INTERNATIONAL BANKS' PERFORMANCE: A FIVE-COUNTRY COMPARISON

Robert Grosse,Alan Gart People&Global Business Association 2001 Global Business and Finance Review Vol.6 No.2

This paper analyzes the competition among the world's largest banks during the past decade. It demonstrates the reasons why US-based banks have outperformed their British, German, Swiss, and Japanese rivals in terms of profitability and other performance measures. Three of the largest banks from each country are included in the data set, and a regression model shows that significant contributions to individual bank performance derive from positive factors such as greater efficiency, higher non-interest earnings, and higher home-country GDP growth, plus negative factors such as greater loan loss provisions, higher Tier 1 capital ratio, and larger bank size. The strategic direction and other key factors about each bank are discussed along with the statistical analysis.

Platelet Reactivity in Male Smokers Following the Acute Consumption of a Flavanol-Rich Grapeseed Extract

Robert M. Hackman,John A. Polagruto,Heidrun B. Gross,Faranak Kamangar,Ken-Ichi Kosuna,Buxiang Sun,Hajime Fujii,Carl L. Keen 한국식품영양과학회 2007 Journal of medicinal food Vol.10 No.4

Epidemiological studies suggest that a high dietary intake of flavanols, a subclass of flavonoids, is associatedwith reduced risk of vascular disease. Clinical studies have also shown that the consumption of certain flavanol-rich foods(e.g., cocoa, tea, red wine), as well as intake of the individual flavanol (-)-epicatechin, can result in improvement in a num-ber of parameters associated with vascular disease, including improved endothelial function, reduced platelet reactivity, andreduced oxidative stress. The present study assessed the effects of a flavanol-rich supplement on platelet reactivity and plasmaoxidant defense in a group of smokers, a population at an elevated risk for vascular disease. Male smokers were randomlyassigned to a placebo (n . 10) or a flavanol-rich grapeseed extract (FRGSE; n . 13) group, and after an overnight fast, bloodsamples were collected before and at 1, 2, and 6 hours following consumption of the placebo or supplement. The FRGSE sup-plement, but not the placebo, significantly decreased ADP-stimulated platelet reactivity at 1, 2, and 6 hours following intake(P. .05) compared to baseline levels. Similarly, the supplement, but not the placebo, decreased epinephrine-stimulated plateletreactivity 2 hours following consumption. Plasma antioxidant capacity (total radical trapping antioxidant potential), lipid ox-idation (plasma thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances), and serum uric acid concentrations were not affected in either group.Thus smokers may obtain some health benefits from the consumption of certain flavanol-rich foods, beverages, and supple-ments.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Assessment of Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy/Dysplasia in Children

Shi-Joon Yoo,Lars Grosse-Wortmann,Robert M. Hamilton 대한심장학회 2010 Korean Circulation Journal Vol.40 No.8

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy/dysplasia (ARVC/D) is a genetically determined disease that progresses continuously from conception and throughout life. ARVC/D manifests predominantly in young adulthood. Early identification of the concealed cases in childhood is of utmost importance for the prevention of sudden cardiac death later in life. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is routinely requested in patients with a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of ARVC/D and in family members of the patients with ARVC/D. Although the utility of MRI in the assessment of ARVC/D is well recognized in adults, MRI is a low-yield test in children as the anatomical, histological, and functional changes are frequently subtle or not present in the early phase of the disease. MRI findings of ARVC/D include morphologic changes such as right ventricular dilatation, wall thinning, and aneurismal outpouchings, as well as abnormal tissue characteristics such as myocardial fibrosis and fatty infiltration, and functional abnormalities such as global ventricular dysfunction and regional wall motion abnormalities. Among these findings, regional wall motion abnormalities are the most reliable MRI findings both in children and adults, while myocardial fibrosis and fat infiltration are rarely seen in children. Therefore, an MRI protocol should be tailored according to the patient’s age and compliance, as well as the presence of other findings, instead of using the protocol that is used for adults. We propose that MRI in children with ARVC/D should focus on the detection of regional wall motion abnormalities and global ventricular function by using a cine imaging sequence and that the sequences for myocardial fat and late gadolinium enhancement of the myocardium are reserved for those who show abnormal findings at cine imaging. Importantly, MRI should be performed and interpreted by experienced examiners to reduce the number of false positive and false negative readings.

