“
“The objective of this study was to investigate the nature and biomechanical

properties of collagen fibers within the human myocardium. Targeting cardiac interstitial abnormalities will likely become a major focus of future preventative GSK2126458 nmr strategies with regard to the management of cardiac dysfunction. Current knowledge regarding the component structures of myocardial collagen networks is limited, further delineation of which will require application of more innovative technologies. We applied a novel methodology involving combined confocal laser scanning and atomic force microscopy to investigate myocardial collagen within ex-vivo right atrial tissue from 10 patients undergoing elective coronary bypass surgery. Immuno-fluorescent co-staining revealed discrete collagen land III fibers. During single fiber deformation, overall median values of stiffness recorded in collagen III were 37 +/- 16% lower than in collagen I [p<0.001]. On fiber retraction, collagen I exhibited greater degrees of elastic recoil [p<0.001; relative percentage increase in elastic recoil 7 +/- 3%] and less energy dissipation than collagen III [p<0.001; relative percentage increase in work recovered 7 +/- 2%]. In atrial biopsies taken

from patients in permanent atrial fibrillation (n = 5) versus sinus rhythm (n = 5), stiffness

of both collagen fiber subtypes was augmented (p<0.008). Myocardial fibrillar collagen GW786034 chemical structure fibers organize in a discrete manner and possess distinct biomechanical differences; specifically, collagen I fibers exhibit relatively higher stiffness, contrasting with higher susceptibility to plastic deformation and less energy efficiency on deformation with collagen III fibers. Augmented stiffness of both collagen PLX4032 in vitro fiber subtypes in tissue samples from patients with atrial fibrillation compared to those in sinus rhythm are consistent with recent published findings of increased collagen cross-linking in this setting. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Thexton AJ, Crompton AW, Owerkowicz T, German RZ. Impact of rhythmic oral activity on the timing of muscle activation in the swallow of the decerebrate pig. J Neurophysiol 101: 1386-1393, 2009. First published December 10, 2008; doi:10.1152/jn.90847.2008. The pharyngeal swallow can be elicited as an isolated event but, in normal animals, it occurs within the context of rhythmic tongue and jaw movement (RTJM). The response includes activation of the multifunctional geniohyoid muscle, which can either protract the hyoid or assist jaw opening; in conscious nonprimate mammals, two bursts of geniohyoid EMG activity (GHemg) occur in swallow cycles at times consistent with these two actions.