Utviklingen i energiforbruket i Norge i 2002-2003

Årene 2002 og 2003 vil foreløpig gå inn i historien som historiske år i norsk kraftforsyning. Dette skyldes ekstremt lite nedbør og tilsig til kraftmagasinene gjennom høsten 2002. I motsetning til hva mange synes å tro var ikke hele året 2002 et nedbørmessig svakt år. Det spesielle med dette året var at det var svært lave tilsig til de norske kraftmagasinene gjennom noen få høstuker. Resten av året var det normalt eller våtere enn normalt. På grunn av at ekstremperioden var så kort, og at forventningene om framtidige priser dermed endret seg raskt, var det heller ikke enkelt for produsentene å tilpasse produksjonen sin slik at verdien av vannet kunne optimaliseres. På sommeren og tidlig høsten var magasinfyllingen langt over det normale for deretter å falle til langt under det normale i løpet av få uker. Dette bidro til at prisen i markedet steg kraftig. Produsentene fikk dermed signaler fra markedet om at det var svært lønnsomt å produsere. Nedbørsvikten vedvarte, produksjonen var høy og forventinger om framtidig mangel på vann medførte etter hvert en enda kraftigere stigning i elektrisitetsprisene. Dette skapte problemer for mange forbrukere. Prisen på ulike kontraktstyper steg i ulik grad, det ble vanskeligere for forbrukerne å danne seg forventninger om hvilke kontrakter som var de beste på lenger sikt. I ettertid synes markedet å ha håndtert utfordringen det ble satt gjennom høsten og vinteren 2002-2003 på tilfredsstillende måte. Når tilsigssvikten kom rasjonerte markedet forbruket gjennom prisene, handelen mellom Norge og Sverige skiftet fra eksport på høsten 2002 til import våren 2003, og det var en relativt god magasinbeholdningen ved utgangen av fyringssesongen våren 2003. I denne rapporten går vi gjennom utviklingen i kraftmarkedet i perioden 2002 – 2003. Vi beskriver hvorfor situasjonen ble som den ble, og hvordan markedet responderte sammenlignet med hva en kunne forvente å få i et slikt marked

Kidney failure in mice lacking the tetraspanin CD151

The tetraspanin CD151 is a cell-surface molecule known for its strong lateral interaction with the laminin-binding integrin α3β1. Patients with a nonsense mutation in CD151 display end-stage kidney failure associated with regional skin blistering and sensorineural deafness, and mice lacking the integrin α3 subunit die neonatally because of severe abnormalities in the lung and kidney epithelia. We report the generation of Cd151-null mice that recapitulate the renal pathology of human patients, i.e., with age they develop massive proteinuria caused by focal glomerulosclerosis, disorganization of the glomerular basement membrane, and tubular cystic dilation. However, neither skin integrity nor hearing ability are impaired in the Cd151-null mice. Furthermore, we generated podocyte-specific conditional knockout mice for the integrin α3 subunit that show renal defects similar to those in the Cd151 knockout mice. Our results support the hypothesis that CD151 plays a key role in strengthening α3β1-mediated adhesion in podocytes

Metal detector by the principle phasemeter

Рассмотрен новый способ обработки сигнала металлоискателя, основанный на измерениях фазы разностного сигнала. Определены преимущества над разработанными металлоискателями имеющих фазометрическую схему. Изучена зависимость фазы разностного сигнала от амплитуды входных сигналов и разности их фаз. Проведен анализ чувствительностей к разности амплитуд входных сигналов и разности фаз. Установлено, что данный металлоискатель обладает большей чувствительности по сравнению с известными разработками и способен детектировать металл при малейшем изменении выходного сигнала первичного преобразователя. Разработана структурная схема для предлагаемого металлоискателя и приведено описание принципа работы

The regularity of the Stokes operator and the Fujita–Kato approach to the Navier–Stokes initial value problem in Lipschitz domains

AbstractWe study the regularity of the Navier–Stokes equations in arbitrary Lipschitz domains

Apheresis therapies for NMOSD attacks A retrospective study of 207 therapeutic interventions

Objective To analyze whether 1 of the 2 apheresis techniques, therapeutic plasma exchange (PE) or immunoadsorption (IA), is superior in treating neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) attacks and to identify predictive factors for complete remission (CR). Methods This retrospective cohort study was based on the registry of the German Neuromyelitis Optica Study Group, a nationwide network established in 2008. It recruited patients with neuromyelitis optica diagnosed according to the 2006 Wingerchuk criteria or with aquaporin-4 (AQP4-ab)-antibody-seropositive NMOSD treated at 6 regional hospitals and 16 tertiary referral centers until March 2013. Besides descriptive data analysis of patient and attack characteristics, generalized estimation equation (GEE) analyses were applied to compare the effectiveness of the 2 apheresis techniques. A GEE model was generated to assess predictors of outcome. Results Two hundred and seven attacks in 105 patients (87% AQP4-ab-antibody seropositive) were treated with at least 1 apheresis therapy. Neither PE nor IA was proven superior in the therapy of NMOSD attacks. CR was only achieved with early apheresis therapy. Strong predictors for CR were the use of apheresis therapy as first-line therapy (OR 12.27, 95% CI: 1.04-144.91, p = 0.047), time from onset of attack to start of therapy in days (OR 0.94, 95% CI: 0.89-0.99, p = 0.014), the presence of AQP4-abantibodies (OR 33.34, 95% CI: 1.76-631.17, p = 0.019), and monofocal attack manifestation (OR 4.71, 95% CI: 1.03-21.62, p = 0.046). Conclusion: s Our findings suggest early use of an apheresis therapy in NMOSD attacks, particularly in AQP4-ab-seropositive patients. No superiority was shown for one of the 2 apheresis techniques

Influence of female sex and fertile age on neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders

Background: Gender and age at onset are important epidemiological factors influencing prevalence, clinical presentation, and treatment response in autoimmune diseases. Objective: To evaluate the impact of female sex and fertile age on aquaporin-4-antibody (AQP4-ab) status, attack localization, and response to attack treatment in patients with neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and its spectrum disorders (neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD)). Methods: Female-to-male ratios, diagnosis at last visit (NMO vs NMOSD), attack localization, attack treatment, and outcome were compared according to sex and age at disease or attack onset. Results: A total of 186 NMO/SD patients (82% female) were included. In AQP4-ab-positive patients, female predominance was most pronounced during fertile age (female-to-male ratio 23:1). Female patients were more likely to be positive for AQP4-abs (92% vs 55%;p40years. Conclusion: Our data suggest an influence of sex and age on susceptibility to AQP4-ab-positive NMO/SD. Genetic and hormonal factors might contribute to pathophysiology of NMO/SD

Contrasting disease patterns in seropositive and seronegative neuromyelitis optica: A multicentre study of 175 patients

BACKGROUND: The diagnostic and pathophysiological relevance of antibodies to aquaporin-4 (AQP4-Ab) in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) has been intensively studied. However, little is known so far about the clinical impact of AQP4-Ab seropositivity. OBJECTIVE: To analyse systematically the clinical and paraclinical features associated with NMO spectrum disorders in Caucasians in a stratified fashion according to the patients' AQP4-Ab serostatus. METHODS: Retrospective study of 175 Caucasian patients (AQP4-Ab positive in 78.3%). RESULTS: Seropositive patients were found to be predominantly female (p 1 myelitis attacks in the first year were identified as possible predictors of a worse outcome. CONCLUSION: This study provides an overview of the clinical and paraclinical features of NMOSD in Caucasians and demonstrates a number of distinct disease characteristics in seropositive and seronegative patients