The objective of this paper is to help a bank originator of a collateralized debt obligation (CDO) to build a maximally profitable CDO. We consider an optimization framework for structuring CDOs. The objective is to select attachment/ detachment points and underlying instruments in the CDO pool. In addition to “standard” CDOs we study so-called “step-up” CDOs. In a standard CDO contract the att...

Cysteine levels are carefully regulated in mammals to balance metabolic needs against the potential for cytotoxicity. It has been postulated that one of the major regulators of intracellular cysteine levels in mammals is cysteine dioxygenase (CDO). Hepatic expression of this catabolic enzyme increases dramatically in response to increased cysteine availability and may therefore be part of a hom...

Herein, for the first time, we report a generalized strategy for the successful synthesis of highly crystalline metal and metal oxide nanoparticles embedded in a carbon matrix by the controlled thermolysis of metal organic frameworks (MOFs). The rationalized synthesis strategy of a broad range of metal and metal oxides nanoparticles, such as Cu/CuO, Co/Co(3)O(4), ZnO, Mn(2)O(3), MgO and CdS/CdO...

The promyogenic cell surface molecule Cdo is required for activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and nuclear factor of activated T cells c3 (NFATc3) induced by netrin-2 in myogenic differentiation. However, the molecular mechanism leading to NFATc3 activation is unknown. Stromal interaction molecule 1 (Stim1), an internal calcium sensor of the endoplasmic reticulum store, pro...

Holoprosencephaly (HPE) is caused by a failure to form the midline of the forebrain and/or midface. It is one of the most common human birth defects, but clinical expression is extremely variable. HPE is associated with mutations in the sonic hedgehog (SHH) pathway. Mice lacking the Shh pathway regulator Cdo (also called Cdon) display HPE with strain-dependent penetrance and expressivity, impli...

Mammalian metabolism of ingested cysteine is conducted principally within the liver. The liver tightly regulates its intracellular cysteine pool to keep levels high enough to meet the many catabolic and anabolic pathways for which cysteine is needed, but low enough to prevent toxicity. One of the enzymes the liver uses to regulate cysteine levels is CDO (cysteine dioxygenase). Catalysing the ir...

Cell-cell interactions between muscle precursors are required for myogenic differentiation; however, underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. Promyogenic cell surface protein Cdo functions as a component of multiprotein complexes containing other cell adhesion molecules, Boc, Neogenin and N-cadherin, and mediates some of signals triggered by cell-cell interactions between muscle precursors. C...