The global field of multi-family offices: An institutionalist perspective

We apply the notion of the organisational field to internationally operating multi-family offices. These organisations specialise on the preservation of enterprising and geographically dispersed families’ fortunes. They provide their services across generations and countries. Based on secondary data of Bloomberg’s Top 50 Family Offices, we show that they constitute a global organisational field that comprises two clusters of homogeneity. Clients may decide between two different configurations of activities, depending on their preferences regarding asset management, resource management, family management, and service architecture. The findings also reveal that multi-family offices make relatively similar value propositions all over the world. The distinctiveness of the clusters within the field is not driven by the embeddedness of the multi-family offices in different national environments or their various degrees of international experience. Rather, it is weakly affected by two out of four possible value propositions, namely the exclusiveness and the transparency of services

Up-regulation of endothelin type B receptors in the human internal mammary artery in culture is dependent on protein kinase C and mitogen-activated kinase signaling pathways

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Up-regulation of vascular endothelin type B (ET_B) receptors is implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. Culture of intact arteries has been shown to induce similar receptor alterations and has therefore been suggested as a suitable method for, <it>ex vivo</it>, in detail delineation of the regulation of endothelin receptors. We hypothesize that mitogen-activated kinases (MAPK) and protein kinase C (PKC) are involved in the regulation of endothelin ET_Breceptors in human internal mammary arteries.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Human internal mammary arteries were obtained during coronary artery bypass graft surgery and were studied before and after 24 hours of organ culture, using <it>in vitro </it>pharmacology, real time PCR and Western blot techniques. Sarafotoxin 6c and endothelin-1 were used to examine the endothelin ET_Aand ET_Breceptor effects, respectively. The involvement of PKC and MAPK in the endothelin receptor regulation was examined by culture in the presence of antagonists.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The endohtelin-1-induced contraction (after endothelin ET_Breceptor desensitization) and the endothelin ET_Areceptor mRNA expression levels were not altered by culture. The sarafotoxin 6c contraction, endothelin ET_Breceptor protein and mRNA expression levels were increased after organ culture. This increase was antagonized by; (1) PKC inhibitors (10 μM bisindolylmaleimide I and 10 μM Ro-32-0432), and (2) inhibitors of the p38, extracellular signal related kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) and C-jun terminal kinase (JNK) MAPK pathways (10 μM SB203580, 10 μM PD98059 and 10 μM SP600125, respectively).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In conclusion, PKC and MAPK seem to be involved in the up-regulation of endothelin ET_Breceptor expression in human internal mammary arteries. Inhibiting these intracellular signal transduction pathways may provide a future therapeutic target for hindering the development of vascular endothelin ET_Breceptor changes in cardiovascular disease.</p

NADPH oxidases in cardiovascular disease: insights from in vivo models and clinical studies

NADPH oxidase family enzymes (or NOXs) are the major sources of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are implicated in the pathophysiology of many cardiovascular diseases. These enzymes appear to be especially important in the modulation of redox-sensitive signalling pathways that underlie key cellular functions such as growth, differentiation, migration and proliferation. Seven distinct members of the family have been identified of which four (namely NOX1, 2, 4 and 5) may have cardiovascular functions. In this article, we review our current understanding of the roles of NOX enzymes in several common cardiovascular disease states, with a focus on data from genetic studies and clinical data where available

Theoretical study of the adsorption of acetylene on the Si(001) surface

Recent STM measurements and electronic structure calculations have revealed that the Si(001)/acetylene surface is far more complex than previously assumed, with there being at least three different binding arrangements of an acetylene molecule on the surface. In the present study density functional theory with slab models and periodic boundary conditions are used to study the adsorption of acetylene on the Si(001) surface. Nine different local potential energy minima, including three not previously described, are characterized. The relative stability of the two lowest energy structures is found to reverse with increasing surface coverage. The minimum energy pathways between selected pairs of local minima are calculated

Theoretical study of oxygen adsorption on graphite and the (8,0) single-walled carbon nanotube

