Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Carnitine metabolism to trimethylamine by an unusual Rieske-type oxygenase from human microbiota

Significance Metabolism of l-carnitine, a compound abundant in human diet, to trimethylamine by human microbiota has been shown to promote atherosclerosis and subsequent development of heart disease. However, the underpinning molecular and biochemical mechanisms remain unknown. In this study, we reveal that a previously unidentified Rieske-type protein is responsible for carnitine transformation to trimethylamine from human microbiota. Knowledge gained in our study provides the opportunity not only to explore Rieske protein inhibitors in preventing trimethylamine formation in animal studies and clinical trials, but also for its use as a functional genetic marker to better understand human microbiota and their dynamics in our health and disease in future epidemiological studies and dietary interventions. Dietary intake of l-carnitine can promote cardiovascular diseases in humans through microbial production of trimethylamine (TMA) and its subsequent oxidation to trimethylamine N-oxide by hepatic flavin-containing monooxygenases. Although our microbiota are responsible for TMA formation from carnitine, the underpinning molecular and biochemical mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, using bioinformatics approaches, we first identified a two-component Rieske-type oxygenase/reductase (CntAB) and associated gene cluster proposed to be involved in carnitine metabolism in representative genomes of the human microbiota. CntA belongs to a group of previously uncharacterized Rieske-type proteins and has an unusual “bridging” glutamate but not the aspartate residue, which is believed to facilitate intersubunit electron transfer between the Rieske center and the catalytic mononuclear iron center. Using Acinetobacter baumannii as the model, we then demonstrate that cntAB is essential in carnitine degradation to TMA. Heterologous overexpression of cntAB enables Escherichia coli to produce TMA, confirming that these genes are sufficient in TMA formation. Site-directed mutagenesis experiments have confirmed that this unusual “bridging glutamate” residue in CntA is essential in catalysis and neither mutant (E205D, E205A) is able to produce TMA. Taken together, the data in our study reveal the molecular and biochemical mechanisms underpinning carnitine metabolism to TMA in human microbiota and assign the role of this novel group of Rieske-type proteins in microbial carnitine metabolism.
Retail trade concentration due to consumers' imperfect information

The main idea of this article is that geographical concentration of stores selling similar products can be explained by consumers' imperfect information and their resulting need to search the market. A cluster of stores sustained by these forces is not necessarily located at the point that minimizes consumer transportation costs--a fact that distinguishes it from clustering phenomena which may be explained by Hotelling-type arguments. For the purposes of the analysis this article presents a model of monopolistic competition under imperfect information which could be of independent interest.
Profiling the Silent Generation

Abstract The purpose of this study was to profile the travel preferences of the “Silent Generation” and to analyze whether this cohort could be segmented into specific types of travelers based on these preferences. This particular age cohort was born between 1925 and 1943 and is presently between 58 and 76 years of age. The results indicated five distinct clusters: “Active Travelers,” “Urban Mobile Travelers,” “Mobile Budget Travelers,” “Educational Cultural Travelers” and “Uninvolved Travelers. ” Each segment sought unique preferences for pleasure travel. With respect to demographic differences between the five clusters of the Silent Generation, only gender and education significantly differed between the groups. Tourism suppliers and marketers must acknowledge that there are differences within cohorts as well as between cohorts and develop products and services that meet their needs.
Appendicitis: Decreasing Normal Removals Without Increasing Perforations

There is wide interhospital variation in the removal rates of histologically normal appendices, and variation also in appendectomy rates among countries and among hospital catchment areas. Decision theory suggests that better patient workup and careful observation of doubtful cases result in improved discrimination between appendicitis patients and those with nonspecific abdominal pain. By improving the data base and weighing evidence with care, a surgeon can reduce his false-positives without risk of increasing his perforation rate. In some cases it may even be possible to reduce the false-positives while simultaneously reducing perforations. In a survey of New England hospitals there was no inevitable inverse relationship between normal removal rates and perforation rates. Two examples of improvement in performance are cited from the literature.
Ageing and autobiographical memory for emotional and neutral events

