What is the correct interfacial tension between methane and water at high-pressure/high-temperature conditions?

The purpose of this communication is to draw attention to a puzzling inconsistency in the published data for the interfacial tension between methane and water at high-pressure and high-temperature conditions. The published data sets fall into two categories – those exhibiting linear dependence of interfacial tension on temperature, in agreement with the phenomenological Eötvös rule, and others exhibiting a peculiar and seemingly reproducible non-linear trend. The inconsistency seems to have gone largely unnoticed. That is somewhat disconcerting considering that the methane/water system is a commonly used reference system for evaluation of fluid interfacial tension models. The literature data are reviewed, discussed, and compared with a novel set of interfacial tension data for the methane/water system obtained in this study.publishedVersio

Tiendpengeskatten som kilde til folk og samfunn ca. 1520. Med alle skatteytere fra Sunnfjord til Namdalen

Det er ikkje så mange i våre dagar som er opptekne av realhistorie, og som ikkje vik av vegen for å gje seg i kast med store datamengder, som både krev spesialkunnskap og innsyn for å kunna nyttast ut. Audun Dybdahl er ein av dei, og det er prisverdig. Han har gått i ein god skule, har hatt si opplæringstid i Trondheimsmiljøet med Jørn Sandnes som læremeister, noko som borgar for kvalitet. Ingen skulle såleis ha betre føresetnaden enn Audun Dybdahl for å vurdera det samansette kjeldematerialet frå tida kring 1520 og skriva ei bok om tiendpengeskatten. Og Dybdahl skuffar ikkje

Oral health and quality of life among people with severe or long-term mental illness: A call for interprofessional collaboration

People with severe or long-term mental illness (SMI) have poorer oral health than the general population has, but little is known about how, to what extent, and in what ways oral health problems affect daily functioning, quality of life and well-being among people in this patient group. The present study investigated oral health and oral health-related quality of life for persons with SMI in Norway. The longitudinal clinical study targeted SMI patients with their age- and gender-matched control patients at a public dental clinic in Norway. SMI patients were recruited from an ambulatory team within community mental health services. Clinical examinations followed the WHO criteria. We used a validated Oral Impact on Daily Performance (OIDP) instrument to assess oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). The prevalence of oral impact (OIDP > 0) was 77% among SMI patients and 22% among the controls. More than 60% of the SMI patients reported difficulties showing their teeth without embarrassment, compared to 5.5% of the controls. The results suggest that shame is a key factor inhibiting patients faced with the need for dental treatment. Collaboration between dental and mental health professionals is therefore essential for this patient group to enjoy dignified oral health and quality of life.publishedVersio

First Approach to Measure Interfacial Rheology at High-Pressure Conditions by the Oscillating Drop Technique

An oscillating drop rheometer capable of operating under conditions of high pressure and high temperature has been built. The oscillating drop mechanism was able to support pressures as high as 1300 bar and successfully performed oscillations at constant pressure. Apparent elastic and viscous complex moduli were measured for a system of CO2 and synthetic seawater containing 100 ppm of a linear alkyl ethoxylate surfactant for different pressures and temperatures. The moduli had strong dependencies on both pressure and temperature. At temperatures of 40 and 80 °C, the apparent elastic modulus passed through a maximum for pressures between 100 and 300 bar. The harmonic distortion of the oscillations was calculated for all measurements, and it was found that drop oscillations below ca. 2.6 µL caused distortions above 10% due to a mechanical backlash of the motor.publishedVersio

Evaluating the hydrogen storage potential of shut down oil and gas fields along the Norwegian continental shelf

The underground hydrogen storage (UHS) capacities of shut down oil and gas (O&G) fields along the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) are evaluated based on the publicly available geological and hydrocarbon production data. Thermodynamic equilibrium and geochemical models are used to describe contamination of hydrogen, loss of hydrogen and changes in the mineralogy. The contamination spectrum of black oil fields and retrograde gas fields are remarkably similar. Geochemical models suggest limited reactive mineral phases and meter-scale hydrogen diffusion into the caprock. However, geochemical reactions between residual oil, reservoir brine, host rock and hydrogen are not yet studied in detail. For 23 shut down O&G fields, a theoretical maximum UHS capacity of ca. 642 TWh is estimated. We conclude with Frigg, Nordost Frigg, and Odin as the best-suited shut down fields for UHS, having a maximum UHS capacity of ca. 414 TWh. The estimates require verification by site-specific dynamic reservoir models.publishedVersio

