bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Repeat periods of electrical stimulation prolong the modulation of the micturition reflex in the rat
Authors: Chen Hui , Zeng Jianwen , Zeng Peng , Jiang Chonghe , Xie Keji , Lindström Sivert 
Published: July 2018

AimsThe aim of this study was to determine if the duration of the micturition reflex modulation could be prolonged by repeated periods of afferent stimulation in the decorticated rat.MethodsEighteen female Sprague‐Dawley rats were used for the study, 10 for intravesical electrical stimulation (IVES), and 8 for Ano‐genital pudendal afferents stimulation. Repeated constant flow cystometries were performed with body‐warm saline (0.06‐0.1 mL/min) at about 10 min interval. The selected afferents were stimulated continuously for 5 min at maximal intensity. The same stimulation was repeated six times with a pause of 5 min between the stimulations. The mean threshold volume of cystometries performed during one hour before and each hour after the stimulation were compared.ResultsAfter six periods of IVES, the micturition threshold volume decreased to its lowest value (62% of control) during the first hour and remained at 80% 4 h later (n = 10, P < 0.01). Ano‐genital afferent stimulation produced a corresponding increase in the micturition threshold volume. The long‐lasting poststimulation effect was again observed for more than 5 h. During the first hour the mean threshold volume increased to 211% of controls and it remained at about this level for the entire observation period (n = 8, P < 0.01).ConclusionsRepeated short periods of stimulation prolonged the modulatory effect well beyond the stimulation period. The findings provide experimental evidence supporting the clinical application of IVES and ano‐genital stimulation for treatment of neurogenic urinary bladder dysfunction.
Prevalence and associated factors of urinary leakage among women participating in the 45 and Up Study
Authors: Concepcion Kristine , Cheng Yan , McGeechan Kevin , Robertson Sarah , Stewart Mary , Bateson Deborah , Estoesta Jane , Chiarelli Pauline 
Published: July 2018

AimsThe study was undertaken to investigate the prevalence of urinary leakage and its associated factors among a sample of females aged 45 years and over in New South Wales.MethodsData were obtained from the 45 and Up Study wherein urinary leakage is identified as women who reported being troubled by leaking urine. At baseline, 143 096 females (2006‐2009) and 59 060 females in the follow‐up survey (2012‐2015) were included in the analysis. We estimated the prevalence, and identified the factors associated with urinary leakage using logistic regression models.ResultsThe prevalence of urinary leakage was 44.0% at baseline and 44.6% at the first follow‐up survey. Among women who reported urinary leakage at baseline, 21.2% reported urine leakage once a week or less and 13.1% four or more times per week. Increasing age, abnormal BMI, back pain, anxiety, depression, and psychological distress were associated with greater odds of women reporting urinary leakage. Asian ancestry and being unemployed was associated with a lower risk for urinary incontinence.ConclusionFindings from this analysis estimate that approximately one in two women aged 45 years and older will most likely experience urinary leakage. The associated factors could serve as screening indicators for urinary leakage.
Circulating Candidate Biomarkers in Giant Cell Tumors of Bone
Authors: Conti Amalia , Luchini Alessandra , Benassi Maria Serena , Magagnoli Giovanna , Pierini Michela , Piccinni‐Leopardi Martina , Quattrini Irene , Pollino Serena , Picci Piero , Liotta Lance A. , Pazzaglia Laura 
Published: July 2018