We investigated age-related effects in recall of emotional and neutral autobiographical memories. Protocols were scored according to episodic and non-episodic detail categories using the Autobiographical Interview. Young adults recalled a greater number of episodic details compared to older adults, whereas older adults recalled more semantic details, replicating previous findings. Both young and older adults’ emotional memories contained more overall detail than neutral ones, with the enhancement from emotion-specific to episodic details, but this did not alter the effect of age group on the pattern of episodic and semantic details. However, the age effect on episodic details was attenuated for neutral autobiographical memories. The findings suggest that age differences for emotional autobiographical recollection might reflect a more general pattern of age-related changes in memory, with impaired recall of episodic components and relative sparing of semantic aspects of autobiographical memory in older adults when compared to young adults.
MR Imaging of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Syndrome with Leptomeningeal Enhancement

SUMMARY: We describe a 28-year-old man with presumed VKH syndrome, whose presenting symptoms were bilateral impaired vision and headaches. Orbital MR imaging findings included bilateral choroidal and retrobulbar contrast enhancement, while brain findings included white matter abnormalities on FLAIR and leptomeningeal enhancement. Pachymeningeal enhancement has been described previously; herein, we report a patient with VKH syndrome presenting solely with leptomeningeal enhancement. Thus, MR imaging may detect early CNS involvement by VKH disease before the onset of neurologic symptoms.
Managerial Incentives, Risk Aversion and Corporate Policy Decisions

We provide new evidence that equity incentives can have perverse effects on firm value. Conditioning the relationship between chief executive officer (CEO) incentives and the risk exposure generated by corporate policy decisions on how risk is expected to affect firm value, we find that delta encourages value-maximising investment and firm focus policy decisions, but may lead to sub-optimal financing decisions. When the goal of value-maximisation conflicts with the CEO’s propensity to avoid risk, the incentive effect of delta partially offsets risk aversion. We show that while CEO incentives affect corporate policy, the firm’s optimal policy also influences the compensation contract.
Predictors of loss of hepatitis B surface antigen in HIV-infected patients.

AIM To study factors associated with loss of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in patients co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV). METHODS We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 5681 patients followed up at two New York City HIV clinics from January 1999 to May 2007. Clinical and laboratory parameters including baseline and follow-up HIV viral loads, CD4 cell counts, alanine transaminase levels, demographics, presence of hepatitis C infection, and treatment with highly active antiretroviral therapy dually active against both HIV and HBV infection, were analyzed to determine factors associated with loss of HBsAg. RESULTS Three hundred and fifty five patients (355/5681, 6.84%) were co-infected with HIV and HBV and were evaluated. Of these, 226 patients with more than 12 mo follow-up were included in further analysis to determine factors associated with loss of HBsAg in the long-term follow-up. In the univariate analysis, baseline CD4 cell count was associated with loss of HBsAg (P = 0.052). Cox regression analysis revealed that loss of HBsAg was associated with baseline CD4 cell count > 500 cells/mm(3) (P = 0.016, odds ratio: 76.174, 95% confidence interval: 2.233-2598.481). CONCLUSION Our study showed an interesting association of loss of HBsAg in HIV-HBV co-infected patients with higher CD4 cell count, suggesting that T-cell cytolytic activity against HBV may still be effective in clearing HBV infection.
Mild stenosis makes prognosis of vasospastic angina worse

