Sex differences in the maximal metabolic steady state of fitness matched women and men.

We tested the hypothesis that power at maximal metabolic steady state is similar between fitness matched men and women. Eighteen participants (9 men, 9 women) performed a cycling graded exercise test for maximal oxygen consumption (V̇O). Men and women were matched for V̇O normalized to fat free mass (FFM), which was 50.

Perivascular Adipose Tissue Remodels Only after Elevation of Blood Pressure in the Dahl SS Rat Fed a High-Fat Diet.

Introduction: Tunica media extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling is well understood to occur in response to elevated blood pressure, unlike the remodeling of other tunicas. We hypothesize that perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) is responsive to hypertension and remodels as a protective measure.

Methods: The adventitia and PVAT of the thoracic aorta were used in measuring ECM genes from 5 pairs of Dahl SS male rats on 8 or 24 weeks of feeding from weaning on a control (10% Kcal fat) or high-fat (HF; 60%) diet.

Chemerin is resident to vascular tunicas and contributes to vascular tone.

The adipokine chemerin may support blood pressure, evidenced by a fall in mean arterial pressure after whole body antisense oligonucleotide (ASO)-mediated knockdown of chemerin protein in rat models of normal and elevated blood pressure. Although the liver is the greatest contributor of circulating chemerin, liver-specific ASOs that abolished hepatic-derived chemerin did not change blood pressure. Thus, other sites must produce the chemerin that supports blood pressure.

Identification of maximal steady-state metabolic rate by the change in muscle oxygen saturation.

We tested the hypothesis that a %SmO (muscle O saturation) slope can distinguish the heavy-severe exercise domain boundary and the highest steady-state metabolic rate. Thirteen participants (5 women) performed a graded exercise test (GXT) to determine peak oxygen consumption (V̇o) and lactate turn point (LTP). On a separate study day, a %SmO zero-slope prediction trial included completing 5-min cycling bouts in an estimated heavy domain, at an estimated critical power, and in an estimated severe domain.

Development of a 5-HT receptor antibody for the rat: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Our laboratory has a vested interest in measuring the location and expression of the 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonin) 7 (5-HT) receptor in the rat. Determining tissue-specific receptor expression would aid in validating understood and potentially new tissues that support the 5-HT receptor-mediated fall in blood pressure, an event we are committed to understand. We contracted with 7TM Antibodies to develop deliberately and rigorously a rat 5-HT (r5-HT) receptor specific antibody.

PIEZO1 mechanoreceptor activation reduces adipogenesis in perivascular adipose tissue preadipocytes.

During hypertension, vascular remodeling allows the blood vessel to withstand mechanical forces induced by high blood pressure (BP). This process is well characterized in the media and intima layers of the vessel but not in the perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT). In PVAT, there is evidence for fibrosis development during hypertension; however, PVAT remodeling is poorly understood.

Is the 5-hydroxytryptamine 7 Receptor Constitutively Active in the Vasculature? A Study in Veins/Vein.

The 5-hydroxytryptamine 7 (5-HT 7 ) receptor is reported to have considerable constitutive activity when transfected into cells. Constitutive activity-receptor activity in the absence of known agonist-is important for understanding the contributions of a receptor to (patho)physiology. We test the hypothesis that the 5-HT 7 receptor possesses constitutive activity in a physiological situation.

Identification of Piezo1 channels in perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) and their potential role in vascular function.

The vasculature constantly experiences distension/pressure exerted by blood flow and responds to maintain homeostasis. We hypothesized that activation of the stretch sensitive, non-selective cation channel Piezo1 would directly increase vascular contraction in a way that might be modified by perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT). The presence and function of Piezo1 was investigated by RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, and isolated tissue bath contractility.

Blood pressure changes PVAT function and transcriptome: use of the mid-thoracic aorta coarcted rat.

Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) modifies the contractile function of the vessel it surrounds (outside-in signaling). Little work points to the vessel actively affecting its surrounding PVAT. We hypothesized that inside-out arterial signaling to PVAT would be evidenced by the response of PVAT to changes in tangential vascular wall stress.

Endogenous Chemerin from PVAT Amplifies Electrical Field-Stimulated Arterial Contraction: Use of the Chemerin Knockout Rat.

We previously reported that the adipokine chemerin, when added exogenously to the isolated rat mesenteric artery, amplified electrical field-stimulated (EFS) contraction. The Chemerin1 antagonist CCX832 alone inhibited EFS-induced contraction in tissues with but not without perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT). These data suggested indirectly that chemerin itself, presumably from the PVAT, facilitated EFS-induced contraction.

A New Function for Perivascular Adipose Tissue (PVAT): Assistance of Arterial Stress Relaxation.

In health, PVAT secretes anti-contractile factors that relax the underlying artery. PVAT's contributions to vascular function include more than production of vasoactive substances. We hypothesized that PVAT benefits the artery by assisting the function of stress (-induced) relaxation.

Different blood pressure responses in hypertensive rats following chemerin mRNA inhibition in dietary high fat compared to dietary high-salt conditions.

Chemerin is a contractile adipokine, produced in liver and fat, and removal of the protein by antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) lowers blood pressure in the normal Sprague Dawley rat. In humans, chemerin is positively associated with blood pressure and obesity so we hypothesized that in a model of hypertension derived from high-fat (HF) feeding, the chemerin ASO would reduce blood pressure more than a high-salt (HS) model. Male Dahl S rats were given a HF (60% kcal fat; age 3-24 wk) or HS diet (4% salt; age 20-24 wk to match age and blood pressure of HF animals).

Creation of the 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 7 knockout rat as a tool for cardiovascular research.

Using CRISPR-Cas9 technology, we created a 5-HT receptor global knockout (KO) rat, on a Sprague-Dawley background, for use in cardiovascular physiology studies focused on blood pressure regulation. A stable line carrying indels in exons 1 and 2 of the rat locus was established and validated. Surprisingly, 5-HT receptor mRNA was still present in the KO rat.

Respiratory physiologist training in Ireland.

Respiratory physiologists are part of a large multidisciplinary team. Their role is to investigate respiratory and sleep disorders through various diagnostic tools and methodologies. In Ireland, respiratory physiologists complete a 4-year Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in clinical measurement science.

Opportunities for early career members.

http://ow.ly/QFyb30b7iKq.

New ECMC members: Early Career Forum.

http://ow.ly/QmaL307Ykcx.

Early Career Members at the ERS International Congress London 2016: Early Career Forum.

http://ow.ly/tRYH305Owmz.

Opportunities for junior members at the ERS International Congress 2016.

http://ow.ly/uNDZ302hwFK.

LSC 2016: from system approaches in lung disease to getting the job you want.

Highlights of the Lung Science Conference 2016 http://ow.ly/4nsKG2.

Juniors' voice: Opportunities for ERS 'junior members in 2016.

Opportunities for ERS junior members in 2016 http://ow.ly/YC7ME.

The working practices and clinical experiences of paediatric speech and language therapists: a national UK survey.

Background: The majority of speech and language therapists (SLTs) work with children who have speech, language and communication needs. There is limited information about their working practices and clinical experience and their views of how changes to healthcare may impact upon their practice.

Aims: To investigate the working practices and professional experiences of paediatric SLTs working in the UK through an online survey.