Membrane tension controls adhesion positioning at the leading edge of cells

Cell migration is dependent on adhesion dynamics and actin cytoskeleton remodeling at the leading edge. These events may be physically constrained by the plasma membrane. Here, we show that the mechanical signal produced by an increase in plasma membrane tension triggers the positioning of new rows of adhesions at the leading edge. During protrusion, as membrane tension increases, velocity slows, and the lamellipodium buckles upward in a myosin II-independent manner. The buckling occurs between the front of the lamellipodium, where nascent adhesions are positioned in rows, and the base of the lamellipodium, where a vinculin-dependent clutch couples actin to previously positioned adhesions. As membrane tension decreases, protrusion resumes and buckling disappears, until the next cycle. We propose that the mechanical signal of membrane tension exerts upstream control in mechanotransduction by periodically compressing and relaxing the lamellipodium, leading to the positioning of adhesions at the leading edge of cells

BUILDING BRIDGES FOR INNOVATION IN AGEING : SYNERGIES BETWEEN ACTION GROUPS OF THE EIP ON AHA

The Strategic Implementation Plan of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA) proposed six Action Groups. After almost three years of activity, many achievements have been obtained through commitments or collaborative work of the Action Groups. However, they have often worked in silos and, consequently, synergies between Action Groups have been proposed to strengthen the triple win of the EIP on AHA. The paper presents the methodology and current status of the Task Force on EIP on AHA synergies. Synergies are in line with the Action Groups' new Renovated Action Plan (2016-2018) to ensure that their future objectives are coherent and fully connected. The outcomes and impact of synergies are using the Monitoring and Assessment Framework for the EIP on AHA (MAFEIP). Eight proposals for synergies have been approved by the Task Force: Five cross-cutting synergies which can be used for all current and future synergies as they consider overarching domains (appropriate polypharmacy, citizen empowerment, teaching and coaching on AHA, deployment of synergies to EU regions, Responsible Research and Innovation), and three cross-cutting synergies focussing on current Action Group activities (falls, frailty, integrated care and chronic respiratory diseases).Peer reviewe

The Perseveration Syndrome in the Pilot's Activity: Guidelines and Cognitive Countermeasures

In this paper we present the Ghost project, an Airbus research program that aims at preventing aircrews from the perseveration syndrome. This particular behavior is known to summon up all the pilots' mental efforts toward a unique objective even if the latter is dangerous in terms of safety. The unification of cognitive psychology and neuropsychology theories tends to prove that such a behavior comes from an impairment in attention shifting mechanisms induced by stressing situations. Such an approach paves the way to design cognitive countermeasures dedicated to enhance the pilot's attention shifting capabilities. Two preliminary experiments are presented to test these hypotheses and concepts.Anglai

Deep System Knowledge Required: Revisiting UCD Contribution in the Design of Complex Command and Control Systems

Part 9: Design Principles for Safety/Critical SystemsInternational audienceCommand and control systems centralize information from multiple underlying systems to support operators in the performance of their mission. Beyond the mission itself (that may be complex), operators must also ensure the correct functioning of these systems (often called platform). Platform systems (e.g. engines or electric system) may be very different from each other and exhibit a large number of functional states. When applied to the design of command control systems, User Centered Design methods support understanding and capturing operators’ needs to perform the mission, as well as to propose solutions to design usable mission-related user interfaces. However, user interfaces for platform management need to present and organize information about the underlying complex systems. Understanding those systems and abstracting away information about their behavior (so that operators can manage them) requires deep knowledge beyond UI/UX designers and UCD methods experts. In this paper, we propose a system-centered process that would complement UCD approaches for the design of command and control systems. That process takes as input the detailed functioning of underlying systems and provides abstract and structured information to inform UCD methods. Beyond supporting usability property, the integrated process supports reliability and safety properties that UCD approaches usually overlook. We present how the proposed process has been applied for the design of a large civil commercial aircraft warning system and show generalizability to other domains