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This research explores how the changes in food services have affected super-regional shopping centres in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area between the years of 2014 and 2019. As shopping centres have begun to shift some of their operations away from traditional retailers and begun to invest in food services throughout the centre. The research examines seven food service categories and how each of them affect the overall trade areas of the shopping centre. Trade areas were created through a 60:40 weighting system for the attractiveness of each shopping centre, with 60% going to retail while 40% going to food services. The results of this study indicated that a growth in Fast-Casual, Gourmet Food, and Impulse food services across all shopping centres. While trade areas of shopping centres have seen mixed results due to the growth of food services. Keywords: Food Services, Shopping Centres, Huff Model, Toronto

Economic theory suggest that dollarization increases the degree of interdependence between the dollarized economy and the anchor country. We test this theory for the case of the U.S. and Ecuador. We evaluate the existence of common trends and common cycles amongst production variables. The analysis considers data at the aggregate and industry levels. At the aggregate level, the results show that the economies of the U.S. and Ecuador were interrelated prior to dollarization. This interrelation increased after Ecuador adopted the U.S. dollar. At the industry level, we find that synchronization existed between some Ecuadorian industries and the U.S. Gross Domestic Product prior to dollarization. The interdependence increased after dollarization and it is particularly evident for the financial industry. This result is especially important since it shows how the use of a common currency leads to the integration of financial markets in the dollarized economy and economic activity in the anchor country.

Arginase deficiency is caused by biallelic mutations in arginase 1 (ARG1), the final step of the urea cycle, and results biochemically in hyperargininemia and the presence of guanidino compounds, while it is clinically notable for developmental delays, spastic diplegia, psychomotor function loss, and (uncommonly) death. There is currently no completely effective medical treatment available. While preclinical strategies have been demonstrated, disadvantages with viral-based episomal-expressing gene therapy vectors include the risk of insertional mutagenesis and limited efficacy due to hepatocellular division. Recent advances in messenger RNA (mRNA) codon optimization, synthesis, and encapsulation within biodegradable liver-targeted lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have potentially enabled a new generation of safer, albeit temporary, treatments to restore liver metabolic function in patients with urea cycle disorders, including ARG1 deficiency. In this study, we applied such technologies to successfully treat an ARG1-deficient murine model. Mice were administered LNPs encapsulating human codon-optimized ARG1 mRNA every 3 d. Mice demonstrated 100% survival with no signs of hyperammonemia or weight loss to beyond 11 wk, compared with controls that perished by day 22. Plasma ammonia, arginine, and glutamine demonstrated good control without elevation of guanidinoacetic acid, a guanidino compound. Evidence of urea cycle activity restoration was demonstrated by the ability to fully metabolize an ammonium challenge and by achieving near-normal ureagenesis; liver arginase activity achieved 54% of wild type. Biochemical and microscopic data showed no evidence of hepatotoxicity. These results suggest that delivery of ARG1 mRNA by liver-targeted nanoparticles may be a viable gene-based therapeutic for the treatment of arginase deficiency.

The transplantation, engraftment, and expansion of primary hepatocytes have the potential to be an effective therapy for metabolic disorders of the liver including those of nitrogen metabolism. To date, such methods for the treatment of urea cycle disorders in murine models has only been minimally explored. Arginase deficiency, an inherited disorder of nitrogen metabolism that presents in the first two years of life, has the potential to be treated by such methods. To explore the potential of this approach, we mated the conditional arginase deficient mouse with a mouse model deficient in fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (FAH) and with Rag2 and IL2-Rγ mutations to give a selective advantage to transplanted (normal) human hepatocytes. On day −1, a uroplasminogen-expressing adenoviral vector was administered intravenously followed the next day with the transplantation of 1 × 10 6 human hepatocytes (or vehicle alone) by intrasplenic injection. As the initial number of administered hepatocytes would be too low to prevent hepatotoxicity-induced mortality, NTBC cycling was performed to allow for hepatocyte expansion and repopulation. While all control mice died, all except one human hepatocyte transplanted mice survived. Four months after hepatocyte transplantation, 2 × 10 11 genome copies of AAV-TBG-Cre recombinase was administered IV to disrupt endogenous hepatic arginase expression. While all control mice died within the first month, human hepatocyte transplanted mice did well. Ammonia and amino acids, analyzed in both groups before and after disruption of endogenous arginase expression, while well-controlled in the transplanted group, were markedly abnormal in the controls. Ammonium challenging further demonstrated the durability and functionality of the human repopulated liver. In conclusion, these studies demonstrate that human hepatocyte repopulation in the murine liver can result in effective treatment of arginase deficiency.