PurposeApproximately 5% of giant cell tumors (GCT) of bone develop pulmonary metastases. Although many biomarkers have been proposed, identification of circulating low abundance molecules may be useful to predict malignant progression.Experimental designThe hydrogel nanoparticle technique followed by MS was used to detect low molecular weight serum proteins or protein fragments in serum of 20 GCT patients with different clinical course and in ten healthy sera used as control. The most representative low‐abundant de novo or differentially abundant proteins were submitted to String database that recognized interconnected activated pathways including protein activation cascade, wound healing, cell‐substrate adhesion, and response to stress. Statistics were performed for identification of candidate prognostic factors.ResultsProteome cluster analysis separated metastasis‐free from metastatic GCT patients in two well‐defined groups where serum levels of signaling transduction mediators and regulators of kinase activity presented a high discriminatory power. Increased expression of proteins STAT5B, GRB2, and OXSR1 was related to a higher probability of metastasis. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that tumor grade and STAT5B were independent prognostic factors.Conclusions and clinical relevanceBy using a noninvasive technique, we identified differentially abundant serum candidate biomarkers, also providing prognostic information in patients with GCT of bone.
Utilities for Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Proteins (UMSAP): Fast post‐processing of mass spectrometry data
Authors: Bravo‐Rodriguez Kenny , Hagemeier Birte , Drescher Lea , Lorenz Marian , Rey Juliana , Meltzer Michael , Kaschani Farnusch , Kaiser Markus , Ehrmann Michael 
Published: July 2018

RationaleMass spectrometry (MS) is an invaluable tool for the analysis of proteins. However, the sheer amount of data generated in MS studies demands dedicated data‐processing tools that are efficient and require minimal user intervention.MethodsUtilities for Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Proteins (UMSAP) is a graphical user interface designed for efficient post‐processing of MS result files. The software is written in Tcl/Tk and can be used in Windows, OS X or Linux. No third party programs or libraries are required. Currently, UMSAP can process data obtained from proteolytic degradation experiments and generates graphical outputs allowing a straightforward interpretation of statistically relevant results.ResultsUMSAP is used here to analyze the proteolytic degradation of glycerophosphoryl diester phosphodiesterase GlpQ by the protein quality control protease DegP. Mass spectrometry was used to monitor proteolysis over time in the absence and presence of a peptidic allosteric activator of DegP. The software's output clearly shows the increased proteolytic activity of DegP in the presence of the activating peptide, identifies statistically significant products of the proteolysis and offers valuable insights into substrate specificity.ConclusionsUtilities for Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Proteins is an open‐source software designed for efficient post‐processing of large datasets obtained by MS analyses of proteins. In addition, the modular architecture of the software allows easy incorporation of new modules to analyze various experimental mass spectrometry setups.
Pay inequality and corporate divestitures
Authors: Feldman Emilie R. , Gartenberg Claudine , Wulf Julie 
Published: July 2018

Research Summary: This paper analyzes how pay inequality influences divestiture decisions. Using detailed data on division manager compensation and divestiture activity, this study documents that firms are more likely to divest divisions when pay inequality among division managers is higher. To address potential bias in the measurement of pay inequality, we construct a “synthetic” measure that varies with regional and industry pay shocks that differentially affect division managers within firms. Post hoc analyses reveal that social comparison appears to explain, at least partially, the relationship between unequal pay and divestiture. These findings support the notion that pay inequality can be an important predictor of firm boundaries. More generally, they suggest that unequal pay may have significant strategic consequences as firms increasingly adopt performance‐based compensation to motivate employees.Managerial Summary: This paper analyzes the link between the degree of inequality in division manager compensation and the likelihood that companies divest businesses. We find that companies are more likely to divest when the pay of their division managers is more widely dispersed. Supplementary analyses show that this relationship is stronger when division managers are more likely to compare their pay to that of their peers, for example, within companies whose divisions operate in more closely related industries or in more proximate geographic regions. These findings show that pay inequality can predict when companies choose to exit businesses. As such, it is relevant for understanding how corporate strategy is influenced by performance‐based compensation policies, particularly as these policies become the norm in companies around the world.
The dark side of institutional intermediaries: Junior stock exchanges and entrepreneurship
Authors: Eberhart Robert N. , Eesley Charles E. 
Published: July 2018

