A review of efficiency measures for REITs and their specific application for Malaysian Islamic REITs

Purpose This paper aims to present a conceptual model on the efficiency of Islamic Real Estate Trusts (I-REITs) available in Malaysia. The key difference between the Islamic and their conventional investment vehicle part is mainly its own Shariah framework. Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews and synthesises the relevant literature on the performance analysis and efficiency measurements of Real Estate Investment Trusts. The paper then develops and proposes a conceptual model to measure the efficiency of Malaysian Islamic REITs. Findings The paper identifies and examines the appropriate methods and instruments to measure the efficiency in relation to the risk and profitability of Islamic REITs. The efficiency measure is important for the fund managers in order to maximise the shareholders’ return in an investment of property portfolio as well as proposing the best way to allocate resources efficiently. Research limitation/implications This is a preliminary review of current work that identifies the issues that will be addressed in future empirical research. The authors will be undertaking this future empirical research in measuring the efficiency of Malaysian REITs particularly the Islamic REITs using the non-parametric approach of Data Envelopment Analysis. Originality/value To date, there has been very limited research on the efficiency measurement of Islamic REITs. The current analysis of REIT has been focused on traditional non-Islamic funds. This paper will review and discuss the current literature on efficiency measurement to determine the most appropriate approaches and methodologies for future application in performance analysis of efficiency measure for Malaysian Islamic REITs.

An investigation into the effectiveness of sensory modulation in reducing seclusion within an acute mental health unit

In this paper we report the findings from an evaluation of the introduction of sensory modulation (SM) in an acute mental health inpatient unit. It was expected that SM could be used to help settle patients experiencing high levels of disturbance and that as a result, there would be less need for use of more restrictive seclusion practices. The evaluation took place in a hospital in south-east Queensland, Australia. SM was introduced in one acute unit while the other served as a control. The evaluation comprised two studies. In the first study we aimed to determine whether SM reduced the level of disturbance among patients given the opportunity to use it. In the second study we aimed to find out whether the introduction of SM reduced the frequency and duration of seclusion. In study 1, we found that most patients reported marked reduction in disturbance after using SM and there was a very large effect size for the group as a whole. In study 2, we found that frequency of seclusion dropped dramatically in the unit that introduced SM but rose slightly in the unit that did not have access to SM. The change in seclusion rate was highly significant (χ2 = 49.1, df = 1, p < 0.001). Results are discussed, having reference to the limitations inherent in a naturalistic study.

Population of computational rabbit-specific ventricular action potential models for investigating sources of variability in cellular repolarisation

Variability is observed at all levels of cardiac electrophysiology. Yet, the underlying causes and importance of this variability are generally unknown, and difficult to investigate with current experimental techniques. The aim of the present study was to generate populations of computational ventricular action potential models that reproduce experimentally observed intercellular variability of repolarisation (represented by action potential duration) and to identify its potential causes. A systematic exploration of the effects of simultaneously varying the magnitude of six transmembrane current conductances (transient outward, rapid and slow delayed rectifier K(+), inward rectifying K(+), L-type Ca(2+), and Na(+)/K(+) pump currents) in two rabbit-specific ventricular action potential models (Shannon et al. and Mahajan et al.) at multiple cycle lengths (400, 600, 1,000 ms) was performed. This was accomplished with distributed computing software specialised for multi-dimensional parameter sweeps and grid execution. An initial population of 15,625 parameter sets was generated for both models at each cycle length. Action potential durations of these populations were compared to experimentally derived ranges for rabbit ventricular myocytes. 1,352 parameter sets for the Shannon model and 779 parameter sets for the Mahajan model yielded action potential duration within the experimental range, demonstrating that a wide array of ionic conductance values can be used to simulate a physiological rabbit ventricular action potential. Furthermore, by using clutter-based dimension reordering, a technique that allows visualisation of multi-dimensional spaces in two dimensions, the interaction of current conductances and their relative importance to the ventricular action potential at different cycle lengths were revealed. Overall, this work represents an important step towards a better understanding of the role that variability in current conductances may play in experimentally observed intercellular variability of rabbit ventricular action potential repolarisation.

