The use of body weight support on ground level: an alternative strategy for gait training of individuals with stroke

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Body weight support (BWS) systems on treadmill have been proposed as a strategy for gait training of subjects with stroke. Considering that ground level is the most common locomotion surface and that there is little information about individuals with stroke walking with BWS on ground level, it is important to investigate the use of BWS on ground level in these individuals as a possible alternative strategy for gait training.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Thirteen individuals with chronic stroke (four women and nine men; mean age 54.46 years) were videotaped walking on ground level in three experimental conditions: with no harness, with harness bearing full body weight, and with harness bearing 30% of full body weight. Measurements were recorded for mean walking speed, cadence, stride length, stride speed, durations of initial and terminal double stance, single limb support, swing period, and range of motion of ankle, knee, and hip joints; and foot, shank, thigh, and trunk segments.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The use of BWS system leads to changes in stride length and speed, but not in stance and swing period duration. Only the hip joint was influenced by the BWS system in the 30% BWS condition. Shank and thigh segments presented less range of motion in the 30% BWS condition than in the other conditions, and the trunk was held straighter in the 30% BWS condition than in the other conditions.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Individuals with stroke using BWS system on ground level walked slower and with shorter stride length than with no harness. BWS also led to reduction of hip, shank, and thigh range of motion. However, this system did not change walking temporal organization and body side asymmetry of individuals with stroke. On the other hand, the BWS system enabled individuals with chronic stroke to walk safely and without physical assistance. In interventions, the physical therapist can watch and correct gait pattern in patients' performance without the need to provide physical assistance.</p

Gait training with partial body weight support during overground walking for individuals with chronic stroke: a pilot study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It is not yet established if the use of body weight support (BWS) systems for gait training is effective <it>per se </it>or if it is the combination of BWS and treadmill that improves the locomotion of individuals with gait impairment. This study investigated the effects of gait training on ground level with partial BWS in individuals with stroke during overground walking with no BWS.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twelve individuals with chronic stroke (53.17 ± 7.52 years old) participated of a gait training program with BWS during overground walking, and were evaluated before and after the gait training period. In both evaluations, individuals were videotaped walking at a self-selected comfortable speed with no BWS. Measurements were obtained for mean walking speed, step length, stride length and speed, toe-clearance, durations of total double stance and single-limb support, and minimum and maximum foot, shank, thigh, and trunk segmental angles.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After gait training, individuals walked faster, with symmetrical steps, longer and faster strides, and increased toe-clearance. Also, they displayed increased rotation of foot, shank, thigh, and trunk segmental angles on both sides of the body. However, the duration of single-limb support remained asymmetrical between each side of the body after gait training.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Gait training individuals with chronic stroke with BWS during overground walking improved walking in terms of temporal-spatial parameters and segmental angles. This training strategy might be adopted as a safe, specific and promising strategy for gait rehabilitation after stroke.</p

Regional polycentricity: an indicator framework for assessing cohesion impacts of railway infrastructures

Territorial cohesion has become one of the main objectives in transport planning. This has fostered the development of assessment methodologies to quantitatively estimate the territorial impact of major transport infrastructures, which are particularly scarce at the intra-regional level. Linked to cohesion, polycentricity has been defined as the best spatial configuration to achieve balanced regions where population and opportunities are distributed among several entities linked by functional relationships. This paper aims to present a methodology to estimate these impacts based on the use of a new regional composite polycentricity indicator. The proposed indicator is tested by comparing the effects of conventional and high-speed railway (HSR) alternatives in the territorial system of a northern region of Spain. This quantitative assessment is a ranking tool for prioritizing rail network alternatives in terms of achieving the most balanced territory, which is especially relevant in countries where HSR networks follow cohesion goals. Our results show that new HSR links should only be complementary to regional railway services, and that the suppression of secondary lines should be avoided if a reduction in polarization is to be achieved.E. González-González gratefully acknowledges a predoctoral fellowship (FPI) from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (reference BES-2008–00436)

Effect of genotype, finishing system, and sex on physiochemical characteristics of goat meat

