Oljeprisens påvirkning på Oslo Børs : har oljeprisen historisk sett vært en ledende indikator på det norske aksjemarkedet?

I denne utredningen er det gjort empiriske undersøkelser for å gjøre rede for sammenhengen mellom oljepris og det norske aksjemarkedet. Hovedfunnet er at oljeprisen er en ledende indikator på Oslo Børs. Perioden 1986 - januar 2009 er benyttet som grunnlag for hovedindeksen. Det er utført regresjoner med daglige og månedlige avkastninger for alle indekser. Analysen er i tillegg gjennomført med indekser i norske kroner og amerikanske dollar, og både WTI og Brent er benyttet som uavhengig variabel. Alle empiriske analyser er også gjennomført når tilbudssjokk i oljemarkedet utelates fra tallmaterialet

Maternal depression moderated by family resources when children have developmental disabilities

Children with developmental disabilities require extensive parental involvement in intervention, but parents with depression may be less able to intervene effectively. We examined prevalence of depression symptoms and predictors among 131 mothers of children with disabilities enrolled in early childhood special education. Participants completed several self-report measures of depression and child and family functioning. Children were directly evaluated using the Battelle Developmental Inventory. One year later, 68 mothers repeated self-report measures. Participants (30%) reported elevated depression symptoms across time. Depression scores were correlated with parental stress and family resources. An interaction between higher maternal depression and higher child functioning with lower family resources was found across time. When family financial resources are strained, mothers of children with moderate developmental disabilities may have higher risk for depression symptoms than when the child has severe disabilities. Results suggest that early childhood professionals should not overlook financial and mental health supports for mothers whose children have moderate disabilities

Alkali-Labile Cell-Wall Phenolics and Forage Quality in Switchgrasses Selected for Differing Digestibility

Alkali-labile cell-wall phenolics have been implicated in previous research as factors that affect forage digestibility by ruminants. Alkali- labile cell-wall phenolics, in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD), neutral-detergent fiber (NDF), acid-detergent fiber (ADF), lignin (permanganate-oxidation), and crude protein (CP) were determined in three switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) strains differing genetically for IVDMD to determine relationships between • these quality parameters and IVDMD during the grazing season. Grazed (upper 1/3 of grazed plants) and ungrazed (whole plants in caged exclosures) forage was collected weekly from replicated 0.4- ha pastures of \u27Trailblazer\u27 (high IVDMD), \u27Pathfinder\u27, and a low- IVDMD strain during three grazing seasons from 1983 to 1985. The principal alkali-labile phenolics (g kg-1 NDF) detected were p-coumaric acid (PCA) and ferulic acid (FA). Increased PCA concentration due to increased maturity averaged \u3e70°/o during each grazing season and corresponded with increased NDF, ADF, and lignin and decreased IVDMD, CP, and FA/PCA ratio. Ferulic acid concentration either declined slightly or remained unchanged. Averaged across 3 yr, Trailblazer had higher (P \u3c 0.06) IVDMD, lower (P \u3c 0.09) PCA and higher (P \u3c 0.10) FA/PCA ratio than a divergently selected low-IVDMD strain. Differences between strains in detergent-fiber constituents, FA, and CP were either not apparent or inconsistent with strain differences in IVDMD. Results were consistent with both grazed and ungrazed switchgrass and indicate that alkali-labile cell-wall phenolic composition in switchgrass is heritable and genetically correlated to IVDMD

A Zn-Dependent Metallopeptidase Is Responsible for Sensitivity to LsbB, a Class II Leaderless Bacteriocin of Lactococcus lactis subsp lactis BGMN1-5

Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis BGMN1-5 produces a leaderless class II bacteriocin called LsbB. To identify the receptor for LsbB, a cosmid library of the LsbB-sensitive strain BGMN1-596 was constructed. About 150 cosmid clones were individually isolated and transferred to LsbB-resistant mutants of BGMN1-596. Cosmid pAZILcos/MN2, carrying a 40-kb insert, was found to restore LsbB sensitivity in LsbB-resistant mutants. Further subcloning revealed that a 1.9-kb fragment, containing only one open reading frame, was sufficient to restore sensitivity. The fragment contains the gene yvjB coding for a Zn-dependent membrane-bound metallopeptidase, suggesting that this gene may serve as the receptor for LsbB. Further support for this notion derives from several independent experiments: (i) whole-genome sequencing confirmed that all LsbB-resistant mutants contain mutations in yvjB; (ii) disruption of yvjB by direct gene knockout rendered sensitive strains BGMN1-596 and IL1403 resistant to LsbB; and (iii) most compellingly, heterologous expression of yvjB in naturally resistant strains of other species, such as Lactobacillus paracasei and Enterococcus faecalis, also rendered them sensitive to the bacteriocin. To our knowledge, this is the first time a membrane-bound peptidase gene has been shown to be involved in bacteriocin sensitivity in target cells. We also demonstrated a novel successful approach for identifying bacteriocin receptors

Hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of aliphatic oxygenates and phenol over NiMo/MgAl2_{2}O4_{4}: Reactivity, inhibition, and catalyst reactivation