A model to explain specific cellular communications and cellular harmony: - a hypothesis of coupled cells and interactive coupling molecules

Background The various cell types and their relative numbers in multicellular organisms are controlled by growth factors and related extracellular molecules which affect genetic expression pathways. However, these substances may have both/either inhibitory and/or stimulatory effects on cell division and cell differentiation depending on the cellular environment. It is not known how cells respond to these substances in such an ambiguous way. Many cellular effects have been investigated and reported using cell culture from cancer cell lines in an effort to define normal cellular behaviour using these abnormal cells. A model is offered to explain the harmony of cellular life in multicellular organisms involving interacting extracellular substances. Methods A basic model was proposed based on asymmetric cell division and evidence to support the hypothetical model was accumulated from the literature. In particular, relevant evidence was selected for the Insulin-Like Growth Factor system from the published data, especially from certain cell lines, to support the model. The evidence has been selective in an attempt to provide a picture of normal cellular responses, derived from the cell lines. Results The formation of a pair of coupled cells by asymmetric cell division is an integral part of the model as is the interaction of couplet molecules derived from these cells. Each couplet cell will have a receptor to measure the amount of the couplet molecule produced by the other cell; each cell will be receptor-positive or receptor-negative for the respective receptors. The couplet molecules will form a binary complex whose level is also measured by the cell. The hypothesis is heavily supported by selective collection of circumstantial evidence and by some direct evidence. The basic model can be expanded to other cellular interactions. Conclusions These couplet cells and interacting couplet molecules can be viewed as a mechanism that provides a controlled and balanced division-of-labour between the two progeny cells, and, in turn, their progeny. The presence or absence of a particular receptor for a couplet molecule will define a cell type and the presence or absence of many such receptors will define the cell types of the progeny within cell lineages.

Evaluation of the relationship between Chlamydia pecorum sequence types and disease using a species-specific multi-locus sequence typing scheme (MLST)

Chlamydia pecorum is globally associated with several ovine diseases including keratoconjunctivitis and polyarthritis. The exact relationship between the variety of C. pecorum strains reported and the diseases described in sheep remains unclear, challenging efforts to accurately diagnose and manage infected flocks. In the present study, we applied C. pecorum multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) to C. pecorum positive samples collected from sympatric flocks of Australian sheep presenting with conjunctivitis, conjunctivitis with polyarthritis, or polyarthritis only and with no clinical disease (NCD) in order to elucidate the exact relationships between the infecting strains and the range of diseases. Using Bayesian phylogenetic and cluster analyses on 62 C. pecorum positive ocular, vaginal and rectal swab samples from sheep presenting with a range of diseases and in a comparison to C. pecorum sequence types (STs) from other hosts, one ST (ST 23) was recognised as a globally distributed strain associated with ovine and bovine diseases such as polyarthritis and encephalomyelitis. A second ST (ST 69) presently only described in Australian animals, was detected in association with ovine as well as koala chlamydial infections. The majority of vaginal and rectal C. pecorum STs from animals with NCD and/or anatomical sites with no clinical signs of disease in diseased animals, clustered together in a separate group, by both analyses. Furthermore, 8/13 detected STs were novel. This study provides a platform for strain selection for further research into the pathogenic potential of C. pecorum in animals and highlights targets for potential strain-specific diagnostic test development.

Probabilistic assessment of herbicide runoff from Japanese rice paddies: The effects of local meteorological conditions and site-specific water management

Uncertainty assessments of herbicide losses from rice paddies in Japan associated with local meteorological conditions and water management practices were performed using a pesticide fate and transport model, PCPF-1, under the Monte Carlo (MC) simulation scheme. First, MC simulations were conducted for five different cities with a prescribed water management scenario and a 10-year meteorological dataset of each city. The effectiveness of water management was observed regarding the reduction of pesticide runoff. However, a greater potential of pesticide runoff remained in Western Japan. Secondly, an extended analysis was attempted to evaluate the effects of local water management and meteorological conditions between the Chikugo River basin and the Sakura River basin using uncertainty inputs processed from observed water management data. The results showed that because of more severe rainfall events, significant pesticide runoff occurred in the Chikugo River basin even when appropriate irrigation practices were implemented. © Pesticide Science Society of Japan.

