The skeletal muscle is a highly plastic tissue, namely, capable of adapting to adverse conditions. In nature, this intrinsic adaptive feature is crucial and ensures the survival of many species once a vast number of environmental impositions (e.g., contractile activity and mechanic overload) can be overcome by means of adaptive responses from the muscles. There are two main changes promoted by mechanical stimulation upon the skeletal muscle: (1) remodeling (namely, adaptation that induces changes in the muscle mass/volume); (2) alterations in the molecular engine of the muscle fiber, for example, phenotypical changes in myosin isoforms expression and important constituents of the skeletal muscle; (3) cellular and molecular adaptations leading to intracellular changes in specific aspects of muscle fiber, for example, mechanotransduction, expression of growth factors, and satellite cells activation. Taken together, these changes allow the muscle to adapt its contractile properties so that both power and strength are incremented.

With this information in mind, we invite investigators to submit relevant original papers as well as review articles that synthesize current knowledge or provide new data in the following issues. Potential topics inculde, but are not limited to:

• Effects of nutrients on skeletal muscle form and function
• Mechanical stimuli or exercise-induced adaptations or absence of stimuli in skeletal muscle
• Skeletal muscle repair and regeneration
• Muscular diseases
• Role of hormones, growth factors, and/or cytokines in muscle adaptations
• Muscle stem cells

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/tswj/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/submit/journals/tswj/physiology/musc/ according to the following timetable: