Overheating, Bubbles and Stagflation in the Norwegian Economy : An empirical study of crisis anatomy.

Since the turn of the millennium, a lasting period of mostly strong national economic growth has persisted. In the autumn of 2021, the Norwegian Central Bank began increasing the policy rate and has since increased it 13 times. This rapid increase in policy rate came about due to increasing inflation and a weakened currency. This thesis aims to assess if the economy is headed towards a crisis by conducting an empirical analysis of the present-day economy and a comparative analysis of past crises. The primary conclusion drawn is that the Norwegian economy shows strong signs of having been slowly overheated and is now perhaps headed towards stagflation, The empirical analysis involved estimating the Taylor rule and Tobin’s Q as well as using the Hodrick-Prescott filter to estimate the long-term trend in various macro indicators. The Taylor Rule was used to assess the central bank’s recent historical interest rate decisions, while Tobin’s Q was used to check for deviation from fundamental values in the stock market. The results from Taylor Rule and Tobin’s Q indicate that the Norwegian economy has had the necessary foundations to become overheated through an artificially low policy rate and actual overheating in the stock market. Combined with the strong growth in macro indicators such as GDP, consumption, and household leverage, it seems quite clear that there has been at least some overheating. With unemployment creeping upwards, inflation rising swiftly, and GDP slightly plateauing, it is tempting to speculate on the potential of incoming stagflation. Many fundamental factors are also in place compared to historical incidents, such as increased prices for global input factors and a long period of previous overheating.nhhma

An mri-based radiomic prognostic index predicts poor outcome and specific genetic alterations in endometrial cancer

Integrative tumor characterization linking radiomic profiles to corresponding gene expression profiles has the potential to identify specific genetic alterations based on non-invasive radiomic profiling in cancer. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a radiomic prognostic index (RPI) based on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and assess possible associations between the RPI and gene expression profiles in endometrial cancer patients. Tumor texture features were extracted from preoperative 2D MRI in 177 endometrial cancer patients. The RPI was developed using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression in a study cohort (n = 95) and validated in an MRI validation cohort (n = 82). Transcriptional alterations associated with the RPI were investigated in the study cohort. Potential prognostic markers were further explored for validation in an mRNA validation cohort (n = 161). The RPI included four tumor texture features, and a high RPI was significantly associated with poor disease-specific survival in both the study cohort (p < 0.001) and the MRI validation cohort (p = 0.030). The association between RPI and gene expression profiles revealed 46 significantly differentially expressed genes in patients with a high RPI versus a low RPI (p < 0.001). The most differentially expressed genes, COMP and DMBT1, were significantly associated with disease-specific survival in both the study cohort and the mRNA validation cohort. In conclusion, a high RPI score predicts poor outcome and is associated with specific gene expression profiles in endometrial cancer patients. The promising link between radiomic tumor profiles and molecular alterations may aid in developing refined prognostication and targeted treatment strategies in endometrial cancer.publishedVersio

Structural imaging findings are related to clinical complications in chronic pancreatitis

Background/objectives: Structural pancreatic changes and complications related to chronic pancreatitis are well described, but little is known about their relationship. We aimed to explore the associations between pancreatic morphology and clinical complications in a large chronic pancreatitis cohort. Methods: The Scandinavian Baltic Pancreatic Club database collects registrations on patients with definite or probable chronic pancreatitis according to the M-ANNHEIM diagnostic criteria. In this cross-sectional study, we used multivariate logistic regression analyses to evaluate whether imaging-based structural pancreatic changes were associated with common clinical complications. We adjusted for sex, age, disease duration, current alcohol abuse and current smoking. Results: We included 742 patients with a mean age of 55 years. Among these, 68% were males, 69% had pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, 35% had diabetes, 12% were underweighted and 68% reported abdominal pain. Main pancreatic duct obstruction, severe (i.e. more than 14) calcifications, pancreatic atrophy and parenchymal changes throughout the entire pancreas (continuous organ involvement) were positively associated with pancreatic exocrine insufficiency. Continuous organ involvement and pseudocysts were positively and negatively associated with diabetes, respectively. Pancreatic atrophy and severe calcifications were positively associated with underweight, and severe calcifications were negatively associated with pain. Conclusions: This study shows independent associations between distinct structural changes on pancreatic imaging and clinical complications in chronic pancreatitis. Pancreatic atrophy, severe calcifications and continuous organ involvement may be of particular clinical relevance, and these findings should motivate monitoring of pancreatic function and nutritional status.publishedVersio