Oral health and quality of life among people with severe or long-term mental illness: A call for interprofessional collaboration

People with severe or long-term mental illness (SMI) have poorer oral health than the general population has, but little is known about how, to what extent, and in what ways oral health problems affect daily functioning, quality of life and well-being among people in this patient group. The present study investigated oral health and oral health-related quality of life for persons with SMI in Norway. The longitudinal clinical study targeted SMI patients with their age- and gender-matched control patients at a public dental clinic in Norway. SMI patients were recruited from an ambulatory team within community mental health services. Clinical examinations followed the WHO criteria. We used a validated Oral Impact on Daily Performance (OIDP) instrument to assess oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). The prevalence of oral impact (OIDP > 0) was 77% among SMI patients and 22% among the controls. More than 60% of the SMI patients reported difficulties showing their teeth without embarrassment, compared to 5.5% of the controls. The results suggest that shame is a key factor inhibiting patients faced with the need for dental treatment. Collaboration between dental and mental health professionals is therefore essential for this patient group to enjoy dignified oral health and quality of life.</p

The relationship between workload and exercise-induced cardiac troponin elevations is influenced by non-obstructive coronary atherosclerosis

The relationship between exercise-induced troponin elevation and non-obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) is unclear. This observational study assessed non-obstructive CAD's impact on exercise-induced cardiac Troponin I (cTnI) elevation in middle-aged recreational athletes. cTnI levels of 40 well-trained recreational athletes (73% males, 50 ± 9 years old) were assessed by a high-sensitive cTnI assay 24 h before, and at 3 and 24 h following two high-intensity exercises of different durations; a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET), and a 91-km mountain bike race. Workload was measured with power meters. Coronary computed tomography angiography was used to determine the presence or absence of non-obstructive (<50% obstruction) CAD. A total of 15 individuals had non-obstructive CAD (Atherosclerotic group), whereas 25 had no atherosclerosis (normal). There were higher post-exercise cTnI levels following the race compared with CPET, both at 3 h (77.0 (35.3–112.4) ng/L vs. 11.6 (6.4–22.5) ng/L, p < 0.001) and at 24 h (14.7 (6.7–16.3) vs. 5.0 (2.6–8.9) ng/L, p < 0.001). Absolute cTnI values did not differ among groups. Still, the association of cTnI response to power output was significantly stronger in the CAD versus Normal group both at 3 h post-exercise (Rho = 0.80, p < 0.001 vs. Rho = −0.20, p = 0.33) and 24-h post-exercise (Rho = 0.87, p < 0.001 vs. Rho = −0.13, p = 0.55). Exercise-induced cTnI elevation was strongly correlated with exercise workload in middle-aged athletes with non-obstructive CAD but not in individuals without CAD. This finding suggests that CAD influences the relationship between exercise workload and the cTnI response even without coronary artery obstruction.publishedVersio

Echocardiographic assessment of myocardial efficiency predicts exercise performance

Cardiac function is a major determinant of cardiopulmonary fitness. This study aimed to determine if novel echocardiographic myocardial function and efficiency parameters at rest can predict exercise performance during different types of prolonged high-intensity endurance exercise. Echocardiography was performed before exercise in 40 healthy (75% males) 50.3 ± 9.1-year-old recreational athletes. Echocardiographic parameters at rest were compared with exercise performance assessed by power output during two different exercises: A lactate threshold and cardiopulmonary exercise test (La-CPET) and a 91-km mountain bike sport cycling race. The La-CPET had a median duration of 43 (40, 45) minutes and a mean power output of 2.9 ± 0.5 W/kg. The race had a median duration of 236 (214, 268) minutes and a mean power output of 2.1 ± 0.5 W/kg. There was moderate left ventricular (LV) dilatation in individuals with the highest performance. The myocardial efficiency parameter, global wasted work (GWW), was positively correlated with race duration (rho = 0.42, p = 0.008) and negatively correlated with mean power output during both the La-CPET (rho = −0.43, p = 0.007) and the race (rho = −0.44, p = 0.005). In multivariable models, including LV volumes, left GWW remained an independent predictor of race duration (beta = 0.40, p = 0.007) and of mean power output during the La-CPET (beta = −0.40, p = 0.006) and the race (beta = −0.43, p = 0.003). The novel echocardiographic myocardial efficiency parameter, GWW, measured at rest, is an independent predictor of prolonged high-intensity endurance exercise performance in healthy middle-aged athletes. These findings suggest that resting myocardial efficiency parameters may aid the identification of exercise-induced LV dilatation.publishedVersio