The enzyme carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 (CPS1; EC 6.3.4.16) forms carbamoyl phosphate from bicarbonate, ammonia, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and is activated allosterically by N-acetylglutamate. The neonatal presentation of bi-allelic mutations of CPS1 results in hyperammonemia with reduced citrulline and is reported as the most challenging nitrogen metabolism disorder to treat. As therapeutic interventions are limited, patients often develop neurological injury or die from hyperammonemia. Survivors remain vulnerable to nitrogen overload, being at risk for repetitive neurological injury. With transgenic technology, our lab developed a constitutive Cps1 mutant mouse and reports its characterization herein. Within 24 hours of birth, all Cps1 $^{-/-}$ mice developed hyperammonemia and expired. No CPS1 protein by Western blot or immunostaining was detected in livers nor was Cps1 mRNA present. CPS1 enzymatic activity was markedly decreased in knockout livers and reduced in Cps1$^{+/-}$ mice. Plasma analysis found markedly reduced citrulline and arginine and markedly increased glutamine and alanine, both intermolecular carriers of nitrogen, along with elevated ammonia, taurine, and lysine. Derangements in multiple other amino acids were also detected. While hepatic amino acids also demonstrated markedly reduced citrulline, arginine, while decreased, was not statistically significant; alanine and lysine were markedly increased while glutamine was trending towards significance. In conclusion we have determined that this constitutive neonatal mouse model of CPS1 deficiency replicates the neonatal human phenotype and demonstrates the key biochemical features of the disorder. These mice will be integral for addressing the challenges of developing new therapeutic approaches for this, at present, poorly treated disorder.

The urea cycle enzyme carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 (CPS1) catalyzes the initial step of the urea cycle; bi-allelic mutations typically present with hyperammonemia, vomiting, ataxia, lethargy progressing into coma, and death due to brain edema if ineffectively treated. The enzyme deficiency is particularly difficult to treat; early recognition is essential to minimize injury to the brain. Even under optimal conditions, therapeutic interventions are of limited scope and efficacy, with most patients developing long-term neurologic sequelae. One significant encumberment to gene therapeutic development is the size of the CPS1 cDNA, which, at 4.5 kb, nears the packaging capacity of adeno-associated virus (AAV). Herein we developed a split AAV (sAAV)-based approach, packaging the large transgene and its regulatory cassette into two separate vectors, thereby delivering therapeutic CPS1 by a dual vector system with testing in a murine model of the disorder. Cps1-deficient mice treated with sAAVs survive long-term with markedly improved ammonia levels, diminished dysregulation of circulating amino acids, and increased hepatic CPS1 expression and activity. In response to acute ammonia challenging, sAAV-treated female mice rapidly incorporated nitrogen into urea. This study demonstrates the first proof-of-principle that sAAV-mediated therapy is a viable, potentially clinically translatable approach to CPS1 deficiency, a devastating urea cycle disorder.

Deficiency of arginase is associated with hyperargininemia, and prominent features include spastic diplegia/tetraplegia, clonus, and hyperreflexia; loss of ambulation, intellectual disability and progressive neurological decline are other signs. To gain greater insight into the unique neuromotor features, we performed gene expression profiling of the motor cortex of a murine model of the disorder. Coexpression network analysis suggested an abnormality with myelination, which was supported by limited existing human data. Utilizing electron microscopy, marked dysmyelination was detected in 2-week-old homozygous Arg1-KO mice. The corticospinal tract was found to be adversely affected, supporting dysmyelination as the cause of the unique neuromotor features and implicating oligodendrocyte impairment in a deficiency of hepatic Arg1. Following neonatal hepatic gene therapy to express Arg1, the subcortical white matter, pyramidal tract, and corticospinal tract all showed a remarkable recovery in terms of myelinated axon density and ultrastructural integrity with active wrapping of axons by nearby oligodendrocyte processes. These findings support the following conclusions: arginase deficiency is a leukodystrophy affecting the brain and spinal cord while sparing the peripheral nervous system, and neonatal AAV hepatic gene therapy can rescue the defects associated with myelinated axons, strongly implicating the functional recovery of oligodendrocytes after restoration of hepatic arginase activity.