The in vivo fate of nanoparticles and nanoparticle-loaded microcapsules after oral administration in mice: Evaluation of their potential for colon-specific delivery

Anti-cancer drug loaded-nanoparticles (NPs) or encapsulation of NPs in colon-targeted delivery systems shows potential for increasing the local drug concentration in the colon leading to improved treatment of colorectal cancer. To investigate the potential of the NP-based strategies for colon-specific delivery, two formulations, free Eudragit® NPs and enteric-coated NP-loaded chitosan–hypromellose microcapsules (MCs) were fluorescently-labelled and their tissue distribution in mice after oral administration was monitored by multispectral small animal imaging. The free NPs showed a shorter transit time throughout the mouse digestive tract than the MCs, with extensive excretion of NPs in faeces at 5 h. Conversely, the MCs showed complete NP release in the lower region of the mouse small intestine at 8 h post-administration. Overall, the encapsulation of NPs in MCs resulted in a higher colonic NP intensity from 8 h to 24 h post-administration compared to the free NPs, due to a NP ‘guarding’ effect of MCs during their transit along mouse gastrointestinal tract which decreased NP excretion in faeces. These imaging data revealed that this widely-utilised colon-targeting MC formulation lacked site-precision for releasing its NP load in the colon, but the increased residence time of the NPs in the lower gastrointestinal tract suggests that it is still useful for localised release of chemotherapeutics, compared to NP administration alone. In addition, both formulations resided in the stomach of mice at considerable concentrations over 24 h. Thus, adhesion of NP- or MC-based oral delivery systems to gastric mucosa may be problematic for colon-specific delivery of the cargo to the colon and should be carefully investigated for a full evaluation of particulate delivery systems.

The multiple sclerosis whole blood mRNA transcriptome and genetic associations indicate dysregulation of specific T cell pathways in pathogenesis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease with a genetic component, caused at least in part by aberrant lymphocyte activity. The whole blood mRNA transcriptome was measured for 99 untreated MS patients: 43 primary progressive MS, 20 secondary progressive MS, 36 relapsing remitting MS and 45 age-matched healthy controls. The ANZgene Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Consortium genotyped more than 300 000 SNPs for 115 of these samples. Transcription from genes on translational regulation, oxidative phosphorylation, immune synapse and antigen presentation pathways was markedly increased in all forms of MS. Expression of genes tagging T cells was also upregulated (P < 10-12) in MS. A T cell gene signature predicts disease state with a concordance index of 0.79 with age and gender as co-variables, but the signature is not associated with clinical course or disability. The ANZgene genome wide association screen identified two novel regions with genome wide significance: one encoding the T cell co-stimulatory molecule, CD40; the other a region on chromosome 12q13-14. The CD40 haplotype associated with increased MS susceptibility has decreased gene expression in MS (P < 0.0007). The second MS susceptibility region includes 17 genes on 12q13-14 in tight linkage disequilibrium. Of these, only 13 are expressed in leukocytes, and of these the expression of one, FAM119B, is much lower in the susceptibility haplotype (P tdthomlt; 10-14). Overall, these data indicate dysregulation of T cells can be detected in the whole blood of untreated MS patients, and supports targeting of activated T cells in therapy for all forms of MS.