Effect of Initial Oxygen Concentration and Film Oxygen Transmission Rate on the Quality of Fresh-cut Romaine Lettuce

Ji Gang Kim(김지강),Yaguang Luo,Robert A. Saftner,Kenneth C. Gross 한국원예학회 2004 한국원예학회 학술발표요지 Vol.2004 No.10

Effect of delayed packaging on the quality of fresh-cut romaine lettuce

Ji Gang Kim(김지강),Yaguang Luo,Robert A. Saftner,Kenneth C. Gross 한국원예학회 2004 한국원예학회 학술발표요지 Vol.2004 No.5

Effect of initial oxygen concentration and film oxygen transmission rate on the quality of fresh-cut romaine lettuce

Kim, Ji Gang,Luo, Yaguang,Tao, Yang,Saftner, Robert A,Gross, Kenneth C John Wiley Sons, Ltd. 2005 Journal of the science of food and agriculture Vol.85 No.10

<P>Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is widely used to maintain the quality of fresh-cut produce by matching the oxygen transmission rate (OTR) of the packaging film to the respiration rate of the packaged product. The effect of the interaction between film OTR and the initial headspace O<SUB>2</SUB> on quality of fresh-cut vegetables has not previously been reported. Romaine lettuce leaves were sliced, washed, dried and packaged with film OTRs of 8.0 and 16.6 pmol s<SUP>−1</SUP> m<SUP>−2</SUP> Pa<SUP>−1</SUP>, and with initial headspace O<SUB>2</SUB> of 0, 1, 2.5, 10 and 21 kPa. Packages were hermetically sealed and stored at 5 °C for up to 14 days. For samples packaged in 16.6 OTR film, increasing the initial headspace O<SUB>2</SUB> concentration delayed O<SUB>2</SUB> depletion within the packages, hastened the onset and increased the intensity of discoloration, and inhibited the development of CO<SUB>2</SUB> injury, acetaldehyde and ethanol accumulation, off-odors and electrolyte leakage. With 8.0 OTR-packaged lettuce pieces, ≤1 kPa initial headspace O<SUB>2</SUB> treatments induced an essentially anaerobic environment within the packages and increased acetaldehyde and ethanol accumulation and off-odor development. Increasing the initial O<SUB>2</SUB> concentration above 1 kPa in 8.0 OTR packages transiently increased O<SUB>2</SUB> concentrations and reduced fermentative volatile production, off-odors, electrolyte leakage and CO<SUB>2</SUB> injury. Regardless of initial headspace O<SUB>2</SUB> concentration, all 16.6 OTR-packaged samples had severe discoloration after 14 days of storage. Quality was better maintained in 8.0 OTR-packaged lettuce pieces as the initial headspace O<SUB>2</SUB> concentration was increased. A 21 kPa initial O<SUB>2</SUB> treatment of 8.0 OTR-packaged lettuce maintained good quality throughout storage and had the best overall quality score. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry</P>

Analyzing the interaction of RseA and RseB, the two negative regulators of the sigmaE envelope stress response, using a combined bioinformatic and experimental strategy.

Ahuja, Nidhi,Korkin, Dmitry,Chaba, Rachna,Cezairliyan, Brent O,Sauer, Robert T,Kim, Kyeong Kyu,Gross, Carol A American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Bi 2009 The Journal of biological chemistry Vol.284 No.8

<P>The Escherichia coli envelope stress response is controlled by the alternative sigma factor, sigma(E), and is induced when unfolded outer membrane proteins accumulate in the periplasm. The response is initiated by sequential cleavage of the membrane-spanning antisigma factor, RseA. RseB is an important negative regulator of envelope stress response that exerts its negative effects onsigma(E) activity through its binding to RseA. In this study, we analyze the interaction between RseA and RseB. We found that tight binding of RseB to RseA required intact RseB. Using programs that performed global and local sequence alignment of RseB and RseA, we found regions of high similarity and performed alanine substitution mutagenesis to test the hypothesis that these regions were functionally important. This protocol is based on the hypothesis that functionally dependent regions of two proteins co-evolve and therefore are likely to be sequentially conserved. This procedure allowed us to identify both an N-terminal and C-terminal region in RseB important for binding to RseA. We extensively analyzed the C-terminal region, which aligns with a region of RseA coincident with the major RseB binding determinant in RseA. Both allele-specific suppression analysis and cysteine-mediated disulfide bond formation indicated that this C-terminal region of similarity of RseA and RseB identifies a contact site between the two proteins. We suggest a similar protocol can be successfully applied to pairs of non-homologous but functionally linked proteins to find specific regions of the protein sequences that are important for establishing functional linkage.</P>