Adult stem cells possess the ability to differentiate and mature into defined cell types; however, tissue-specificity and donor and culture inconsistencies have presented a challenge in identifying these cells. Adult adherent dermal cell-products have been efficiently utilized for isogenic cosmetic therapies. The purpose of this study is to identify, isolate, and characterize progenitor subsets from adult adherent dermal cells capable of ex vivo differentiation. LAVIV® adult dermal cells were independently immunoselected for CD146, CD271, and CD73/CD90/CD105 to investigate the mesenchymal differentiation capacity and possible enrichment in the purified fractions. After differentiation, the osteogenic, chondrogenic, and adipogenic potential and cell-specific gene expression were evaluated and compared for each phenotype. Adult dermal cells possess the ability to differentiate into the three cell lineages, osteocyte, chondrocyte, and adipocyte that co-express the adult stem cell immunophenotypic markers CD146 and CD271 with independent enrichment of the multipotent capacity for both fractions. We conclude that subpopulations in human dermal primary cultures possess the potential to differentiate into other cell types providing a novel source of multipotent cells for regenerative medicine.

Autologous human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) should allow cellular therapeutics without an associated immune response. This concept has been controversial since the original report that syngeneic mouse iPSCs elicited an immune response after transplantation. However, an investigative analysis of any potential acute immune responses in hiPSCs and their derivatives has yet to be conducted. In the present study, we used correlative gene expression analysis of two putative mouse “immunogenicity” genes, ZG16 and HORMAD1, to assay their human homologous expression levels in human pluripotent stem cells and their derivatives. We found that ZG16 expression is heterogeneous across multiple human embryonic stem cell and hiPSC-derived cell types. Additionally, ectopic expression of ZG16 in antigen-presenting cells is insufficient to trigger a detectable response in a peripheral blood mononuclear cell coculture assay. Neither of the previous immunogenicity-associated genes in the mouse currently appears to be relevant in a human context.

Liver disease affects large numbers of patients, yet there are limited treatments available to replace absent or ineffective cellular function of this crucial organ. Donor scarcity and the necessity for immunosuppression limit one effective therapy, orthotopic liver transplantation. But in some conditions such as inborn errors of metabolism or transient states of liver insufficiency, patients may be salvaged by providing partial quantities of functional liver tissue. After transplanting multicellular liver organoid units composed of a heterogeneous cellular population that includes adult stem and progenitor cells, both mouse and human tissue-engineered liver (TELi) form in vivo. TELi contains normal liver components such as hepatocytes with albumin expression, CK19-expressing bile ducts and vascular structures with α-smooth muscle actin expression, desmin-expressing stellate cells, and CD31-expressing endothelial cells. At 4 weeks, TELi contains proliferating albumin-expressing cells and identification of β2-microglobulin-expressing cells demonstrates that the majority of human TELi is composed of transplanted human cells. Human albumin is detected in the host mouse serum, indicating in vivo secretory function. Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometric analysis of mouse serum after debrisoquine administration is followed by a significant increase in the level of the human metabolite, 4-OH-debrisoquine, which supports the metabolic and xenobiotic capability of human TELi in vivo. Implanted TELi grew in a mouse model of inducible liver failure.

The purpose of this study is to test price momentum and the discounting effects on the stock prices of a firm immediately after its quarterly earnings announcement. The approach is holistic and cross-sectional. The model consists of a series of regressions in which the dependent variables were of several differing durations of price reaction periods and the explanatory variables account for timing effects, price momentum, market co-movement, earnings forecast, analyst effects, forecast revisions, earnings surprises and sectoral differences. There is evidence that points to mid- and long-term momentum that extend a day or two after the earnings release. After that point, there seems to be a net discounting effect. That is, there is evidence of an inverse relationship between the price change prior to the earnings announcement and the price change after the earnings announcement.

Urea cycle disorders are incurable enzymopathies that affect nitrogen metabolism and typically lead to hyperammonemia. Arginase deficiency results from a mutation in Arg1, the enzyme regulating the final step of ureagenesis and typically results in developmental disabilities, seizures, spastic diplegia, and sometimes death. Current medical treatments for urea cycle disorders are only marginally effective, and for proximal disorders, liver transplantation is effective but limited by graft availability. Advances in human induced pluripotent stem cell research has allowed for the genetic modification of stem cells for potential cellular replacement therapies. In this study, we demonstrate a universally-applicable CRISPR/Cas9-based strategy utilizing exon 1 of the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase locus to genetically modify and restore arginase activity, and thus ureagenesis, in genetically distinct patient-specific human induced pluripotent stem cells and hepatocyte-like derivatives. Successful strategies restoring gene function in patient-specific human induced pluripotent stem cells may advance applications of genetically modified cell therapy to treat urea cycle and other inborn errors of metabolism.