ObjectiveSeveral studies have shown that significant coronary narrowing makes the prognosis of vasospastic angina pectoris (VAP) worse. However, the effects of various factors on the prognosis of patients without significant arterial narrowing have not yet been shown. Methods and resultsWe investigated 1248 consecutive patients with VAP who had no coronary stenosis of more than or equal to 50%. The mean follow-up was 11.7±6.8 years. Ninety-one patients (7.3%) developed unstable angina, acute myocardial infarction, or effort angina with new coronary narrowings. Thirty patients (2.4%) died suddenly. Multivariate analysis showed that the presence of coronary stenosis, even if trivial, made the prognosis worse (P=0.027; odds ratio, 1.66; 95% confidence interval, 1.06–2.61). In addition, unusually, female patients had a better prognosis than male patients (P=0.007; odds ratio, 0.35; 95% confidence interval, 0.16–0.75). Other factors, such as hyperlipemia, diabetes, and hypertension did not affect the prognosis. ConclusionIn patients with VAP, the presence of coronary narrowing, even if mild, was associated with worse prognosis.
Effects of androgens on the ultrastructure and subcellular zinc distribution in the prostatic epithelium of castrated rats

Sprague Dawley rats were maintained on testosterone propionate or 5α‐dihydrotestosterone for 3 days following bilateral orchidectomy for a 7‐day period. Ultrastructural examination showed only partial recovery of the prostatic epithelium with testosterone propionate while 5 α‐dihydrotestosterone caused the lateral and ventral lobes to revert to the appearance of control tissues. The latter metabolite induced greater stimulation of the prostate evidenced by increased mitotic division of the epithelial cells and an increased number of basal cells exhibiting ciliary formation was observed. Zinc concentrations in subcellular regions of both lateral and ventral prostate lobes were affected by the two androgens. Testosterone propionate was most effective in elevating zinc in the lateral lobe, particularly within the secretory components. In the ventral lobe both androgens caused an increase in subcellular zinc concentrations above control levels. The increase of nuclear and nucleolar zinc was related to the increase in nuclear activity and cellular response to the androgen administration.
Dietary Fat and Coronary Heart Disease: Summary of Evidence from Prospective Cohort and Randomised Controlled Trials

Countries Study also demonstrated strong associations between mean intakes of SFA and mean levels of serum total cholesterol [Keys, 1980]. The study prompted the ‘diet heart’ hypothesis that high intakes of SFA and cholesterol and low intakes of polyunsaturated fats (PUFA) increase the level of total cholesterol and ultimately result in the development of CHD. Indeed, the early results of the Seven Countries Study prompted an explosion of epidemiological, clinical, and basic research into the role of dietary fat in CHD. The results of dietary feeding trials (or ‘metabolic ward’ studies) which measured blood lipids in healthy volunteers after administration of controlled diets with varying intakes of fats were concordant with the findings of the associations observed between intakes of different fatty acids and changes in blood cholesterol levels observed in the ecological studies. In particular, Keys et al. [1965] and Hegsted et al. [1965] demonstrated that average change in serum cholesterol concentrations could be predicted as equations for the changes in intake of SFA and PUFA and dietary cholesterol. The concordance of the results of the ecological and the metabolic ward studies probably relate to the limited amount of measurement error in both study designs. In view of these findings, some investigators have concluded that use of cholesterol as an intermediary factor is the most rational way of studying the associations between dietary fat and CHD, Introduction
Kinetics of insulin aggregation in aqueous solutions upon agitation in the presence of hydrophobic surfaces.

The stability of protein-based pharmaceuticals (e.g., insulin) is important for their production, storage, and delivery. To gain an understanding of insulin's aggregation mechanism in aqueous solutions, the effects of agitation rate, interfacial interactions, and insulin concentration on the overall aggregation rate were examined. Ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy, high-performance liquid chromatography, and quasielastic light scattering analyses were used to monitor the aggregation reaction and identify intermediate species. The reaction proceeded in two stages; insulin stability was enhanced at higher concentration. Mathematical modeling of proposed kinetic schemes was employed to identify possible reaction pathways and to explain greater stability at higher insulin concentration.
The role of the FliK molecular ruler in hook‐length control in Salmonella enterica