Specific rolling circle amplification of low-copy human polyomaviruses BKV, HPyV6, HPyV7, TSPyV, and STLPyV

Eleven new human polyomaviruses have been recently discovered, yet for most of these viruses, little is known of their biology and clinical impact. Rolling circle amplification (RCA) is an ideal method for the amplification of the circular polyomavirus genome due to its high fidelity amplification of circular DNA. In this study, a modified RCA method was developed to selectively amplify a range of polyomavirus genomes. Initial evaluation showed a multiplexed temperature-graded reaction profile gave the best yield and sensitivity in amplifying BK polyomavirus in a background of human DNA, with up to 1 × 10(8)-fold increases in viral genomes from as little as 10 genome copies per reaction. Furthermore, the method proved to be more sensitive and provided a 200-fold greater yield than that of random hexamers based standard RCA. Application of the method to other novel human polyomaviruses showed successful amplification of TSPyV, HPyV6, HPyV7, and STLPyV from low-viral load positive clinical samples, with viral genome enrichment ranging from 1 × 10(8) up to 1 × 10(10). This directed RCA method can be applied to selectively amplify other low-copy polyomaviral genomes from a background of competing non-specific DNA, and is a useful tool in further research into the rapidly expanding Polyomaviridae family.

Flow pattern analysis in a highly stenotic patient-specific carotid bifurcation model using a turbulence model

The aim of this study is to investigate the blood flow pattern in carotid bifurcation with a high degree of luminal stenosis, combining in vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). A newly developed two-equation transitional model was employed to evaluate wall shear stress (WSS) distribution and pressure drop across the stenosis, which are closely related to plaque vulnerability. A patient with an 80% left carotid stenosis was imaged using high resolution MRI, from which a patient-specific geometry was reconstructed and flow boundary conditions were acquired for CFD simulation. A transitional model was implemented to investigate the flow velocity and WSS distribution in the patient-specific model. The peak time-averaged WSS value of approximately 73Pa was predicted by the transitional flow model, and the regions of high WSS occurred at the throat of the stenosis. High oscillatory shear index values up to 0.50 were present in a helical flow pattern from the outer wall of the internal carotid artery immediately after the throat. This study shows the potential suitability of a transitional turbulent flow model in capturing the flow phenomena in severely stenosed carotid arteries using patient-specific MRI data and provides the basis for further investigation of the links between haemodynamic variables and plaque vulnerability. It may be useful in the future for risk assessment of patients with carotid disease.

Normalized wall index specific and MRI-based stress analysis of atherosclerotic carotid plaques: A study comparing acutely symptomatic and asymptomatic patients

Background: Biomechanical stresses play an important role in determining plaque stability. Quantification of these simulated stresses can be potentially used to assess plaque vulnerability and differentiate different patient groups. Methods and Results: 54 asymptomatic and 45 acutely symptomatic patients underwent in vivo multicontrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the carotid arteries. Plaque geometry used for finite element analysis was derived from in vivo MRI at the sites of maximum and minimum plaque burden. In total, 198 slices were used for the computational simulations. A pre-shrink technique was used to refine the simulation. Maximum principle stress at the vulnerable plaque sites (ie, critical stress) was extracted for the selected slices and a comparison was performed between the 2 groups. Critical stress in the slice with maximum plaque burden is significantly higher in acutely symptomatic patients as compared to asymptomatic patients (median, inter quartile range: 198.0 kPa (119.8-359.0 kPa) vs 138.4 kPa (83.8-242.6 kPa), P=0.04). No significant difference was found in the slice with minimum plaque burden between the 2 groups (196.7 kPa (133.3-282.7 kPa) vs 182.4 kPa (117.2-310.6 kPa), P=0.82). Conclusions: Acutely symptomatic carotid plaques have significantly high biomechanical stresses than asymptomatic plaques. This might be potentially useful for establishing a biomechanical risk stratification criteria based on plaque burden in future studies.

Fluid-structure interaction study on human arterial plaque with patient specific geometry and boundary conditions

Atherosclerotic plaque rupture has been extensively considered as the leading cause of death in western countries. It is believed that high stresses within plaque can be an important factor on triggering the rupture of the plaque. Stress analysis in the coronary and carotid arteries with plaque have been developed by many researchers from 2D to 3-D models, from structure analysis only to the Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) models[1].

