The securities custody industry

Custody is, in essence, a service consisting in holding (and normally administering) securities on behalf of third parties. In step with the growth of sophisticated financial markets, custody has evolved into a complex industry no longer characterised by physical safekeeping but by a range of information and banking services. Given the multi-tier structure of the industry, custody services are provided by a variety of intermediaries. This paper describes the development of the custody industry and the structure of the custody services market. It also discusses the risks involved in custody and the challenges the industry is facing, particularly in the European context. JEL Classification: G15, G21, L22.Custody industry, securities settlement, systemic risk, custodian banks, global custodians.

Molecularly Imprinted Silica Matrix In Detection Of Creatinine

Serum creatinine concentration is broadly interpreted as a measure of the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and is used as an index of renal function in clinical practice. The traditional Jaffe’s reaction used to measure the serum creatinine concentration, is subjected to interferences and hence lose its specificity. In order to improve the analysis method, molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) is studied due to its superb capability of recognizing targeted molecules selectively. Based on tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) as monomers and Al3+ as cross-linker, a molecularly imprinted silica matrix was synthesized via sol-gel method for the selective adsorption of creatinine. SEM results revealed that MIP exhibited more porous structure compared to the non-imprinted counterpart, while nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis disclosed that the specific surface area of MIP (570.32 m2g-1) was larger than that of NIP (412.47 m2g-1). Rebinding test was performed at 30ᵒC for 24 h to assess the adsorption ability of both MIP and NIP. The MIP was found to have good imprinting factor (1.34 ± 0.26) over the NIP. The effects of temperature and solvent on the adsorption process were studied. The thermodynamic parameters of MIP and NIP were determined from the adsorption conducted at various temperatures (negative value of ΔGᵒ, positive values of ΔHᵒ and ΔSᵒ), indicated that binding system for MIP was spontaneous, endothermic, and entropy gained. The solvent effect was carried out with deionized water (highest polarity), methanol, ethanol and 2-propanol (lowest polarity) as solvent. The solvent-adsorbate interaction played important role in determining the amount of Cre adsorbed by the MIP. Solvent with higher polarity (water) forms more hydrogen bonds with Cre, leading to stronger interaction forces with it, thus, reduced the possibility for Cre to be adsorbed. Furthermore, selectivity tests were also been performed in this work to evaluate the discrimination ability of the MIP. The results demonstrated that MIP has higher affinity for the template, Cre over its analogues (Cr and 2-pyr) in single component adsorption. In binary solutions, selectivity of MIP for Cre over 2-pyr was high (3.30±0.34); however, the selectivity over Cr was low (0.46±0.12). In conclusion, Cre-based MIP was successfully synthesized, which is feasible to be used as a diagnostic tool for renal functionality

An exploratory study of older persons\u27 computer and internet usage in Hong Kong

Computer usage and internet access for older persons have been increasingly emphasized in Hong Kong, particularly as a live access tool for keeping frequent contacts with the outside world and the applicability in online medical consultation for those who are frail and isolated. But how are these computer communication technologies being used among the older persons? The question has not been much explored. Hence, this study aims, as a first step, to find out the profiles of older persons using computer aided communications including internet and e-mails. The objectives of the present study are to: measure the proportion of older persons who have access to computers and the Internet in Hong Kong; examine computer usage and online habits of Hong Kong older persons including frequency of use, email capabilities and online activities; determine the percentage who use the Internet for financial or investment purposes; examine Hong Kong older persons’ attitudes to the impact of the Internet on their own investment knowledge, ability and habits; and examine the IT training needs of older persons and the difficulties that may arise, so as to enhance IT teaching in Hong Kong

University-school link partnership projects (USLP) for promotion of intergeneration communication

Started as a pilot experiment, the University-School Link Partnership (USLP) was designed to encourage interactions between young and old people. It was first initiated in 2000 and implemented from September 2001 to September 2002. Co-organized by the Asia-Pacific Institute of Ageing Studies (APIAS), Lingnan University and the Church of Christ in China Ming Kei College, the USLP involved four schools and ten social welfare organizations with a total of 288 students, 265 older persons and 106 volunteers participating in the project. The aims of the project were to enhance the intergenerational relationship between the young and the older participants through a series of well-structured programmes including training workshops, social service projects, project reports presentation, CD-ROM production, as well as experiences of mutual care and support during an overnight camp. The activities have not only improved the social competence skills of the participants of all ages, but also developed an off-campus curriculum (service learning) for the students and provided insights for elderly service agencies

Service learning among university students through working with South Asian children

The benefits of service learning for the intellectual and personal development of students have been discussed in the past few decades. Jacoby (1996) defines service learning as, “a form of experiential education in which students engage in activities that address human and community needs together with structured opportunities intentionally designed to promote student learning and development”. The idea of using a service-learning approach in teaching curricula is “far from new” (Gray et al, 2000) and the scope of it has been expanding substantially in tertiary education overseas, though it is still not pervasive in Hong Kong. The Lingnan Angels is a service-learning programme designed to offer opportunities for Lingnan University students to learn through serving South Asian children. The programme design has been based on the experiential learning theory (ELT), which is commonly adopted as the theoretical underpinning for service learning (Sheckley & Keetom, 1997). This is a pilot programme for university students in Hong Kong, which was launched by APIAS, Lingnan University, in September 2002. The objectives of the programme are as follows, 1. To provide training and service-learning opportunities for a group of university students in Hong Kong; 2. To examine the learning process and impacts on studetns through serving deprived children in local primary schools; and 3. To explore any implications of service-learning programmes for the university students in Hong Kong