Spin-polarized density functional calculations are used to study the adsorption of O atoms and O2 molecules on graphite and on a (8,0) single-walled carbon nanotube. An O atom is found to bind to graphite and to the outside and inside surfaces of the nanotube to give stable epoxide-like structures. Of these, the most stable is the epoxide on the outer surface of the nanotube, with a calculated adsorption energy of 44 kcal/mol. In the case of O2, both physisorbed and chemisorbed species are identified. The O2 molecule is predicted to only weakly physisorb (adsorption energy ≈ 0.9 kcal/mol) to the graphite and the (8,0) nanotube surfaces. However, these adsorption energies are expected to be underestimated due to inadequate treatment of the dispersion interactions. The chemisorbed species are metastable in the sense that they lie energetically above the isolated X 3∑g+ O2 and graphite or nanotube systems. In the case of the outer wall of the nanotube, the chemisorbed species is predicted to lie only 10.2 kcal/mol above the reactants. The reaction of O2 with the nanotube surface to give two epoxide groups is predicted to be slightly exothermic

CO<inf>2</inf> adsorption on TiO<inf>2</inf>(101) anatase: A dispersion-corrected density functional theory study

Adsorption, diffusion, and dissociation of CO2 on the anatase (101) surface were investigated using dispersion-corrected density functional theory. On the oxidized surface several different local minima were identified of which the most stable corresponds to a CO2 molecule adsorbed at a five-fold coordinated Ti site in a tilted configuration. Surface diffusion is characterized by relatively small activation barriers. Preferential diffusion takes place along Ti rows and involves a cartwheel type of motion. The presence of a bridging oxygen defect or a surface interstitial Ti atom allows creation of several new strong binding configurations the most stable of which have bent CO2 structures with simultaneous bonding to two surface Ti atoms. Subsurface oxygen vacancy or interstitial Ti defects are found to enhance the bonding of CO2 molecules to the surface. CO2 dissociation from these defect sites is calculated to be exothermic with barriers less than 21 kcalmol. The use of such defects for catalytic activation of CO2 on anatase (101) surface would require a mechanism for their regeneration. © 2011 American Institute of Physics

Collective reactivity of molecular chains self-assembled on a surface

Self-assembly of molecules on surfaces is a route toward not only creating structures, but also engineering chemical reactivity afforded by the intermolecular interactions. Dimethyldisulfide (CH3SSCH3) molecules self-assemble into linear chains on single-crystal gold surfaces. Injecting low-energy electrons into individual molecules in the self-assembled structures with the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope led to a propagating chemical reaction along the molecular chain as sulfur-sulfur bonds were broken and then reformed to produce new CH3SSCH3 molecules. Theoretical and experimental evidence supports a mechanism involving electron attachment followed by dissociation of a CH3SSCH3 molecule and initiation of a chain reaction by one or both of the resulting CH 3S intermediates

Characterization of water clusters in organic molecular hosts from density functional theory calculations

A density functional study of (H2O)6 and (H2O)8 clusters enclosed in organic hosts is undertaken. The calculations use supercells that contain up to 326 atoms. The crystal structures calculated for the (H2O)6/host and the (H2O)8/host systems are in qualitative agreement with those obtained from X-ray diffraction studies. The calculations confirm the presence of (H2O)8 clusters with Ci symmetry in the (H2O)8/host crystal and verify the existence of one-dimensional chains of fused water hexamers within channels of the (H2O)6/host crystal. The major differences observed between the calculated and experimental structures are attributed to the limitations of the Perdew-Wang functional for describing long-range dispersion interactions

CO<inf>2</inf> adsorption on TiO<inf>2</inf>(110) rutile: Insight from dispersion-corrected density functional theory calculations and scanning tunneling microscopy experiments

Adsorption of CO2 on the rutile(110) surface was investigated using dispersion-corrected density functional theory and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). On the oxidized surface the CO2 molecules are found to bind most strongly at the five-fold coordinated Ti sites adopting tilted or flat configurations. The presence of bridging oxygen defects introduces two new adsorption structures, the most stable of which involves CO2 molecules bound in tilted configurations at the defect sites. Inclusion of dispersion corrections in the density functional theory calculations leads to large increases in the calculated adsorption energies bringing these quantities into good agreement with experimental data. The STM measurements confirm two of the calculated adsorption configurations. © 2011 American Institute of Physics