God nok? Selvaktelse og interpersonlig fungering hos pasienter innen psykisk helsevern: Forholdet til diagnoser, symptomer og behandlingsutbytte

The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the understanding of self-esteem and interpersonal functioning in psychiatric outpatients. Self-esteem is commonly regarded as the evaluative aspects of the person’s self-perception, defined as the overall evaluation of one’s worthiness as a human being, or to what degree he or she feels her- or himself as “good enough”. Mental health research has documented statistically significant associations between low self-esteem and poor mental health. However, the nature of these associations is not well explored empirically in clinical samples. The aims of the current study were (1) to explore how self-esteem is associated with general symptomatic distress, psychiatric diagnosis and interpersonal problems, (2) to explore associations between self-esteem and interpersonal style, and (3) to explore if self-esteem and interpersonal style predicted treatment outcome and drop out rates in cognitive behaviourally based psychoeducational group treatment. The study was carried out on data collected in a local psychiatric outpatient clinic in Western Norway. All patients (n = 338) admitted for an intake interview over a 12-month period completed questionnaires assessing self-esteem (RSES), symptomatic distress (SCL- 90-R), and interpersonal problems (IIP-C) as part of the assessment. Clinical and diagnostic evaluations were conducted as usual, according to the ICD-10. In addition, Paper 3 comprises a subsample (n = 65) of patients who received cognitive behaviourally based psychoeducational group treatment (12 weekly sessions). The results showed that level of symptomatic distress and interpersonal problems predicted more of the variance in self-esteem than psychiatric diagnosis. When symptomatic distress and interpersonal problems were controlled for, only affective disorders (pure and comorbid) predicted lower levels of self-esteem on a statistically significant level (Paper 1). Furthermore, the results show that lower self-esteem was associated with higher levels of interpersonal problems in general. Lower self-esteem was first and foremost linked to frustrated agentic motives, as measured by the IIP-C. Also, the analyses revealed an interaction effect of agency and communion on self-esteem, indicating a need for balancing the two motive dimensions (Paper 2). Lastly, low self-esteem predicted poor outcome in terms of change in interpersonal problems. However, self-esteem was not associated with outcome as measured by the Global Severity Index derived from SCL-90-R. Fifty percent of the patients improved reliably during treatment (general symptomatic reduction), but only seven patients (13 %) met the criteria for clinically significant change. Considering interpersonal problems, 25 % of the patients reported a reliable reduction; eight of these (15 %) met the criteria for clinically significant change. Fourteen patients (22 %) did not complete treatment. Drop out was predicted by marital status (single) and low levels of interpersonal agency. Based on the findings, we conclude that psychological interventions should always consider the patient’s self-esteem, regardless of the psychiatric diagnosis. Further, therapeutic work with interpersonal problems should include self-esteem issues. We also conclude that the fostering of patient agency should be considered as an important goal in psychotherapy

Kant's Political Liberalism: Right, Freedom, and Public Reason

According to John Rawls s political liberalism, the exercise of political power should be justified by appeal to political values and principles that all citizens can reasonably be expected to share. I argue that we find a similar way of thinking about political legitimacy and justification in Immanuel Kant. Thus I defend the thesis that Kant s conception of right can be interpreted as a form of political liberalism. This goes against Rawls s own verdict as well as much Kant scholarship, where it is often argued that Kant s principles of right are derived from the ethical principle of the Categorical Imperative, or that Kant s view of political justification is not in fact liberal and democratic. The defense of my heterodox thesis hinges mainly on two arguments. First, I argue that Kant s principles of right are tailor-made for the essentially political problem of enabling reciprocal relations of external freedom, and are not derived from or based on his broader ethical theory. Second, I argue that Kant s claim that laws are justified only if all citizens could consent to them, taken together with his account of popular sovereignty, can be seen to express an idea of public reason similar to Rawls s. These claims support the conclusion that Kant s view is both liberal and political; in some ways even more liberal and political than Rawls s. On the background of that conclusion, I consider the distinctive features of Kant s political liberalism and its merits. I show that whereas Kant sets out to justify the institutions of the liberal state, Rawls takes them as given starting points for political justification. With respect to this, I conclude that Rawls leaves the question of authority unanswered, and that Kant s theory therefore secures an important advantage