Seventy-eight kids of both sexes and five genotypes were used: Alpine, 1/2 Boer + 1/2 Alpine (1/2 BA), 3/4 Boer + Alpine, 1/2 Anglo-nubian + 1/2 Alpine and "tricross" (1/2 Anglo-nubian + 1/4 Boer + 1/4 Alpine) with initial average weight of 14.1 +/- 2.5. The objective was to evaluate the effect of genotype, finishing system, and sex on the physiochemical characteristics of goat meat. Finishing systems were: ST1 - kid + dam in pasture and ST2 - weaned kid and feedlot. Kids in ST1 were kept in an area with Panicum maximum cv. Tanzania, and after grazing, water and mineral salt/mix were fed ad libitum to the animals. The animals in ST2 - were confined in collective pens distributed according to genotypes and received diet with 16% CP and 73% TDN. The values of pH, a(star) (red content), Cooking Loss (CL), and Ether Extract (EE) percentage were influenced by genotype. Values for red content (a(star)) and L-star (brightness), CL and percentages of moisture, protein, EE, and ash were influenced by the finishing system. Longissimus dorsi muscle from animals 1/2 BA exhibited better physiochemical characteristics. For greater tenderness and higher percentages of fat, consumers should choose female kid goat meat.31499299

Germline genetic variants of the renin-angiotensin system, hypoxia and angiogenesis in non-small cell lung cancer progression: Discovery and validation studies

Introduction: The renin–angiotensin system (RAS) is involved in cell proliferation, immunoinflammatory response, hypoxia and angiogenesis, which are critical biological processes in lung cancer. Our aim was to study the association of putatively functional genetic polymorphisms in genes coding for proteins involved in RAS, hypoxia and angiogenesis with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) prognosis. Methods: Genotyping of 52 germline variants from genes of the RAS and hypoxic/angiogenic factors/receptors was performed using MassARRAY iPLEX Gold in a retrospective cohort (n = 167) of advanced NSCLC patients. Validation of the resulting genetic markers was conducted in an independent group (n = 190), matched by clinicopathological characteristics. Results: Multivariate analysis on the discovery set revealed that MME rs701109 C carriers were protected from disease progression in comparison with homozygous T (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.2–0.8, p = 0.010). Homozygous A and T genotypes for KDR rs1870377 were at increased risk for disease progression and death compared to heterozygous (HR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.2–2.5, p = 0.005 and HR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.2–3.4, p = 0.006, respectively). Carriers of homozygous genotypes for ACE2 rs908004 presented increased risk for disease progression, only in the subgroup of patients without tumour actionable driver mutations (HR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.3–6.3, p = 0.010). Importantly, the association of homozygous genotypes in MME rs701109 with risk for disease progression was confirmed after multivariate analysis in the validation set. Conclusion: This study provides evidence that MME polymorphism, which encodes neprilysin, may modulate progression-free survival in advanced NSCLC. Present genetic variation findings will foster basic, translational, and clinical research on their role in NSCLC.M.J.C. was supported by the Associação de Estudos Respiratórios and the Portuguese Pulmonology Society

Nf2/Merlin controls spinal cord neural progenitor function in a Rac1/ErbB2-dependent manner

Objective: Individuals with the neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) cancer predisposition syndrome develop spinal cord glial tumors (ependymomas) that likely originate from neural progenitor cells. Whereas many spinal ependymomas exhibit indolent behavior, the only treatment option for clinically symptomatic tumors is surgery. In this regard, medical therapies are unfortunately lacking due to an incomplete understanding of the critical growth control pathways that govern the function of spinal cord (SC) neural progenitor cells (NPCs). Methods: To identify potential therapeutic targets for these tumors, we leveraged primary mouse Nf2-deficient spinal cord neural progenitor cells. Results: We demonstrate that the Nf2 protein, merlin, negatively regulates spinal neural progenitor cell survival and glial differentiation in an ErbB2-dependent manner, and that NF2-associated spinal ependymomas exhibit increased ErbB2 activation. Moreover, we show that Nf2-deficient SC NPC ErbB2 activation results from Rac1-mediated ErbB2 retention at the plasma membrane. Significance: Collectively, these findings establish ErbB2 as a potential rational therapeutic target for NF2-associated spinal ependymoma

Short-Term Effect of Different Teaching Methods on Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma for General Practitioners in Jakarta, Indonesia

In Indonesia, Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC) is the most frequent cancer of the head and neck region. At first presentation in the hospital most patients already have advanced NPC. Our previous study showed that general practitioners (GPs) working in Yogyakarta, Indonesia lack the knowledge necessary for early detection of NPC. By providing training on early symptoms of NPC we hope that the diagnosis and referral will occur at an earlier stage. Here we assess the current NPC knowledge levels of GPs in Jakarta, evaluate improvement after training, compare the effectiveness of two training formats, and estimate the loss of recall over a two week period