Når religion blir synonymt med etnisitet - om ungdoms tro og religiøsitet i fosterhjem

Når det snakkes om religion og tro i barnevernsammenheng knyttes det ofte til barn med annen etnisitet enn norsk. Selv i forslaget til ny barnevernlov snakkes det utelukkende om religion i sammenheng med etnisitet og kultur. I denne oppgaven er det ikke den flerkulturelle konteksten ved religion som interesserer meg, men barnets tro, religiøsitet, livstolkning og identitet løsrevet fra religiøse systemer og institusjonaliserte trosretninger. Det handler om troen barnet har, og ikke troen andre forteller barnet at det har. Det handler om livsforståelsen som sitter dypere enn symboler og ritualer. Det finnes ikke én type kristen, én type muslim eller én type jøde, og det finnes heller ikke én type ateist eller én type humanist. Det har ikke betydning om det er nyreligiøsitet, vitenskapelig fakta eller overtro, og med et slikt utvidet perspektiv vil nok antall barn plassert i fosterhjem med annen tro og religiøsitet øke drastisk. Det finnes imidlertid lite skriv med dette utvidede religionsperspektivet i barnevernsammenheng. Ingen forarbeider eller rapporter trekker ut religionsbegrepet eller trosaspektet, og ser på dette løsrevet fra etnisitet og kultur. Selv ikke i forarbeidene til barnevernloven §4-15, som er den eneste bestemmelsen i barnevernloven der religion nevnes. Problemstillingen jeg ønsker å utforske, er derfor: Hvordan ivareta ungdoms tro og religiøsitet ved flytting i et fosterhjem med annen tro og religiøsitet? Hvorfor er det i det hele tatt viktig å se på tro og religion? Fordi det handler om identitet. Ens tro og religiøsitet er en sentral og viktig brikke i identitetsdannelsen og selvforståelsen, og i fagbøker om tro, religion og livssyn trekkes identitetsbegrepet inn som et sentralt aspekt. Også i NOU1995:9 understrekes det at «tro og livssyn er grunnleggende når eleven skal forme sin identitet». Selv UNICEF fremhever at religion er et av aspektene i barns identitet. På grunn av dette velger jeg å fokusere på ungdom framfor alle barn, fordi store deler av identitetsdannelsen skjer i ungdomstiden, noe jeg ser nærmere på i kapittel 1

Antispam drifting i stor skala: gjennom et studie av norske utdanningsinstitusjoner

NORSK: Uønsket uoppfordret masseutsendelse av e-post, spam, har økt og blitt et betydelig problem de siste årene. Spam ble først registerte som et problem i 1975 og beskrevet i RFC706, men har de 10 siste årene blitt et vanlig og allment problem for store deler av befolkningen. Bekjempelsen mot spam foregår i dag på mange plan, ved lover, tekniske innrettninger og adferdsendring. Studien viser en oversikt over mulige måter å bekjempe spam på, samt at jeg har laget en oversikt over forskjellige spamfilterløsninger. Jeg har deretter undersøkt gjennom intervju hvordan spambekjempelsen er utført ved de norske utdanningsinstitusjonene for høyere utdanning, for å finne svakheter og mangler med det nådværende systemet. Studien viser forbedringspotensialer på flere områder

Spiders in Iceland: distributions, species richness, and faunal changes

Spiders were collected, mostly by pitfall trapping in the 1970s, in a variety of habitats, mainly in lowland areas all around Iceland. Among the 62 species collected five were first records for Iceland (viz. Micaria pulicaria, Robertus lyrifer, Theonoe minutissima, Wabasso replicatus, and Bathyphantes gracilis). Most of the material (comprising ca 18 000 adult spiders) was obtained by pitfall trapping at 54 sites in 1976-1977. Additional methods such as sweep netting, vacuum sampling, sieving, and collecting by hand were employed at some of the pitfall sites and also in ca 250 sites where supplementary collecting was carried out. The pitfall traps were usually operated throughout the summer(June-August) and in many cases all year around. Distribution and seasonal activity of species are described. A total number of 57 species was caught in the pitfall traps but the number varied considerably between sites and habitats, probably to a large extent due to variation in collecting efforts, especially seasonal coverage and sample sizes. Species richness in relation to habitat was assessed by comparing summer samples (i.e. June-August) and applying rarefaction, which showed that mean species number is higher (albeit only slightly so) in the habitats with a more complex vegetational structure (viz. birch woods, plantations and those with shrubs) than the more open habitats (i.e. heaths, grasslands, and meadows). Most of the relatively common species (in terms of abundance and number of sites) occur in a broad spectrum of habitats and have wide geographic distributions in Iceland. About 42 % of the species were found in 1-3 sites only and 16 % in > 50 % of the pitfall sites. Species-abundance distribution was even more unimodal though the positive correlation between number of individuals and sites shows a wide scatter. The apparent rarity of some of the species is discussed and the importance of a sufficienly extended seasonal coverage and to use different collecting methods is recognised and exemplified. A comparison of the results of the present Survey with previously published records, including results from extensive pitfall trapping in the 1990s, Suggests some changes in the spider fauna and several cases of possible, relatively recent immigrations to Iceland are discussed

