Greed, recklessness and/or dishonesty? An investigation into the micro-regulation and culture of five UK banks between 2004-2009

The author uses a multiple case study approach to examine five UK banks in her paper. The banks are Northern Rock, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and HSBC. The author feels that it is appropriate to use a multiple case study here because it will be interesting to study the micro aspects of regulation and corporate governance of five UK banks. The banks have to comply with the same regulations and laws on a macro level, so it is essential to examine the differences between these banks on a micro level through reviewing annual reports and financial ratios. The case study is longitudinal, spanning across 2004-2009. In accordance to the aims of a case study, the author will describe, understand and explain the effects of the financial crisis 2007 on five UK banks. This case study provides an opportunity to examine the weaknesses and failures of corporate governance of five UK banks at a micro level. The author has two hypotheses at the beginning of the study. First, banks moved from a customer driven culture to sales driven one. Secondly, the banking culture during between 2004-2009 is one of greed, recklessness and dishonesty. With the caveat that one should not make generalisations, there is evidence from the case study that both hypotheses are correct to a certain extent

Bioactive β-bend structures for the antagonist hα CGRP(8–37) at the CGRP(1) receptor of the rat pulmonary artery

1. The aim of this study was to determine β-bend structures and the role of the N- and C-terminus in the antagonist hα CGRP(8–37) at the rat pulmonary artery CGRP receptor mediating hα CGRP relaxation. 2. Hα CGRP(8–37) Pro(16) (10(−6) M), with a bend-biasing residue (proline) at position 16, did not antagonize hα CGRP responses, while a structure-conserving amino acid (alanine(16)) at the same position retained antagonist activity (apparent pK(B) 6.6±0.1; 10(−6) M). Hα CGRP(8–37) Pro(19) (10(−6) M), with proline at position 19 was an antagonist (apparent pK(B) 6.9±0.1). 3. Incorporation of a β-bend forcing residue, BTD (beta-turn dipeptide), at positions 19 and 20 in hα CGRP(8–37) (10(−6) M) antagonized hα CGRP responses (apparent pK(B) 7.2±0.2); and BTD at positions 19,20 and 33,34 within hα CGRP(8–37) was a competitive antagonist (pA(2) 7.2; Schild plot slope 1.0±0.1). 4. Hα CGRP(8–37) analogues, substituted at the N-terminus by either glycine(8) or des-NH(2) valine(8) or proline(8) were all antagonists (apparent pK(B) 6.9±0.1; (10(−6) M), 7.0±0.1 (10(−6) M), and pA(2) 7.0 (slope 1.0±0.2), respectively); while replacements by proline(8) together with glutamic acid(10,14) in hα CGRP(8–37) (10(−6) M) or alanine amide(37) at the C-terminus of hα CGRP(8–37) (10(−5) M) were both inactive compounds. 5. In conclusion, possible bioactive structures of hα CGRP(8–37) include two β-bends (at 18–21 and 32–35), which were mimicked by BTD incorporation. Within hα CGRP(8–37), the N-terminus is not essential for antagonism while the C-terminus may interact directly with CGRP(1) receptors in the rat pulmonary artery

Geochemistry of highly acidic mine water following disposal into a natural lake with carbonate bedrock

Acid mine drainage (AMD) from the Zn-Pb(-Ag-Bi-Cu) deposit of Cerro de Pasco (Central Peru) and waste water from a Cu-extraction plant has been discharged since 1981 into Lake Yanamate, a natural lake with carbonate bedrock. The lake has developed a highly acidic pH of similar to 1. Mean lake water chemistry was characterized by 16,775 mg/L acidity as CaCO(3), 4330 mg/L Fe and 29,250 mg/L SO(4). Mean trace element concentrations were 86.8 mg/L Cu, 493 mg/L Zn, 2.9 mg/L Pb and 48 mg/L As, which did not differ greatly from the discharged AMD. Most elements showed increasing concentrations from the surface to the lake bottom at a maximal depth of 41 m (e.g. from 3581 to 5433 mg/L Fe and 25,609 to 35,959 mg/L SO(4)). The variations in the H and 0 isotope compositions and the element concentrations within the upper 10 m of the water column suggest mixing with recently discharged AMD, shallow groundwater and precipitation waters. Below 15 m a stagnant zone had developed. Gypsum (saturation index, SI similar to 0.25) and anglesite (SI similar to 0.1) were in equilibrium with lake water. Jarosite was oversaturated (SI similar to 1.7) in the upper part of the water column, resulting in downward settling and re-dissolution in the lower part of the water column (SI similar to -0.7). Accordingly, jarosite was only found in sediments from less than 7 m water depth. At the lake bottom, a layer of gel-like material (similar to 90 wt.% water) of pH similar to 1 with a total organic C content of up to 4.40 wet wt.% originated from the kerosene discharge of the Cu-extraction plant and had contaminant element concentrations similar to the lake water. Below the organic layer followed a layer of gypsum with pH 1.5, which overlaid the dissolving carbonate sediments of pH 5.3-7. In these two layers the contaminant elements were enriched compared to lake water in the sequence As < Pb approximate to Cu < Cd < Zn = Mn with increasing depth. This sequence of enrichment was explained by the following processes: (i) adsorption of As on Fe-hydroxides coating plant roots at low pH (up to 3326 mg/kg As), (ii) adsorption at increasing pH near the gypsum/calcite boundary (up to 1812 mg/kg Pb, 2531 mg/kg Cu. and 36 mg/kg Cd), and (iii) precipitation of carbonates (up to 5177 mg/kg Zn and 810 mg/kg Mn: all data corrected to a wet base). The infiltration rate was approximately equal to the discharge rate, thus gypsum and hydroxide precipitation had not resulted in complete clogging of the lake bedrocks. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Characterization of a library of 20 HBV-specific MHC class II-restricted T cell receptors.

CD4+ T cells play an important role in the immune response against cancer and infectious diseases. However, mechanistic details of their helper function in hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in particular, or their advantage for adoptive T cell therapy remain poorly understood as experimental and therapeutic tools are missing. Therefore, we identified, cloned, and characterized a comprehensive library of 20 MHC class II-restricted HBV-specific T cell receptors (TCRs) from donors with acute or resolved HBV infection. The TCRs were restricted by nine different MHC II molecules and specific for eight different epitopes derived from intracellularly processed HBV envelope, core, and polymerase proteins. Retroviral transduction resulted in a robust expression of all TCRs on primary T cells. A high functional avidity was measured for all TCRs specific for epitopes S17, S21, S36, and P774 (half-maximal effective concentration [EC50] <10 nM), or C61 and preS9 (EC50 <100 nM). Eight TCRs recognized peptide variants of HBV genotypes A to D. Both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells transduced with the MHC II-restricted TCRs were polyfunctional, producing interferon (IFN)-γ, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-2, and granzyme B (GrzB), and killed peptide-loaded target cells. Our set of MHC class II-restricted TCRs represents an important tool for elucidating CD4+ T cell help in viral infection with potential benefit for T cell therapy