Effect of protein depletion on urinary nitrogen excretion in undernourished subjects

The extent of labile protein stores and their response to protein feeding was studied in undernourished adult subjects. Urinary nitrogen excretion following 3 levels of protein intake (62, 82 and 96 g/day), each protein period alternated with a protein-free diet, was studied in 4 apparently healthy but undernourished young men. Urinary nitrogen with a protein-free diet decreased to a nearly steady value within 2 to 3 days. The initial decrease was small, however, indicating poor labile protein stores in these subjects. With diets containing protein considerable nitrogen was retained. The retained nitrogen, however, was not excreted when the subjects were changed over from protein-containing diets to protein-free diets. Endogenous urinary nitrogen excretion in these subjects was not different from that of normal subjects

A functional RNase P protein subunit of bacterial origin in some eukaryotes

RNase P catalyzes 5′-maturation of tRNAs. While bacterial RNase P comprises an RNA catalyst and a protein cofactor, the eukaryotic (nuclear) variant contains an RNA and up to ten proteins, all unrelated to the bacterial protein. Unexpectedly, a nuclear-encoded bacterial RNase P protein (RPP) homolog is found in several prasinophyte algae including Ostreococcus tauri. We demonstrate that recombinant O. tauri RPP can functionally reconstitute with bacterial RNase P RNAs (RPRs) but not with O. tauri organellar RPRs, despite the latter’s presumed bacterial origins. We also show that O. tauri PRORP, a homolog of Arabidopsis PRORP-1, displays tRNA 5′-processing activity in vitro. We discuss the implications of the striking diversity of RNase P in O. tauri, the smallest known free-living eukaryote.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación European Regional Fund BFU2007-60651Junta de Andalucía P06-CVI-01692National Science Foundation MCB-0238233 MCB-0843543European Union ASSEMBLE 22779

Ipratropium/Salbutamol Comparator Versus Originator for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Exacerbations : USA Observational Cohort Study Using the Clinformatics™ Health Claims Database

Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank Priyanka Raju Konduru of Observational and Pragmatic Research Institute Pte Ltd (OPRI) for assistance with data extraction. This study was sponsored and funded by Teva Branded Pharmaceutical Products, R&D, Inc. Lynanne McGuire, PhD, of MedVal Scientific Information Services, LLC (Princeton, NJ, USA) provided medical writing and editorial assistance. This manuscript was prepared according to the International Society for Medical Publication Professionals’ ‘Good Publication Practice for Communicating Company-Sponsored Medical Research: the GPP3 Guidelines.’ Funding to support medical writing assistance was provided to MedVal by Teva Branded Pharmaceutical Products R&D, Inc., Frazer, PA, USA. Teva provided a full review of the article and provided funding of the journal’s article processing charges. All named authors meet the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) criteria for authorship for this manuscript, take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, and have given final approval to the version to be published. All authors had full access to all of the data in this study and take complete responsibility for the integrity of the data and accuracy of the data analysis.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Amino acid imbalance and tryptophanniacin metabolism: I. Effect of excess leucine on the urinary excretion of tryptophan-niacin metabolites in rats

The effect of feeding excess leucine on the urinary excretion of tryptophan-niacin metabolites and nitrogen was studied in young and adult rats. Urinary excretion of quinolinic acid and N'methylnicotinamide was increased in both young and adult rats when L-leucine was added at 1.5% level to a 9% casein diet. Quinolinic acid excretion was more markedly affected in young rats, whereas N'-methylnicotinamide excretion was more affected in adult rats. Isoleucine counteracted the effect of leucine in young rats. Nitrogen excretion increased on leucine feeding in adult rats but not in young rats. Adult rats fed a jowar (Sorghum vulgare) diet tended to excrete relatively more N'-methylnicotinamide and niacin than when fed a wheat diet

Correlation between prevalence rates of pulmonary tuberculosis, tuberculous infection and non-specific sensitivity

Data from the initial examination of a BCG trial have been analysed to determine mathematical relationship, if any, between the prevalence of infection and disease. Also, because non-specific sensitivity otters protection against the development of tuberculosis and because there was high prevalence of nonspecific sensitivity in the area of the study, relationship between nonspecific sensitivity and tuberculosis had also been studied. Results of the analysis showed that relationship between prevalence of tuberculous infection and disease is not amenable to any simple mathematical quantification. However, the values of the coefficients of correlation between the two were statistically highly significant suggesting that the prevalence of one varied directly with the prevalence of the other in the community, and that preve-lence of infection may be used as an indicator for the prevalence of disease at different points of time. The analysis also showed the existence of an inverse relationship between prevalence of tuber-culosis ane prevalence of non-specific sensitivity tending to confirm the previous finding that the latter offered protection against the other

Multi-objective optimization of venturi scrubbers using a three-dimensional model for collection efficiency

Multi-objective optimization of a venturi scrubber was carried out using a three-dimensional model for collection efficiency and non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA). Two objective functions, namely (a) maximization of the overall collection efficiency, and (b) minimization of the pressure drop were used in this study. Three decision variables including two operating parameters, viz liquid-gas ratio and gas velocity in the throat, and the nozzle configuration, which takes into account the three-dimensional nature of the problem, were used in the optimization. Optimal design curves (non-dominated Pareto sets) and the values of the decision variables corresponding to optimum conditions on the Pareto set for a pilot-scale scrubber were obtained. The liquid to gas (L/G) ratio, which is a key decision variable that determines the uniformity of liquid distribution, and a staggered nozzle configuration can produce uniform liquid distribution in the scrubber. Multiple penetration using nozzles of two different sizes in a triangular staggered arrangement can reduce liquid loading by as much as 50%, consequently reducing the pressure drop in the scrubber

Unexpected diversity of RNase P, an ancient tRNA processing enzyme: challenges and prospects

For an enzyme functioning predominantly in a seemingly housekeeping role of 5′ tRNA maturation, RNase P displays a remarkable diversity in subunit make-up across the three domains of life. Despite the protein complexity of this ribonucleoprotein enzyme increasing dramatically from bacteria to eukarya, the catalytic function rests with the RNA subunit during evolution. However, the recent demonstration of a protein-only human mitochondrial RNase P has added further intrigue to the compositional variability of this enzyme. In this review, we discuss some possible reasons underlying the structural diversity of the active sites, and use them as thematic bases for elaborating new directions to understand how functional variations might have contributed to the complex evolution of RNase P