Nine treatments of 1000 mL therapeutic phlebotomy in a subject with polycythemia: A case report

Abstract Large‐volume therapeutic phlebotomy is the mainstay of hemochromatosis treatment and offers an opportunity to investigate the hemodynamic changes during acute hypovolemia. An otherwise healthy 64‐year‐old male with hemochromatosis participated. On nine separate visits, 1000 mL therapeutic phlebotomy was performed. On one occasion, pre‐ and post‐phlebotomy orthostatic challenge with 27° reverse Trendelenburg position was administered. Mean arterial pressure, heart rate, and stroke volume were measured continuously during the procedures. The patient's tolerance to the interventions was continuously evaluated. The procedures were well tolerated by the patient. Mean arterial pressure was maintained during hemorrhage and following phlebotomy in both supine and reverse Trendelenburg positions, primarily through an increase in heart rate and systemic vascular resistance. The present study found that 1000 mL therapeutic phlebotomy in a patient with hemochromatosis may be acceptably and safely used to model hemorrhage. The approach demonstrates high clinical applicability and ethically robustness in comparison with volunteer studies

IMR status report on the Barents Sea Ecosystem, 2004-2005

This report is intended as a rough overview of the status of the Barents Sea ecosystem in 2004, compared to a historical perspective. If possible the situation for 2005 is also treated. The aim of this report is to give background information for the ICES fishery assessment working groups on elements in the ecosystem, which may be of importance for the evaluation of the commercial fish stocks in the Barents Sea. Due to this focus the status of the fish stocks is not presented specifically, but instead important trophic relations are pointed out. NORSK SAMMENDRAG: Denne rapporten er ment som en grov statusoversikt over økosystemet i Barentshavet i 2004, sett i ett historisk perspektiv. Hvis mulig er forventninger for 2005 også vurdert. Målet til denne rapporten er å gi relevant bakgrunnsinformasjon om økosystemelementer til ICES sine bestandsvurderings- arbeidsgrupper, som kan være av betydning for evalueringen av de kommersielle fiskebestandene i Barentshavet. Fokuset er derfor rettet mot viktige trofiske interaksjoner, og ikke mot hver fiskebestand spesielt

An mri-based radiomic prognostic index predicts poor outcome and specific genetic alterations in endometrial cancer

Integrative tumor characterization linking radiomic profiles to corresponding gene expression profiles has the potential to identify specific genetic alterations based on non-invasive radiomic profiling in cancer. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a radiomic prognostic index (RPI) based on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and assess possible associations between the RPI and gene expression profiles in endometrial cancer patients. Tumor texture features were extracted from preoperative 2D MRI in 177 endometrial cancer patients. The RPI was developed using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression in a study cohort (n = 95) and validated in an MRI validation cohort (n = 82). Transcriptional alterations associated with the RPI were investigated in the study cohort. Potential prognostic markers were further explored for validation in an mRNA validation cohort (n = 161). The RPI included four tumor texture features, and a high RPI was significantly associated with poor disease-specific survival in both the study cohort (p < 0.001) and the MRI validation cohort (p = 0.030). The association between RPI and gene expression profiles revealed 46 significantly differentially expressed genes in patients with a high RPI versus a low RPI (p < 0.001). The most differentially expressed genes, COMP and DMBT1, were significantly associated with disease-specific survival in both the study cohort and the mRNA validation cohort. In conclusion, a high RPI score predicts poor outcome and is associated with specific gene expression profiles in endometrial cancer patients. The promising link between radiomic tumor profiles and molecular alterations may aid in developing refined prognostication and targeted treatment strategies in endometrial cancer