A molecular ruler, FliK, controls the length of the flagellar hook. FliK measures hook length and catalyses the secretion‐substrate specificity switch from rod‐hook substrate specificity to late substrate secretion, which includes the filament subunits. Here, we show normal hook‐length control and filament assembly in the complete absence of the C‐ring thus refuting the previous ‘cup’ model for hook‐length control. Mutants of C‐ring components, which are reported to produce short hooks, show a reduced rate of hook–basal body assembly thereby allowing for a premature secretion‐substrate specificity switch. Unlike fliK null mutants, hook‐length control in an autocleavage‐defective mutant of flhB, the protein responsible for the switch to late substrate secretion, is completely abolished. FliK deletion variants that retain the ability to measure hook length are secreted thus demonstrating that FliK directly measures rod‐hook length during the secretion process. Finally, we present a unifying model accounting for all published data on hook‐length control in which FliK acts as a molecular ruler that takes measurements of rod‐hook length while being intermittently secreted during the assembly process of the hook–basal body complex.
Influence of NCI Cancer Center Attendance on Mortality in Lung, Breast, Colorectal, and Prostate Cancer Patients

Some evidence links cancer outcomes to place of service, but the influence of NCI (National Cancer Institute) cancer centers on outcomes has not been established. We compared mortality for NCI cancer center attendees versus nonattendees. This retrospective cohort study included individuals with incident cancers of the lung, breast, colon/rectum, or prostate from 1998 to 2002 (N = 211,084) from SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results)—Medicare linked data, with claims through 2003. We examined the relation of NCI cancer center attendance with 1- and 3-year all-cause and cancer-specific mortality using multilevel logistic regression models. NCI cancer center attendance was associated with a significant reduction in the odds of 1- and 3-year all-cause and cancer-specific mortality. The mortality risk reduction associated with NCI cancer center attendance was most apparent in late-stage cancers and was evident across all levels of comorbidities. Attendance at NCI cancer centers is associated with a significant survival benefit for the four major cancers among Medicare beneficiaries.
Determinants of Analyst Skill Specialization

This study examines individual analysts' relative strengths in earnings forecasting skill and stock picking skill. We define analysts with skill specialization when he has one skill substantially stronger than the other, and analysts with non-specialization when he has balanced skills. We follow theories on skill specialization in labor market research, and model skill specialization decisions as the optimal outcomes of analysts maximizing their human capital. Our empirical results are consistent with the predictions from the model. We find that an analyst's choice of specialization is negatively related with his brokerage size, brokerage reputation, his all-star status, and the industry skill spillover effect, all of which capture the inverse of his skill development cost. We also find that the economies of scope in skill development, determined by the characteristics of the firms covered by the analyst are negatively related with his choice of skill specialization. Using earnings persistence, earnings predictability, and earnings fixation to measure investors' demand for analysts' earnings forecasting skill, and firms' shareholder base to measure the demand for analysts' stock picking skill, we show that they explain analysts' choices between specializing in forecasting earnings and picking stocks. We also find analysts who specialize in forecasting earnings utilize the skill more intensively by issuing more frequent and more innovative earnings forecast revisions.
The Transition From Pediatric to Adult Diabetes Care Services

Purpose: A systematic review of the literature was conducted to identify the level of evidence and to describe the evidence on the transition from pediatric to adult healthcare services among youth with diabetes. Background: The transition from pediatric to adult healthcare services is an expectation of youth with diabetes; however, little is known to guide policy and procedures on such transitions. Description of Project: The literature was first searched and screened according to predetermined criterion and then evaluated for level of evidence. Outcome: There were 16 mixed qualitative and/or quantitative studies, 23 quantitative studies, and 2 expert opinion articles reviewed. Most of the evidence was from uncontrolled studies. Youth report challenges in making the transition in services. Delay in seeking adult services and poor clinic attendance are issues for these youth. However, it is unclear if these problems are a result of the transition in services. Several promising transition programs have been evaluated and, overall, are found acceptable and useful by youth. In general, evidence suggests that these programs improve glycemic control. Conclusions: More research is needed in this challenging area to guide policies and procedures. Implications: Expert opinion is a guide for policy and procedures at this point in time.
Optimality of Financial Planning Clients' Strategic Asset Allocations

