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Kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) is the most common and aggressive type of renal cell carcinoma. Due to high mortality rate, high metastasis rate and chemical resistance, the prognosis of KIRC patients is poor. Therefore, it is necessary to study the mechanisms of KIRC development and to develop more effective prognostic molecular biomarkers to help clinical patients. In our study, we used The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases to investigate that the expression of nuclear factor I B (NFIB) is significantly higher in KIRC than in adjacent tissues. Moreover, NFIB expression levels are associated with multiple clinical pathological parameters of KIRC, and KIRC patients with high NFIB expression have poor prognosis, suggesting that NFIB may play vital roles in the malignant development of KIRC. Further studies demonstrated that NFIB could promote the progression and metastasis of KIRC and participate in the regulation of PTEN induced kinase 1 (PINK1). Furthermore, we used chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) experiments to confirm that NFIB binds to the PINK1 promoter and regulates its expression at the transcriptional level. Further experiments also confirmed the important roles of PINK1 in promoting the development of tumors by NFIB. Hence, our data provide a new NFIB-mediated regulatory mechanism for the tumor progression of KIRC and suggest that NFIB can be applied as a new predictor and therapeutic target for KIRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we aim to investigate the effect of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF)-based rehabilitation for ankle plantar flexors spasticity by using a Robotic Ankle-foot Rehabilitation System (RARS). A modified robot-assisted system was proposed, and seven poststroke patients with hemiplegic spastic ankles participated in a 3-month robotic PNF training. Their impaired sides were used as the experimental group, while their unimpaired sides as the control group. A robotic intervention for the experimental group started from a 2-min passive stretching to warming-up or relaxing the soleus and gastrocnemius muscles and also ended with the same one. Then a PNF training session including 30 trials was activated between them. The rehabilitation trainings were carried out three times a week as an addition to their regular rehabilitation exercise. Passive range of motion, resistance torque, and stiffness were measured in both ankles before and after the interventions. The changes in Achilles tendon length, walking speed, and lower limb function were also evaluated by the same physician or physiotherapist for each participant. Biomechanical measurements before interventions showed significant difference between the experimental group and the control group due to ankle spasticity. For the control group, there was no significant difference in the 3 months with no robotic intervention. But for the experimental group, passive dorsiflexion range of motion increased (p < 0.01), resistance torque under different dorsiflexion angle levels (0°, 10°, and 20°) decreased (p < 0.05, p < 0.001, and p < 0.001, respectively), and quasi-static stiffness under different dorsiflexion angle levels (0°, 10°, and 20°) also decreased (p < 0.01, p < 0.001, and p < 0.001, respectively). Achilles's tendon length shortened (p < 0.01), while its thickness showed no significant change (p > 0.05). The robotic rehabilitation also improved the muscle strength (p < 0.01) and muscle control performance (p < 0.001). In addition, improvements were observed in clinical and functional measurements, such as Timed Up-and-Go (p < 0.05), normal walking speed (p > 0.05), and fast walking speed (p < 0.05). These results indicated that the PNFbased robotic intervention could significantly alleviate lower limb spasticity and improve the motor function in chronic stroke participant. The robotic system could potentially be used as an effective tool in poststroke rehabilitation training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Stroke is the leading cause of death and disability in rural China. For stroke patients residing in resourcelimited rural areas, secondary prevention and rehabilitation are largely unavailable, and where present, are far below evidence-based standards. Aim: This study aims to develop and implement a simplified stroke rehabilitation program that utilizes nurses and family caregivers for service delivery, and evaluate its feasibility and effectiveness in rural China. Methods and design: This 2-year randomized controlled trial is being conducted in 2-3 county hospitals located in northwest, northeast, and southwest China. Eligible and consenting stroke inpatients (200 in total) have been recruited and randomized into either a control or intervention group. Nurses in the county hospital are trained by rehabilitation specialists and in turn train the family caregivers in the intervention group. They also provide telephone follow-up care three times post discharge. The recruitment, baseline, intervention, follow-up care, and evaluation are guided by the RECOVER mobile phone app specifically designed for this study. Study outcome: The primary outcome is patients' Barthel Index (activities of daily living: mobility, self-care, and toileting) at 6 months. Process and economic evaluation will also be conducted. Discussion: The results of our study will generate initial high-quality evidence to improve stroke care in resourcescarce settings. If proven effective, this innovative care delivery model has the potential to improve the health and function of stroke patients, relieve caregiver burden, guide policy-making, and advance translational research in the field of stroke care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Material characteristics play an important role in tube hydroforming (THF). A method, based on digital image correlation (DIC) and reverse engineering (RE) technology, is proposed to determine the material parameters of a welded tube in hydroforming with a single tubular blank. The material parameters of the weld and parent metal are determined by applying membrane theory and the force equilibrium equations, as well as the deformation data which are obtained by DIC and RE technology in the THF process. Finite element simulations of welded THF are performed with these material parameters and the maximum bulge radii and axial profiles of the weld and parent the metal obtained from the simulations are compared with those obtained from the hydroforming experiments to verify the reliability of the proposed method. The results show that the material parameters of the weld are lower than those of the parent metal. With the material parameters adopted in FE simulation there is a good agreement between the simulation and the experiment as for the maximum bulge radii and axial profiles of the weld and parent metal. This verifies that the proposed method is acceptable for determining material parameters of a welded tube. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]