Value creation in private equity : have Norwegian private equity companies created value in their portfolio companies?

This paper investigates value creation in 31 private equity-owned companies in Norway between 1993 and 2007. Its purpose is to find evidence on increased value capturing for these companies relative to non-private equity-owned companies. We have looked at the development of companies that have been engaged in a full leveraged buyout process with Norwegian private equity firms from entry to exit. Value creation is made through several different drivers, which are thoroughly presented in this thesis. The empirical analysis in our thesis has been focusing on value creation through direct drivers since these drivers may easily be analyzed using publicly available data. By doing statistical tests on ratios that help explaining these drivers, we were able to present evidence on whether private equity-owned companies have been able to outperform their comparables during the private equity firms’ holding period. Our results suggest that private equity firms have been successful in obtaining significant revenue expansion and cost reductions/margin improvements for their portfolio companies on an isolated basis. In terms of improved asset utilization and financial engineering we are unable to provide any adequate significant results. In addition, it seems like buyout companies do not experience any significant changes in employment or changes in levels of wage expenditures. The industry-adjusted results suggest that buyout companies do not significantly outperform their corresponding peers in regard to revenue expansion and cost reductions/margin improvements. Buyout companies seem to have a somewhat stronger improvement in capital productivity than their peers, implying an outperformance from the buyout companies. Moreover, our results do not support any significant changes in long-term debt share during the holding period of private equity firms or large differences in long-term debt levels relative to their peers at entry, exit and exit +1. Finally, industry-adjusted employment growth and changes in levels of wage expenditures do not support any categorical beliefs about massive lay-offs or drastically reduced wage expenditures during the holding period of a private equity firm

NFAT5 genes are part of the osmotic regulatory system in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

Acknowledgements This study was supported by a grant from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC, BB/H008063/1), UK to DGH and SAM. Funding also came from Research Council Norway for project number 241016 for DGH and EJ. This work was carried out as part of a PhD thesis funded by the Marine Alliance of Science and Technology Scotland (MASTS).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Compensation methods to support cooperative applications: A case study in automated verification of schema requirements for an advanced transaction model

Compensation plays an important role in advanced transaction models, cooperative work and workflow systems. A schema designer is typically required to supply for each transaction another transaction to semantically undo the effects of . Little attention has been paid to the verification of the desirable properties of such operations, however. This paper demonstrates the use of a higher-order logic theorem prover for verifying that compensating transactions return a database to its original state. It is shown how an OODB schema is translated to the language of the theorem prover so that proofs can be performed on the compensating transactions

Understanding the impact of children's and young people's self‐harm on parental well‐being: a systematic literature review of qualitative and quantitative findings

Background: Self‐harm in children and young people is increasing. Parents are vital in supporting young people; however, parents may experience distress linked to the self‐harm. Previous reviews have highlighted the emotional impact and need for information and support, however, have not elucidated the relationships between these themes, nor examined the quantitative data examining parents' well‐being. Methods: We conducted a mixed methods review, with qualitative meta‐synthesis focusing on links between themes and quantitative synthesis of parental well‐being findings, including pooled means. PsycInfo, Medline, EMBASE, AMED, CINHAL and Web of Science were searched to identify relevant records. References of included studies were also searched. Every abstract was screened by two authors. Data were extracted by one author and checked by another. Results: We identified 39 reports of 32 studies: 16 with qualitative data and 17 with quantitative data (one had both). Qualitative findings showed how parents' emotions were associated to their knowledge and beliefs about self‐harm. Parents' emotions often evidenced the need to self‐care, but emotions of guilt reduced engagement in self‐care. How parents supported their young person was linked to their knowledge, and the management of their own emotions, and influenced if they could engage in self‐care. Quantitative findings were mixed, however suggested poor general mental health amongst these parents. Conclusions: Further good quality quantitative studies are needed, with measurement of psychological mechanisms that may underpin parental distress. Current evidence supports peer‐support and interventions that go beyond information provision to address the connected factors of knowledge, emotion, self‐care, and parenting behaviours