In this paper, the optimality of Australian financial planning clients' asset allocations are analysed using the mean-variance formulation of the Modern Portfolio Theory. The asset allocations recommended by financial planning groups are examined. The mean-variance characteristics of the various asset classes are derived from historical indices, using last 21 years data and last 5 years data. The return-risk values of the recommended portfolios are determined and a simple method of iso-risk maximum return calculation using the Excel Solver command is utilised to determine the corresponding optimal portfolios. The recommended portfolios were found to have expected returns that are around 8% and 32% below optimal returns based on last 21 years data and last 5 years data, respectively.
The Efficiency of Internal Capital Markets: Evidence from Conglomerate Firms around Financial Crises *

We study internal capital market by examining conglomerate firms around financial crises. Our sample contains segment data of U.S. conglomerate firms for the period of 1998-2009 that covers two financial crises surrounding 2000 and 2008, respectively. We find that internal capital market is significantly more active during crisis periods than during non-crisis periods. Inter-segment capital transfer shows that profitable segments subsidize unprofitable segments, and that segments of low growth potential subsidize those of high growth potential. Consistent with efficient internal capital market, the decline in value of conglomerate firms during financial crises is significantly mitigated.
Asexual sporulation in coprinus cinereus: structure and development of oidiophores and oidia in an amut bmut homokaryon

Polak, E. , Hermann, R. , Kues, U. , and Aebi, M. 1997. Asexual sporulation in Coprinus cinereus: Structure and development of oidiophores and oidia in an Amut Bmut homokaryon. 22, 112-126. Coprinus cinereus strain AmutBmut is a homokaryon with mutations in both mating type loci. It produces asexual spores (oidia) in sticky liquid droplets on specialized aerial structures (oidiophores). These oidiophores have uninucleate cells and are organized as those of the monokaryon 5026 from which the strain derived. However, unlike in the monokaryon, oidiophores in strain AmutBmut are induced by light. Young oidiophores are easily detected upon light induction and the process of oidiophore development is readily followed in this strain. Fully grown oidiophores consecutively give rise to short branches (oidial hyphae) that break up into two or occasionally three uninucleate oidia (arthroconidia) until up to 200 oidia are collected at the tip of the oidiophore. Mature spores are enclosed by a mucilage and a double-layered primary cell wall with hair-like structures except for the sides of former cell attachments. In a summary of our microscopic observations on developing oidiophores and nuclear stainings we present a model showing the successive steps of oidiophore and spore development.
Adjunctive trazodone in the treatment of negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE The study examined whether adjunctive treatment with trazodone would reduce negative symptomatology in patients with chronic, residual schizophrenia. METHODS Patients selected for the study had an established clinical diagnosis of chronic schizophrenia with stable symptomatology, an absence of florid psychotic symptons, a stable regimen of neuroleptic medication, and an absence of depressive disorder. Active psychotic symptoms were assessed using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) score on the thinking disturbance factor. Negative symptoms were assessed using the BPRS withdrawal retardation factor as well as the affective flattening and alogia subscales from the Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms. Forty-nine patients were randomly assigned to either trazodone or placebo in a six-week double-blind trial. RESULTS Forty-seven patients, 23 men and 24 women with an average age of 60 years, completed the six-week trial. Twenty-six of the patients received trazodone. Adjunctive treatment with trazodone significantly reduced the severity ratings on two of three measures of negative symptoms and did not significantly increase the severity of positive symptoms; however, the magnitude of the therapeutic effect was modest. The scores for negative symptoms were reduced by approximately 10 to 15 percent, and only three of the 26 actively treated patients showed moderate clinical improvement. CONCLUSIONS Trazodone, used in conjunction with neuroleptics, mildly reduces the severity of negative symptoms in residual schizophrenia and does not exacerbate florid psychosis. The potential benefits of adjunctive trazodone therapy may outweigh the risk of worsening psychosis.