A report on an evaluation of the HOPE, worldwide seniors day 2003

The HOPE worldwide 1 (HWW) in Hong Kong has been chartered as a charity organization since 1993 with its focus on organizing service programmes in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Amongst these, the Hope for Seniors Day is one of the many attempts initiated by the HWW to meet the urgent needs of the growing ageing population in Hong Kong. Starting from 1996, volunteers from corporations and social organizations have been recruited for the Hope for Seniors Day on an annual basis. The programme aims at giving practical assistance to elderly people who are living alone in public housing estates, as well as building up relationship between the volunteers and the elderly. The volunteers help clean and repaint the seniors\u27 homes. In the past 7 years, the programme has already served over 37,000 single elderly people and mobilized more than 15,000 volunteers to participate

PDZK1 and NHERF1 Regulate the Function of Human Organic Anion Transporting Polypeptide 1A2 (OATP1A2) by Modulating Its Subcellular Trafficking and Stability

The human organic anion transporting polypeptide 1A2 (OATP1A2) is an important membrane protein that mediates the cellular influx of various substances including drugs. Previous studies have shown that PDZ-domain containing proteins, especially PDZK1 and NHERF1, regulate the function of related membrane transporters in other mammalian species. This study investigated the role of PDZK1 and NHERF1 in the regulation of OATP1A2 in an in vitro cell model. Transporter function and protein expression were assessed in OATP1A2-transfected HEK-293 cells that co-expressed PDZK1 or NHERF1. Substrate (estrone-3-sulfate) uptake by OATP1A2 was significantly increased to ,1.6- (PDZK1) and ,1.8- (NHERF1) fold of control; this was dependent on the putative PDZ-binding domain within the C-terminus of OATP1A2. The functional increase of OATP1A2 following PDZK1 or NHERF1 over-expression was associated with increased transporter expression at the plasma membrane and in the whole cell, and was reflected by an increase in the apparent maximal velocity of estrone-3-sulfate uptake (Vmax: 138.964.1 (PDZK1) and 181.4616.7 (NHERF1) versus 55.563.2 pmol*(mg*4 min)21 in control; P,0.01). Co-immunoprecipitation analysis indicated that the regulatory actions of PDZK1 and NHERF1 were mediated by direct interaction with OATP1A2 protein. In further experiments PDZK1 and NHERF1 modulated OATP1A2 expression by decreasing its internalization in a clathrin-dependent (but caveolin-independent) manner. Additionally, PDZK1 and NHERF1 enhanced the stability of OATP1A2 protein in HEK-293 cells. The present findings indicated that PDZK1 and NHERF1 regulate the transport function of OATP1A2 by modulating protein internalization via a clathrin-dependent pathway and by enhancing protein stability.This work was supported in part by The National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

An exploratory study on the significance of outbound travelling for the older persons in Hong Kong

Hong Kong has been experiencing demographic ageing with an increasing number of older population and prolonged life expectancy. It is projected that population will increase from 12% in 2004 to 24% in 2031 (Census and Statistics Department of Hong Kong, 2002). Older people in the future are expected to be wealthier and healthier and the potential demand for recreational activities will strongly be associated with this group. As highlighted in the Chief Executive of the HKSAR 2001 policy address, the future direction of elderly care and services is to improve the quality of life of older persons, ensuring that they will continue to enjoy a sense of security, belonging and a feeling of good health and worthiness. The report on healthy ageing by the Elderly Commission suggested that promoting physical well-being alone is not enough for older people and therefore a number of ways to enhance their psychological well-being are necessary (Elderly Commission, 2001). The importance of psychological well-being to quality of life of older people and their life expectancy is an integral part of the concept of successful ageing and also forms a main plank in the WHO’s policy framework of active ageing (WHO, 2002). More active social participation or leisure activities are very widely recognized as crucial. According to reports published by the Hong Kong Tourist Association (HKTA, 1998), Hong Kong residents departures to overseas destinations increased from 3.4 million in 1996 to 3.8 million in 1997, representing a growth rate of 9.1%. Although the trend for older people in Hong Kong is not clear from literature and existing data, outbound travelling for older people seems to be a development which is both commercially viable and probably socially desirable. A popular activity to enhance the quality of life of older people in Hong Kong is outbound travelling. The “graying” of population in Hong Kong has aroused the attention of people running overseas tourism and it is not surprising that given the increasing number of older people and the large amount of unoccupied time available to them, this has captured the interest of those examining travel characteristics of the market (Van Harssel, 1994). Indeed, many people identified by demographic age as “elderly” may be cognitively young (Schiffman & Sherman, 1991) and open to innovation in their travel behaviour (Szmigin & Carrigan, 2001). Moreover, in all likelihood, older tourists will be as strongly motivated to travel as younger people (Sharpley, 1994). Thereby, senior travel is becoming a widely recognized aspect for promoting healthy and active ageing. However, the research conducted in Hong Kong concerning the meaning and significance of outbound travelling amongst older people in Hong Kong has been very limited so far. The present research presents an exploratory study on senior travel in the context of Hong Kong and four dimensions are addressed as follows: The motivations for outbound travelling amongst older people in Hong Kong. The perceived barriers to outbound travelling amongst older people in Hong Kong. To describe and analyze the travel modes and activities conducted during outbound travel. To explore the psychological meaning(s) of outbound travel for older people