MTB-våpenet sin evne til å skjule seg. Påvirkningen av sivil befolknings bruk av sosiale medier

Oppgavens problemstilling omhandler i hvilken grad MTB-våpenet kan operere skjult langs norskekysten i dag, likt som under den kalde krigen. Dette med tanke på den sivile befolkningens bruk av sosiale medier. Målet med oppgaven er å se hvor mye sivil befolknings bruk av SoMe påvirker en MTBs evne til å skjule seg. Hensikten er å sette lys på til hvilken grad SoMe kan brukes for å kartlegge Norges militære kapabiliteter, deres posisjon og bevegelse. For å svare på problemstillingen er det identifiserte fire tema. Essensielt for oppgaven er hvorvidt Norges befolkning vil se og bemerke seg en MTB langs kysten. Således om det påvirkes av de ulike operasjonsmønster MTB-våpenet benytter seg av. Det siste temaet oppgaven tar for seg er å belyse sosiale mediers påvirkning og hvordan informasjonen sprer seg blant befolkningen. Hvorvidt den sivile befolkningen vil oppdage en MTB avhenger av dens beliggenhet og bevegelser i gitte tidsrom. Det konkluderes med at transit forbi byer i Sør-Norge om sommeren, er en mest utsatt for oppdagelse. Den sikkerhetspolitiske situasjonen er aktuell for befolkningens interesse i militær aktivitet. Krigen i Europa har ført til en økt interesse blant befolkningen på sosiale medier, og Regjeringen har innvilget mer midler til Sjøforsvaret for økt tilstedeværelse i nord, som naturligvis fører til økt spenning. Det er dog viktig å bemerke seg at interessen er tilstede i fredstid, ved spesielle hendelser, som forliset av KNM Helge Ingstad. Tilgangen til sosiale medier og individets viktighet i et sosialt nettverk er to sentrale faktorer for spredning. Dette på bakgrunn av at tilnærmet hele den norske befolkning har tilgang til elektroniske tilbud og sosiale medier. Videre så vil spredningen avhenge av individers innflytelse i et nettverk og dets størrelse. På et KNM fartøy vil dette være vanskelig å vite, så i all hovedsak kan en bare påvirke eget fartøy og dets bruk. Konklusjonen er at det vil være enklere å skjule seg i noen områder enn andre, men det er situasjonsavhengig hvordan og til hvilken grad det spres på sosiale medier

Iodine Bioavailability and Accumulation of Arsenic and Cadmium in Rats Fed Sugar Kelp (Saccharina latissima)

Suboptimal iodine status is a prominent public health issue in several European coun-tries. Brown algae have a high iodine content that, upon intake, may exceed the recommended dietary intake level, but iodine bioavailability has been reported to be lower than from potassium iodide (KI) and highly depends on algae species. Further, potential negative effects from other components in algae, such as cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As), have also been addressed. In this study, we observed a lower bioavailability of iodine from farmed sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) than from KI in female Wistar IGS rats. Urinary iodine excretion was 94–95% in rats fed KI and 73–81% in rats fed sugar kelp, followed by increased faecal iodine levels in rats fed sugar kelp. No effects on body weight, feed efficiency, or plasma markers for liver or kidney damage were detected. The highest dose of iodine reduced plasma free thyroxine (fT4) and total T4 levels, but no significant effects on circulating levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and free triiodo-thyronine (fT3) were detected. Faeces and urine measurements indicate that 60–80% of total As and 93% of Cd ingested were excreted in rats fed 0.5 and 5% kelp. Liver metabolomic profiling demonstrates that a high inclusion of sugar kelp in the diet for 13 weeks of feeding modulates metabolites with potential antioxidant activity and phytosterols.publishedVersio

Disparate movement behavior and feeding ecology in sympatric ecotypes of Atlantic cod