Research Summary: Our study shows how institutional intermediaries established to foster the creation of new firms might hinder new firm growth instead. We show that intermediaries can reduce new firm growth rates due to institutional conflict. To analyze this idea, we examine the setting of junior stock exchanges, which are commonly formed to facilitate entrepreneurial growth. The introduction of these exchanges focused investment into new technology firms, reduced investment in other sectors, and led to diminishing new firm growth. Our findings demonstrate how institutional conflict causes unintended effects and reveals the complexity of influencing entrepreneurship with institutional intermediaries.Managerial Summary: Investors and entrepreneurs face uncertainty when deciding what firms to start and fund. We show that an intermediation effort to make entry easier for entrepreneurs increases the uncertainty that entrepreneurs and investors face. For investors, the enthusiasm for technology firms engendered by the new exchange can motivate investment in marginal firms to maintain as desired deal flow. However, lower firm growth and less liquidity in the future is likely. For entrepreneurs, our results indicate that it is more challenging to manage technology firm growth as well as there is potential opportunity to investigate other industries. Finally, for policy‐makers and supporters of the new exchanges, our results imply that investment flows are altered as intended, but unless listing standards remain high, the virtuous cycle of investment upon which a healthy entrepreneurial climate rests may be disrupted, muting the intended effects of the new exchange.
Graphene Oxide Sieving Membrane for Improved Cycle Life in High‐Efficiency Redox‐Mediated Li–O2 batteries
Authors: Park Se Hwan , Lee Tae Hoon , Lee Young Joo , Park Ho Bum , Lee Yun Jung 
Published: July 2018

AbstractAs soluble catalysts, redox‐mediators (RMs) endow mobility to catalysts for unconstrained access to tethered solid discharge products, lowering the energy barrier for Li2O2 formation/decomposition; however, this desired mobility is accompanied by the undesirable side effect of RM migration to the Li metal anode. The reaction between RMs and Li metal degrades both the Li metal and the RMs, leading to cell deterioration within a few cycles. To extend the cycle life of redox‐mediated Li–O2 batteries, herein graphene oxide (GO) membranes are reported as RM‐blocking separators. It is revealed that the size of GO nanochannels is narrow enough to reject 5,10‐dihydro‐5,10‐dimethylphenazine (DMPZ) while selectively allowing the transport of smaller Li+ ions. The negative surface charges of GO further repel negative ions via Donnan exclusion, greatly improving the lithium ion transference number. The Li–O2 cells with GO membranes efficiently harness the redox‐mediation activity of DMPZ for improved performance, achieving energy efficiency of above 80% for more than 25 cycles, and 90% for 78 cycles when the capacity limits were 0.75 and 0.5 mAh cm‐2, respectively. Considering the facile preparation of GO membranes, RM‐sieving GO membranes can be cost‐effective and processable functional separators in Li–O2 batteries.
Improving stress tolerance and cell integrity ofRhodococcus ruberby overexpressing small-shock-protein Hsp16 ofRhodococcus
Authors: Wang Miaomiao , Chen Jie , Yu Huimin , Shen Zhongyao 
Published: July 2018

AbstractRhodococcus species have been successfully used as cell catalysts for valuable chemicals production due to their well-characterized resistance to harmful factors. An understanding of how they respond to stress is of great interest, which will enable the identification of engineering strategies for further improving their resistance and maintaining cell integrity and viability. Here, we assessed the transcriptome response of R. ruber TH3 to heat shock. Approximately, 376 genes were up-regulated in heat-shocked TH3. Among all the up-regulated functional genes, the small heat-shock-protein (Hsp16) with maximal enhanced transcript (463-fold) was identified, and its function was investigated. Results showed that overexpressed Hsp16 has no significant promotive effect on stress tolerance of in-cell enzyme. Interestingly, compared to the control TH3, a little fewer pores and folds on the surface of TH3(Hsp16) and more intact TH3(Hsp-GFP) cells under AM treatment were observed by SEM and LCSM, respectively. Moreover, survival test showed that more (about 501–700) TH3(Hsp16) colonies were observed while only 1–100 TH3 colonies after 50% AM treatment, and this trend is also found in high-temperature cultivation experiments. These results indicate that Hsp16 does great contributions to preventing cell leakage, maintaining cell integrity and viability of R. ruber under stress conditions.
Combination treatment of cancer cells with pan-Akt and pan-mTOR inhibitors: effects on cell cycle distribution, p-Akt expression level and radiolabelled-choline incorporation
Authors: Phyu Su Myat , Smith Tim A. D. 
Published: July 2018