Brain-specific epigenetic markers of schizophrenia

Epigenetics plays a crucial role in schizophrenia susceptibility. In a previous study, we identified over 4500 differentially methylated sites in prefrontal cortex (PFC) samples from schizophrenia patients. We believe this was the first genome-wide methylation study performed on human brain tissue using the Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 Bead Chip. To understand the biological significance of these results, we sought to identify a smaller number of differentially methylated regions (DMRs) of more functional relevance compared with individual differentially methylated sites. Since our schizophrenia whole genome methylation study was performed, another study analysing two separate data sets of post-mortem tissue in the PFC from schizophrenia patients has been published. We analysed all three data sets using the bumphunter function found in the Bioconductor package minfi to identify regions that are consistently differentially methylated across distinct cohorts. We identified seven regions that are consistently differentially methylated in schizophrenia, despite considerable heterogeneity in the methylation profiles of patients with schizophrenia. The regions were near CERS3, DPPA5, PRDM9, DDX43, REC8, LY6G5C and a region on chromosome 10. Of particular interest is PRDM9 which encodes a histone methyltransferase that is essential for meiotic recombination and is known to tag genes for epigenetic transcriptional activation. These seven DMRs are likely to be key epigenetic factors in the aetiology of schizophrenia and normal brain neurodevelopment.

Prolonged hyperinsulinemia affects metabolic signal transduction markers in a tissue specific manner

Insulin dysregulation is common in horses although the mechanisms of metabolic dysfunction are poorly understood. We hypothesized that insulin signaling in striated (cardiac and skeletal) muscle and lamellae may be mediated through different receptors as a result of receptor content, and that transcriptional regulation of downstream signal transduction and glucose transport may also differ between tissues sites during hyperinsulinemia. Archived samples from horses treated with a prolonged insulin infusion or a balanced electrolyte solution were used. All treated horses developed marked hyperinsulinemia and clinical laminitis. Protein expression was compared across tissues for the insulin receptor and insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) by immunoblotting. Gene expression of metabolic insulin-signaling markers (insulin receptor substrate 1, Akt2, and glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta [GSK-3β]) and glucose transport (basal glucose transporter 1 and insulin-sensitive glucose transporter 4) was evaluated using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Lamellar tissue contained significantly more IGF-1R protein than skeletal muscle, indicating the potential significance of IGF-1R signaling for this tissue. Gene expression of the selected markers of insulin signaling and glucose transport in skeletal muscle and lamellar tissues was unaffected by prolonged hyperinsulinemia. In contrast, the significant upregulation of Akt2, GSK-3β, GLUT1, and GLUT4 gene expression in cardiac tissue suggested that the prolonged hyperinsulinemia induced an increase in insulin sensitivity and a transcriptional activation of glucose transport. Responses to insulin are tissue-specific, and extrapolation of data across tissue sites is inappropriate.

Condition-specific associations of symptoms of depression and anxiety in adolescents and young adults with asthma and food allergy

Objective: This study examined associations of asthma and food allergy with symptoms of depression and anxiety at 14 and 21 years of age to determine whether condition-specific associations exist. Methods: Data come from 4972 adolescents in the Mater University Study of Pregnancy. Symptoms of depression and anxiety were assessed using the Youth Self-Report and Young Adult Self-Report. Results: Condition-specific associations between asthma and depression, OR=1.37 [1.12, 1.67] and between food allergy and anxiety, OR=1.26 [1.04, 1.76] were found during adolescence, but not in young adulthood. Whereas asthma was associated with resolved depression, OR=1.70 [1.13, 2.55], food allergy was associated with persistent anxiety, OR=1.26 [1.01, 1.59]. Conclusions: In adolescents, asthma is associated with an increased risk of clinically relevant symptoms of depression and food allergy with and increased risk of clinically relevant symptoms of anxiety. Future research is needed to clarify directionality and mechanisms explaining these relationships. Health professionals should be aware of the increased risk of mental health problems in adolescents with asthma or food allergy.