Effect of insulin-like growth factor I on HIV type 1 long terminal repeat-driven chloramphenicol acetyltransferase expression

In this study, we have investigated the ability of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) to inhibit HIV long terminal repeat (LTR)-driven gene expression. Using COS 7 cells cotransfected with tat and an HIV LTR linked to a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter, we observed that physiological levels of IGF-I (10-9 M) significantly inhibited CAT expression in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. IGF-I did not inhibit C AT expression in COS 7 cells transfected with pSVCAT, and did not affect CAT expression in the absence of cotransfection with tat . Transfection of HIV-1 proviral DNA into COS 7 cells +/- IGF-I resulted in a significant decrease ( p 0.05) in infectious virion production. Both IGF-I and Ro24-7429 inhibited LTR-driven C AT expression, while TNF- alpha -enhanced CAT expression was not affected by IGF-I. On the other hand, a plasmid encoding parathyroid hormone-related peptide exhibited dramatic additivity of inhibition of CAT expression in COS 7 cells. Finally, we show that in Jurkat or U937 cells cotransfected with HIVLTRCAT/tat, IGF-I significantly inhibited CAT expression. Further, interleukin 4 showed in U937 cells inhibition of CAT expression that was not additive to IGF-I induced inhibition. Our data demonstrate that IGF-I can specifically inhibit HIVLTRCAT expression. This inhibition may occur at the level of the tat /TAR interaction. Finally, this IGF-I effect is seen in target cell lines and similar paths of inhibition may be involved in the various cell types employed.

Functional range of movement of the hand : declination angles to reachable space

 The measurement of the range of hand joint movement is an essential part of clinical practice and rehabilitation. Current methods use three finger joint declination angles of the metacarpophalangeal, proximal interphalangeal and distal interphalangeal joints. In this paper we propose an alternate form of measurement for the finger movement. Using the notion of reachable space instead of declination angles has significant advantages. Firstly, it provides a visual and quantifiable method that therapists, insurance companies and patients can easily use to understand the functional capabilities of the hand. Secondly, it eliminates the redundant declination angle constraints. Finally, reachable space, defined by a set of reachable fingertip positions, can be measured and constructed by using a modern camera such as Creative Senz3D or built-in hand gesture sensors such as the Leap Motion Controller. Use of cameras or optical-type sensors for this purpose have considerable benefits such as eliminating and minimal involvement of therapist errors, non-contact measurement in addition to valuable time saving for the clinician. A comparison between using declination angles and reachable space were made based on Hume's experiment on functional range of movement to prove the efficiency of this new approach.

Islamic or conventional mutual funds: who has the upper hand? Evidence from Malaysia

Contradictory results are documented in the literature regarding which type of mutual fund has superior performance; an Islamic or conventional mutual fund. Due to the relative short history of the Islamic mutual funds' industry, prior literature has inevitably relied on a small sample size with a short sample period. With the longest applicable sample period, this study represents one of the most recent attempts to address this conflicting evidence. We find there is no clear cut over performance by Islamic mutual funds against their conventional peers across the three financial crises in our sample period, with the exception of the most recent global financial crisis, where Islamic mutual funds generally outperformed their conventional counterparts. We further find that Islamic funds significantly outperformed conventional funds in the riskiest asset class, equity, one year before and during the global financial crisis. We further reveal that the modified value at risk for Islamic mutual funds was significantly lower than their conventional peers during the global financial crisis. This seems to indicate that Islamic mutual funds have better risk management compared to conventional peers.