Pluripotent stem cells offer great therapeutic promise for personalized treatment platforms for numerous injuries, disorders, and diseases. Octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT4) is a key regulatory gene maintaining pluripotency and self-renewal of mammalian cells. With site-specific integration for gene correction in cellular therapeutics, use of the OCT4 promoter may have advantages when expressing a suicide gene if pluripotency remains. However, the human OCT4 promoter region is 4 kb in size, limiting the capacity of therapeutic genes and other regulatory components for viral vectors, and decreasing the efficiency of homologous recombination. The purpose of this investigation was to characterize the functionality of a novel 967bp OCT4-short response element during pluripotency and to examine the OCT4 titer-dependent response during differentiation to human derivatives not expressing OCT4. Our findings demonstrate that the OCT4-short response element is active in pluripotency and this activity is in high correlation with transgene expression in vitro, and the OCT4-short response element is inactivated when pluripotent cells differentiate. These studies demonstrate that this shortened OCT4 regulatory element is functional and may be useful as part of an optimized safety component in a site-specific gene transferring system that could be used as an efficient and clinically applicable safety platform for gene transfer in cellular therapeutics.

Urea cycle disorders (UCDs) are incurable genetic diseases that affect the body's ability to produce urea, leading to hyperammonemia due to a deficiency in any one of six enzymes in the cycle. For arginase deficiency, a mutation in the ARG1 gene, the final step of the cycle, results in hyperargininemia, developmental delays and disabilities, seizures, psychomotor function loss, and in serious cases, death. There is currently no completely effective treatment available. Advances in human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) research and genome-editing technologies have enabled the genetic modification of stem cells for potential cellular replacement therapies. In this study, we applied such technology to develop a stem cell-based approach for treating arginase deficiency applicable to all arginase deficient patients regardless of their mutation. Methods: Fibroblasts from three patients with arginase deficiency were obtained, defined for their mutation, and reprogrammed into hiPSCs. Selectable, full-length codon optimized human arginase cDNA (coARG) expression cassettes were then developed for site-specific integration into either the HPRT or albumin (ALB) locus. After confirming specificity by Sanger sequencing, genetically corrected hiPSCs were differentiated to hepatocyte-like cells. Results: Fibroblasts were reprogrammed into hiPSCs by applying a STEMCCA lentivirus-based method and were characterized for pluripotency by immunophenotyping for common stemness markers via ICC, alkaline phosphatase staining, and in vivo teratoma formation. Using a site-specific CRISPR/Cas9 nickase-mediated gene transferring system, we inserted coARG by two approaches. First, coARG was inserted into the HPRT locus under the control of constitutive hEF1α promoter (LEAPR); targeting HPRT allowed for positive clonal selection of successful on-target integration by 6-thioguanine treatment. Second, we inserted coARG into the ALB locus for expression under the endogenous ALB promoter (ALB-coARG) as ALB is highly expressed in human liver. After LEAPR and ALB-coARG modification and sequence confirmation, hiPSCs were differentiated to hepatocyte-like cells and characterized by immunophenotyping via ICC and RNA expression via RT-PCR for common hepatic markers; cells demonstrated more fetal-like characteristics. Moreover, LEAPR- and ALB-coARG-modified hepatocyte-like cells demonstrated 41% and 1% functional arginase activity recovery compared to human fetal liver, respectively. Discussion: In this study, we demonstrated the ability to genetically correct mutated ARG1 gene expression in hiPSCs derived from patients with hyperargininemia and restored arginase function in hiPSCs and hepatocyte derivatives by CRISPR/Cas9-based gene addition. As the LEAPR construct demonstrated marked coARG expression, recovery of arginase activity of ALB-ARG-modified hepatocyte-like cells was low; we expect significant arginase recovery after in vivo maturation of transplanted cells as ALB expression increases with hepatocyte maturation. Also, to demonstrate potential in vivo recovery of arginase deficiency pathogenesis, ongoing studies aim to transplant both cohorts of gene-corrected hepatocyte-like cells into an established arginase deficient immunosuppressed mouse model. Successful restoration of enzyme function in patient-specific hiPSCs and relevant cellular derivatives will highlight hiPSCs as a valuable tool in cell replacement therapies and advance applications of genetically modified hiPSCs to treat UCDs and other single enzyme liver deficiencies.