Summary
Signal transduction pathways, which regulate cell growth and survival, are up-regulated in many cancers and there is considerable interest in their pharmaceutical modulation for cancer treatment. However inhibitors of single pathway components induce feedback mechanisms that overcome the growth moderating effect of the inhibitor. Combination treatments have been proposed to provide a more complete pathway inhibition. Here the effect of dual treatment of cancer cells with a pan-Akt and a pan-mTOR inhibitor was explored. Breast (SKBr3 and MDA-MB-468) and colorectal (HCT8) cancer cells were treated with the pan-Akt inhibitor MK2206 and pan-mTOR inhibitor AZD8055. Cytotoxic effect of the two drugs were determined using the MTT assay and the Combination Index and isobolomic analysis used to determine the nature of the interaction of the two drugs. Flow cytometry and western blot were employed to demonstrate drug effects on cell cycle distribution and phosph-Aktser473 expression. Radiolabelled ([methyl-3H]) Choline uptake was measured in control and drug-treated cells to determine the modulatory effects of the drugs on choline incorporation. The two drugs acted synergistically to inhibit the growth rate of each cancer cell line. Flow cytometry demonstrated G0/G1 blockade with MK2206 and AZD8055 which was greater when cells were treated with both drugs. The incorporation of [methyl-3H] choline was found be decreased to a greater extent in cells treated with both drugs compared with cells treated with either drug alone. Conclusions Pan-mTOR and pan-Akt inhibition may be highly effective in cancer treatment and measuring changes in choline uptake could be useful in detecting efficacious drug combinations.
Plant breeding selection tools built on factor analytic mixed models for multi-environment trial data
Authors: Smith Alison B. , Cullis Brian R. 
Published: July 2018

AbstractAn advanced and widely used method of analysis for multi-environment trial data involves a linear mixed model with factor analytic (FA) variance structures for the variety by environment effects. This model can accommodate unbalanced data, that is, not all varieties in all environments, it allows the use of pedigree information and appropriate accommodation of individual trial experimental designs, and most importantly the FA structure for the variety by environment effects is parsimonious and regularly results in a good fit to the data. The model provides accurate predictions of the variety effects for every environment in the data-set but this constitutes a large and unwieldly amount of information to process for the purpose of variety selection. We address this issue in the current paper by proposing factor analytic selection tools to summarise the predictions in a concise yet informative manner. The tools, which are natural derivatives of the FA structure, result in measures of overall performance and stability across the environments in the data-set. All measures are expressed on the same scale as the trait under consideration and can easily be combined to form an index for selection.
Recent Progresses in Electrocatalysts for Water Electrolysis
Authors: Khan Muhammad Arif , Zhao Hongbin , Zou Wenwen , Chen Zhe , Cao Wenjuan , Fang Jianhui , Xu Jiaqiang , Zhang Lei , Zhang Jiujun 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
The study of hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts for water electrolysis is a developing field in which noble metal-based materials are commonly used. However, the associated high cost and low abundance of noble metals limit their practical application. Non-noble metal catalysts, aside from being inexpensive, highly abundant and environmental friendly, can possess high electrical conductivity, good structural tunability and comparable electrocatalytic performances to state-of-the-art noble metals, particularly in alkaline media, making them desirable candidates to reduce or replace noble metals as promising electrocatalysts for water electrolysis. This article will review and provide an overview of the fundamental knowledge related to water electrolysis with a focus on the development and progress of non-noble metal-based electrocatalysts in alkaline, polymer exchange membrane and solid oxide electrolysis. A critical analysis of the various catalysts currently available is also provided with discussions on current challenges and future perspectives. In addition, to facilitate future research and development, several possible research directions to overcome these challenges are provided in this article.

