An elastomeric polyurethane/clay (PU/clay) nanocomposite based on poly(propylene glycol) (PPG), glycerol propoxylate, and toluene-diisocyanate (TDI) was synthesized by intercalative polymerization technology. The results of wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) studies showed that the gallery distance of the clay in the hybrid was enlarged from 1.9 to 4.5nm or more. Introducing clay in the PU matrix resulted in an increase in both the tensile strength and elongation at beak. When the clay content reached about 8%, the tensile strength and elongation at break were two times and five times respectively to that of the pure PU. In addition, the clay intercalative route to the nanocomposite synthesis also effected the thermal properties of the nanocomposites.

Background/Aims: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer in the world and the third leading cause of cancer-related death. Critical roles for long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have recently been demonstrated for a variety of cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the effect and mechanism of lncRNAs in HCC tumorigenesis and chemoresistance have not been extensively characterized. Methods: In the current study, we have identified a HCC-expressed lncRNA termed as HANR (HCC associated long non-coding RNA). We identified HANR by microarray analysis and validated its up-regulated expression by quantitative PCR. RNA pull-down and pathway analyses were conducted to evaluate physical and functional interactions with HANR. In vivo experiments were performed to assess tumorigenesis and increase of chemoresistance. In addition, the HANR expression in HCC specimens was detected by FISH. Xenograft and orthotopic mice model was constructed to observe the effect of HANR on tumorigenesis and chemoresistance in vivo. Results: HANR was demonstrated to be up-regulated in HCC patients and HCC cell lines. Increased HANR expression in HCC predicted short survival of patients. Knock-down of HANR markedly retarded cell proliferation, suppressed HCC xenograft/orthotopic tumor growth, induced apoptosis and enhanced chemosensitivity to doxorubicin, while overexpression of HANR showed the opposite effects. It was found that HANR bind to GSKIP for regulating the phosphorylation of GSK3β in HCC. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that HANR contributes to the development of HCC and is a promising therapeutic target for chemosensitization of HCC cells to doxorubicin, which may represent a promising therapeutic target in the future.

Objective:To determine the effects of a 12-week home-based motor training telerehabilitation program in subcortical stroke patients by combing of motor function assessments and multimodality MRI analysis methods.Methods:Fifty-two stroke patients with hemiplegia were randomly assigned to either a home-based motor training telerehabilitation (TR) group or a conventional rehabilitation (CR) group for 12 weeks. The Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) for upper and lower extremities and the modified Barthel index (MBI) were used as primary outcomes. The secondary outcomes included resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) between the bilateral M1 areas, gray matter volumes of the primary motor cortex (M1) areas and white matter integrity of the corticospinal tract (CST). Analysis of covariance was applied to examine the effects of the home-based motor training TR program on neural function recovery and brain plasticity.Results:Compared with the CR group, the TR group showed significant improvement in the FMA (P = 0.011) and significantly increased M1-M1 rsFC (P = 0.031) at the end of the rehabilitation. The M1-M1 rsFC change was significantly positively correlated with the FMA change in the TR group (P = 0.018).Conclusion:This study showed a beneficial effect of the home-based motor training telerehabilitation program on motor function in stroke patients, which was accompanied by enhanced interhemispheric functional connectivity of the M1 areas. We inferred that it is feasible, safe and efficacious for stroke patients to receive professional rehabilitation training at home. Additionally, the combined use of imaging biomarkers should be encouraged in motor training clinical studies in stroke patients.Classification of Evidence:This study provides Class II evidence that for stroke patients with hemiplegia, home-based telerehabilitation compared to conventional rehabilitation significantly improves some motor function tests.