Eukaryotic initiation factor 6 regulates mechanical responses in endothelial cells.

The repertoire of extratranslational functions of components of the protein synthesis apparatus is expanding to include control of key cell signaling networks. However, very little is known about noncanonical functions of members of the protein synthesis machinery in regulating cellular mechanics. We demonstrate that the eukaryotic initiation factor 6 (eIF6) modulates cellular mechanobiology.

Compliance of the fish outflow tract is altered by thermal acclimation through connective tissue remodelling.

To protect the gill capillaries from high systolic pulse pressure, the fish heart contains a compliant non-contractile chamber called the bulbus arteriosus which is part of the outflow tract (OFT) which extends from the ventricle to the ventral aorta. Thermal acclimation alters the form and function of the fish atria and ventricle to ensure appropriate cardiac output at different temperatures, but its impact on the OFT is unknown. Here we used pressure-volume curves to demonstrate remodelling of passive stiffness in the rainbow trout () bulbus arteriosus following more than eight weeks of thermal acclimation to 5, 10 and 18°C.

The guidance receptor plexin D1 is a mechanosensor in endothelial cells.

Shear stress on arteries produced by blood flow is important for vascular development and homeostasis but can also initiate atherosclerosis. Endothelial cells that line the vasculature use molecular mechanosensors to directly detect shear stress profiles that will ultimately lead to atheroprotective or atherogenic responses. Plexins are key cell-surface receptors of the semaphorin family of cell-guidance signalling proteins and can regulate cellular patterning by modulating the cytoskeleton and focal adhesion structures.

The 2015 landslide and tsunami in Taan Fiord, Alaska.

Glacial retreat in recent decades has exposed unstable slopes and allowed deep water to extend beneath some of those slopes. Slope failure at the terminus of Tyndall Glacier on 17 October 2015 sent 180 million tons of rock into Taan Fiord, Alaska. The resulting tsunami reached elevations as high as 193 m, one of the highest tsunami runups ever documented worldwide.

Macro- and micromechanical remodelling in the fish atrium is associated with regulation of collagen 1 alpha 3 chain expression.

Numerous pathologies lead to remodelling of the mammalian ventricle, often associated with fibrosis. Recent work in fish has shown that fibrotic remodelling of the ventricle is 'reversible', changing seasonally as temperature-induced changes in blood viscosity alter haemodynamic load on the heart. The atrial response to varying haemodynamic load is less understood in mammals and completely unexplored in non-mammalian vertebrates.

Temperature-induced cardiac remodelling in fish.

Thermal acclimation causes the heart of some fish species to undergo significant remodelling. This includes changes in electrical activity, energy utilization and structural properties at the gross and molecular level of organization. The purpose of this Review is to summarize the current state of knowledge of temperature-induced structural remodelling in the fish ventricle across different levels of biological organization, and to examine how such changes result in the modification of the functional properties of the heart.

Cardiovascular function, compliance, and connective tissue remodeling in the turtle, Trachemys scripta, following thermal acclimation.

Low temperature directly alters cardiovascular physiology in freshwater turtles, causing bradycardia, arterial hypotension, and a reduction in systemic blood pressure. At the same time, blood viscosity and systemic resistance increase, as does sensitivity to cardiac preload (e.g.

The Dynamic Nature of Hypertrophic and Fibrotic Remodeling of the Fish Ventricle.

Chronic pressure or volume overload can cause the vertebrate heart to remodel. The hearts of fish remodel in response to seasonal temperature change. Here we focus on the passive properties of the fish heart.

Rainbow trout provide the first experimental evidence for adherence to a distinct Strouhal number during animal oscillatory propulsion.

The relationship between tail (or wing) beat frequency (f(tail)), amplitude (A) and forward velocity (U) in animals using oscillatory propulsion, when moving at a constant cruising speed, converges upon an optimum range of the Strouhal number (St = f(tail) · A/U). Previous work, based on observational data and supported by theory, shows St falling within the broad optimum range (0.2 View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Writing for publication: pressures, barriers and support strategies.

This paper details the increasing pressure that exists on academic and clinical staff to publish in the context of personal and professional development. Numerous barriers to writing for publication are considered along with suggested strategies for encouraging staff to work towards publication. Although the paper identifies a wealth of literature describing how to go about writing for publication, it is argued that this is of limited use in the support of individual authors, and that most authors learn academic writing skills through a process of trial and error.