Graphical Abstract
Interdisciplinary Pain Management Improves Pain and Function in Pediatric Patients with Chronic Pain Associated with Joint Hypermobility Syndrome
Authors: Revivo Gadi , Amstutz Diane K. , Gagnon Christine M. , McCormick Zachary L. 
Published: July 2018

BackgroundThe relation between chronic musculoskeletal pain and joint hypermobility in a small percentage of the pediatric population is well described. However, literature discussing the treatment of chronic pain associated with joint hypermobility in pediatrics is limited. The present study examines the impact of interdisciplinary treatment on chronic pain in pediatrics with joint hypermobility syndrome.ObjectiveTo determine if pediatric patients with chronic pain related to joint hypermobility can be effectively treated with an intensive, interdisciplinary pain management program, as measured by changes in pain, psychosocial and physical functioning, as well as parental coping.DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingUrban academic tertiary intensive outpatient interdisciplinary pain management clinic.ParticipantsThe study involved 30 patients who met the criteria for a diagnosis of joint hypermobility and chronic pain and completed an interdisciplinary pain management program.InterventionAll patients were treated in an intensive pediatric interdisciplinary pain management program for a duration of 6 to 8 weeks. The program provided physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychological counseling, and weekly pediatric rehabilitation medicine follow‐up.Main Outcome MeasuresOutcome measures included numeric rating scale pain scores, the Bath Adolescent Pain Questionnaire, and the Bath Adolescent Pain‐Parent Impact Questionnaire. Changes from pre‐ to post‐treatment were analyzed using paired‐samples t tests.ResultsPatients endorsed pre‐ to post‐treatment improvements in pain, depression, general anxiety, pain‐related anxiety, social functioning, and physical functioning (P < .05). The patients' parents showed significant improvements in depression, anxiety, catastrophic thinking, self‐blame and helplessness, leisure functioning, and parental behavior (P < .05).ConclusionThe present findings suggest that an intensive interdisciplinary rehabilitation pain management program yields short‐term improvements in pain, emotional and physical function, and daily activity in a pediatric population diagnosed with joint hypermobility. Parents also experienced benefits from the program. A larger prospective study with longer‐term follow‐up is needed.Level of EvidenceIII
Association of left atrial pressure with left atrial volume and N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide in children with cardiomyopathy
Authors: Agarwal Arpit , Lam Suying , Li Hua , Gorla Sudheer R. , Sasaki Nao , Rusconi Paolo G. , Swaminathan Sethuraman 
Published: July 2018

AbstractBackgroundEnlargement of the left atrium is a non-invasive marker of diastolic dysfunction of the left ventricle, a determinant of prognosis in children with cardiomyopathy. Similarly, N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide is a useful marker in the management of children with cardiomyopathy and heart failure. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association of left atrial pressures with left atrial volume and N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide in children with cardiomyopathy.MethodsThis was a retrospective study reviewing the medical records of patients <18 years of age, who were diagnosed with cardiomyopathy or acute myocarditis with eventual development of cardiomyopathy. Left atrial volume by transthoracic echocardiogram and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, a surrogate of left atrial pressure, obtained by means of cardiac catheterisation were analysed. In addition, N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide levels obtained at the time of the cardiac catheterisation were also reviewed. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the association of left atrial pressures with left atrial volume and N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide levels.ResultsThere was a linear correlation of left atrial pressure estimated in the cardiac catheterisation with indexed left atrial volume (r=0.63; p<0.001) and left atrial volume z-scores (r=0.59; p<0.001). We found no statistically significant association between the left atrial pressure and N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide levels.ConclusionsLeft atrial volume measured non-invasively by echocardiography can be used as a surrogate for left atrial pressure in assessing diastolic dysfunction of the left ventricle in children with cardiomyopathy. The larger the size of the left atrium, worse is the diastolic function of the left ventricle.