Andrew McKnight

Antiplatelet effects of dietary nitrate in healthy volunteers: involvement of cGMP and influence of sex.

Ingestion of vegetables rich in inorganic nitrate has emerged as an effective method, via the formation of a nitrite intermediate, for acutely elevating vascular NO levels. As such a number of beneficial effects of dietary nitrate ingestion have been demonstrated including the suggestion that platelet reactivity is reduced. In this study we investigated whether inorganic nitrate supplementation might also reduce platelet reactivity in healthy volunteers and have determined the mechanisms involved in the effects seen. We conducted two randomised crossover studies each in 24 (12 of each sex) healthy subjects assessing the acute effects of dietary nitrate (250 ml beetroot juice) or potassium nitrate capsules (KNO3, 8 mmol) vs placebo control on platelet reactivity. Inorganic nitrate ingested either from a dietary source or via supplementation raised circulating nitrate and nitrite levels in both sexes and attenuated ex vivo platelet aggregation responses to ADP and, albeit to a lesser extent, collagen but not epinephrine in male but not female volunteers. These inhibitory effects were associated with a reduced platelet P-selectin expression and elevated platelet cGMP levels. In addition, we show that nitrite reduction to NO occurs at the level of the erythrocyte and not the platelet. In summary, our results demonstrate that inorganic nitrate ingestion, whether via the diet or through supplementation, causes a modest decrease in platelet reactivity in healthy males but not females. Our studies provide strong support for further clinical trials investigating the potential of dietary nitrate as an adjunct to current antiplatelet therapies to prevent atherothrombotic complications. Moreover, our observations highlight a previously unknown sexual dimorphism in platelet reactivity to NO and intimate a greater dependence of males on the NO-soluble guanylate cyclase pathway in limiting thrombotic potential.

Basel 2: the implementation in the UK of its capital requirements for banks

Banks that are regulated in the UK have lived with regulatory capital adequacy requirements since 1988 when the original Basel Capital Accord came into effect. Basel 2 effected a substantial revision to the old regime. The capital requirements of the Basel 2 Capital Accord were intended to become effective from the beginning of 2007 and, in pursuance of EC legislation, have now been implemented in the UK. This article describes the more important features of the application of the Basel 2 capital requirements in the UK, including a comparison with the position that applied previously, as well as the related subjects of large exposures and liquidity requirements.

Erratum to "Antiplatelet effects of dietary nitrate in healthy volunteers: Involvement of cGMP and influence of sex" [Free Radic. Biol. Med. 65 (2013) 1521-1532]

© 2015, Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

The Banking Act 2009

This article provides a general review of the Act; in particular, the Special Resolution Regime that it introduces, which will enable the UK authorities to deal with banks (and, indeed, building societies) that have failed. The regime includes three Stabilisation Options, by which the assets and liabilities of a bank, and its share capital and other securities that it has issued, may be transferred, in whole or in part, to other commercial entities or to a governmental or regulatory body. The regime also provides for two new insolvency procedures for banks. The powers that the Act confers upon the UK authorities are quite radical in their nature. They could well have adverse consequences for counterparties that have dealt with a bank.

Reforming the English law of secured transactions in personal property

The English law of secured transactions in personal property is of a rather piecemeal nature, largely built on case law but with some statutory intervention. It lacks a coherent structure and contains a number of anomalies, not least in the way it places emphasis on form rather than substance and in the manner in which it attempts to distinguish between different types of security and between secured transactions and other forms of proprietary financing. This article examines the case for reform of the law and puts forward proposals drawn from suggestions previously made by the Law Commission which, in turn, had been developed from the reformed systems that operate in North America and New Zealand and which are now also being implemented in Australia.

A review of 2009: part 1

Mr. Andrew McKnight, a solicitor and Visiting Professor of Law at Queen Mary, University of London, offers a personal selection from the developments in English law during 2009 from the fields of international finance and banking. He deals with some of the developments that are relevant to banking and finance law by drawing upon case-laws.

A review of 2008: part 1

This review is contained in two parts, the second of which will appear in the next issue of LFMR. In it, I offer a view on the current financial crisis, as well as my personal selection from the developments in English law during 2008 (principally drawn from case-law) that I believe will be of interest to those who practise in the fields of international finance and banking. In a couple of instances, I have also included items from the end of 2007. In this part, I will commence with some reflections engendered by the continuing crisis in the financial markets. I will then move on to deal with some of the developments that are relevant to banking and finance law. In the next issue of the journal, I will look at developments in the fields of conflict of laws, insolvency and arbitration.

Commitments to lend in troubled times

In the current financial climate, it has been difficult for borrowers to obtain funding. This article examines the legal grounds upon which a borrower might argue that a bank is legally obliged to provide funding, the arguments that a bank might use to resist the borrowers claims and the consequences of an unwarranted refusal to provide funds.

A review of developments in English law during 2007 (Part II)

This review is contained in two parts, the second of which will appear in the next issue of this journal. In it, I offer my personal selection from the developments in English law during 2007 (principally drawn from case law) that I believe will be of interest to those who practise in the fields of international finance and banking. In a couple of instances, I have also included items from the end of 2006. In this issue of the journal, I will deal with some of the developments that are relevant to banking and finance law, which will continue in the next issue of the journal. In that issue of the journal, I will also look at developments in the fields of insolvency law, conflict of laws and arbitration.