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### IntechOpen Book Series Physiology Volume 25

### Aims and Scope of the Series

Modern physiology requires a comprehensive understanding of the integration of tissues and organs throughout the mammalian body, including the cooperation between structure and function at the cellular and molecular levels governed by gene and protein expression. While a daunting task, learning is facilitated by identifying common and effective signaling pathways mediated by a variety of factors employed by nature to preserve and sustain homeostatic life. As a leading example, the cellular interaction between intracellular concentration of Ca+2 increases, and changes in plasma membrane potential is integral for coordinating blood flow, governing the exocytosis of neurotransmitters, and modulating gene expression and cell effector secretory functions. Furthermore, in this manner, understanding the systemic interaction between the cardiovascular and nervous systems has become more important than ever as human populations' life prolongation, aging and mechanisms of cellular oxidative signaling are utilised for sustaining life. Altogether, physiological research enables our identification of distinct and precise points of transition from health to the development of multimorbidity throughout the inevitable aging disorders (e.g., diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, heart failure, peptic ulcer, inflammatory bowel disease, age-related macular degeneration, cancer). With consideration of all organ systems (e.g., brain, heart, lung, gut, skeletal and smooth muscle, liver, pancreas, kidney, eye) and the interactions thereof, this Physiology Series will address the goals of resolving (1) Aging physiology and chronic disease progression (2) Examination of key cellular pathways as they relate to calcium, oxidative stress, and electrical signaling, and (3) how changes in plasma membrane produced by lipid peroxidation products can affect aging physiology, covering new research in the area of cell, human, plant and animal physiology.

## Meet the Series Editor

Prof. Dr. Thomas Brzozowski works as a professor of Human Physiology and is currently a Chairman at the Department of Physiology and is V-Dean of the Medical Faculty at Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow, Poland. His primary area of interest is physiology and pathophysiology of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, with a major focus on the mechanism of GI mucosal defense, protection, and ulcer healing. He was a postdoctoral NIH fellow

at the University of California and the Gastroenterology VA Medical Center, Irvine, Long Beach, CA, USA, and at the Gastroenterology Clinics Erlangen-Nuremberg and Munster in Germany. He has published 290 original articles in some of the most prestigious scientific journals and seven book chapters on the pathophysiology of the GI tract, gastroprotection, ulcer healing, drug therapy of peptic ulcers, hormonal regulation of the gut, and inflammatory bowel disease.

## Meet the Volume Editors

Dr. Akkinapally Venketeshwer Rao, Professor Emeritus, Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, is an expert in diet and health. His research has focused on the role of oxidative stress and antioxidant phytochemicals in the causation and prevention of chronic diseases, with particular emphasis on the role of carotenoids and polyphenols. His research interest also includes the role of prebiotics and probiotics

in human health. He has more than 100 publications in scientific journals and several books and book chapters to his credit. He has had a distinguished academic career spanning more than 45 years. Dr. Rao is popularly sought after by the international media to express his opinions about nutrition and health.

Dr. Leticia Rao is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto, Ontario, former Director of the Calcium Research Laboratory, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, and former staff scientist at St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario. Her expertise is in bone cell biology with a focus on preventing osteoporosis by studying bone cells in the laboratory and carrying out basic and clinical studies of drugs, nutritional supplements, and phyto-

nutrients, including carotenoids and polyphenols, in postmenopausal women. Her research has been presented at national and international conferences and symposia and published extensively in peer-reviewed scientific journals. She co-authored *The Bone-Building* book. She has also edited eight books on nutrition and health. She has presented her research at several international organizations.

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