This study provides new insights into sustainable fuel production by upgrading bio-derived oxygenates by catalytic hydrodeoxygenation (HDO). HDO of ethylene glycol (EG), cyclohexanol (Cyc), acetic acid (AcOH), and phenol (Phe) was investigated using a Ni-MoS$_{2}$/MgAl$_{2}$O$_{4}$ catalyst. In addition, HDO of a mixture of Phe/EG and Cyc/EG was studied as a first step towards the complex mixture in biomass pyrolysis vapor and bio-oil. Activity tests were performed in a fixed bed reactor at 380–450 °C, 27 bar H2, 550 vol ppm H2S, and up to 220 h on stream. Acetic acid plugged the reactor inlet by carbon deposition within 2 h on stream, underlining the challenges of upgrading highly reactive oxygenates. For ethylene glycol and cyclohexanol, steady state conversion was obtained in the temperature range of 380–415 °C. The HDO macro-kinetics were assessed in terms of consecutive dehydration and hydrogenation reactions. The results indicate that HDO of ethylene glycol and cyclohexanol involve different active sites. There was no significant influence from phenol or cyclohexanol on the rate of ethylene glycol HDO. However, a pronounced inhibiting effect from ethylene glycol on the HDO of cyclohexanol was observed. Catalyst deactivation by carbon deposition could be mitigated by oxidation and re-sulfidation. The results presented here demonstrate the need to address differences in oxygenate reactivity when upgrading vapors or oils derived from pyrolysis of biomass

1-(1,3-Benzodioxol-5-yl)ethanone

In the title compound, C9H8O3, the dihedral angle between the mean planes of the benzene and dioxole rings is 1.4 (8)°, with the dioxole group in a slightly distorted envelope configuration with the flap C atom displaced by 0.0645 Å from the plane through the other four atoms. In the crystal, weak inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen-bond inter­actions link the mol­ecules into chains propagating in [011]. The crystal packing exhibits weak π–π inter­actions as evidenced by the relatively short distances [3.801 (9) Å] between the centroids of adjacent benzene rings

From widespread faulting to localised rifting: Evidence from K-Ar fault gouge dates from the Norwegian North Sea rift shoulder

Although seismic and stratigraphic well information put tight constraints on rift basin evolution, eroded rift shoulders commonly expose polydeformed prerift basement whose deformation history may be difficult to constrain. In this work, we apply K-Ar dating of fault gouge samples from 18 faults to explore the brittle deformation of the well-exposed eastern rift margin to the northern North Sea rift. We find evidence of clay gouge formation since the Late Devonian, with distinct Permian and Jurassic fault activity peaks that closely match early stages of the two well-established North Sea rift phases. A marked decay in fault density away from the rift margin confirms a close relationship between rifting and onshore faulting. The results show that initial rift-related extension affected a much wider area than the resulting offshore rift. Hence our data support a rift model where strain is initially distributed over a several 100 km wide region, as a prelude to the development of the ~150–200 km wide Permo-Triassic northern North Sea rift as defined by large marginal faults. Towards the end of the second rift phase, strain localises even more strongly to the 25–50 km wide Viking Graben. Interestingly, a period of early widespread extension is seen for both phases of North Sea rifting and may be a general characteristic of continental rifting. The documented prerift faulting and fracturing of the basement since the Devonian weakened the basement and probably facilitated the widespread initial extension that subsequently localised to form the northern North Sea rift, with further localisation to its relatively narrow central part (Viking Graben).publishedVersio

Monitoring Chemical Pollution in Europe’s Seas: Programmes, practices and priorities for research

This report has been produced by the Marine Board Working Group on Existing and Emerging Chemical Pollutants (WGPOL) first convened in 2008 and tasked to examine the assessment and monitoring of existing and emerging chemicals in the European marine and coastal environment. The Working Group considered (i) existing monitoring/assessment frameworks; (ii) current monitoring practices; and (iii) new and emerging chemicals of concern and the mechanisms used to include them in current monitoring programmes. The primary conclusions and recommendations of this position paper are: 1. Fully implement state of the art environmental risk assessment procedures (combining exposure and effect assessment) to evaluate the full impact of chemical substances on the different compartments of coastal and open sea systems. 2. Further improve the coordination, cooperation and harmonization between existing monitoring efforts and those under development, to avoid duplication of effort, loss of expertise and a reduced willingness to fulfil the obligations towards regional conventions. 3. Ensure that the development and implementation of monitoring programmes for the assessment of chemicals in marine and coastal environment are based on a science-based and dynamic process. 4. Apply more resources targeted at developing appropriate approaches, tools and practices (education and training) to improve the acquisition and management of monitoring data. In addition to the above main recommendations, two further recommendations have been identified on the basis of two specific case studies which form part of this paper and which focus on the release, effects and monitoring of (i) hydrophobic and insoluble chemicals in the marine environment from merchant shipping; and (ii) chemicals released by the offshore oil-industry in the North Sea. These case studies highlighted the need to: 5. Develop a consistent, pan-European or regional (legal) framework/regulation which covers the activities of the oil and gas industry at sea. At the same time, more information and research is needed on the release and the effects of chemicals arising from offshore oil and gas activities. 6. Develop and apply state-of-the-art environmental risk assessment procedures (combining exposure and effect assessments, including on human health) to evaluate the impact of noxious liquid substances listed under MARPOL Annex II on the different compartments in coastal and open sea ecosystems