Coexistence of ecotypes, genetically divergent population units, is a widespread phenomenon, potentially affecting ecosystem functioning and local food web stability. In coastal Skagerrak, Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) occur as two such coexisting ecotypes. We applied a combination of acoustic telemetry, genotyping, and stable isotope analysis to 72 individuals to investigate movement ecology and food niche of putative local “Fjord” and putative oceanic “North Sea” ecotypes—thus named based on previous molecular studies. Genotyping and individual origin assignment suggested 41 individuals were Fjord and 31 were North Sea ecotypes. Both ecotypes were found throughout the fjord. Seven percent of Fjord ecotype individuals left the study system during the study while 42% of North Sea individuals left, potentially homing to natal spawning grounds. Home range sizes were similar for the two ecotypes but highly variable among individuals. Fjord ecotype cod had significantly higher δ13C and δ15N stable isotope values than North Sea ecotype cod, suggesting they exploited different food niches. The results suggest coexisting ecotypes may possess innate differences in feeding and movement ecologies and may thus fill different functional roles in marine ecosystems. This highlights the importance of conserving interconnected populations to ensure stable ecosystem functioning and food web structures.publishedVersio

Effect of alkalinity on the diffusion of solvent-fractionated lignin through cellulose membranes

Mass transport of liberated lignin fragments from pits and fiber walls into black liquor is considered a determining step in the delignification process. However, our current understanding of the diffusion of lignin through cellulose and the influential parameter on this process is very limited. A comprehensive and detailed study of lignin mass transport through cellulosic materials is, therefore, of great importance. In this study, diffusion cell methodology is implemented to systematically investigate the transport of fractionated kraft lignin molecules through model cellulose membranes. Pulping is a complex process and lignin is very heterogenous material therefore to perform a more detailed study on lignin diffusion, we included an additional solvent fractionation step. One of the benefits of this method is that the setup can be adjusted to various experimental conditions allowing the complex chemical reactions occurring during pulping, which would affect the mass transfer of lignin, to be avoided. Here, the effects of the alkalinity of the aqueous solution and molecular weight of the kraft lignin molecules on their diffusion were investigated. Additionally,\ua0NMR spectroscopy, size exclusion chromatography, and UV/Vis spectroscopy were used to characterize the starting material and the molecules that passed through the membrane. Lignin molecules detected in the acceptor chamber of the diffusion cells had lower molecular weights, indicating a size fractionation between the donor and acceptor chamber. UV/Vis showed higher concentrations of ionized conjugated kraft lignin molecules in the acceptor chamber, which is a sign of chemical fractionation. This study suggests that the diffusion of lignin through small cellulose pores can be enhanced by decreasing the average molecular weight of the diffusing kraft lignin molecules and increasing alkalinity

One-Year Treatment with Olanzapine Depot in Female Rats: Metabolic Effects

Background Antipsychotic drugs can negatively affect the metabolic status of patients, with olanzapine as one of the most potent drugs. While patients are often medicated for long time periods, experiments in rats typically run for 1 to 12 weeks, showing olanzapine-related weight gain and increased plasma lipid levels, with transcriptional upregulation of lipogenic genes in liver and adipose tissue. It remains unknown whether metabolic status will deteriorate with time. Methods To examine long-term metabolic effects, we administered intramuscular long-acting injections of olanzapine (100 mg/kg BW) or control substance to female rats for up to 13 months. Results Exposure to olanzapine long-acting injections led to rapid weight gain, which was sustained throughout the experiment. At 1, 6, and 13 months, plasma lipid levels were measured in separate cohorts of rats, displaying no increase. Hepatic transcription of lipid-related genes was transiently upregulated at 1 month. Glucose and insulin tolerance tests indicated insulin resistance in olanzapine-treated rats after 12 months. Conclusion Our data show that the continuous increase in body weight in response to long-term olanzapine exposure was accompanied by surprisingly few concomitant changes in plasma lipids and lipogenic gene expression, suggesting that adaptive mechanisms are involved to reduce long-term metabolic adverse effects of this antipsychotic agent in rats.publishedVersio