular function in prehypertensive adolescent girls.  The goal of the research project was to develop an easily accessible (and really fun!) exercise intervention to combat obesity in girls aged 14-16 who had prehypertension.

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Photo of common marmoset by Leszek Leszczynski, via Wikimedia Commons

Aaryn Mustoe, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Nebraska presented research examining the roles of dopamine and oxytocin in social deficits. Researchers have known that both hormones play roles in reward systems, alter social outcomes, and that oxytocin neurons can innervate dopamine neurons. The goal of this research is to create new ways to treat social deficit disorders by understanding how these hormones interact in cells expressing marmoset or human receptors for the hormones as variations are thought to contribute to species differences in social behavior and parenting.

V. Saraswathi, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System, presented research on alcoholic fatty liver disease and the development of a novel antioxidant that helped to repair some of the liver injury caused by alcohol.

Sarah L. Schlichte, graduate student at the University of Nebraska in Omaha, likewise presented research examining the use of an antioxidant for the treatment of hypertension.

Categories: Diet and Exercise, Illnesses and Injuries, Physiology on the Road

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