Three-dimensional crustal structure of the Vøring Margin (NE Atlantic): A combined seismic and gravity image

The three-dimensional (3-D) crustal structure of the Vøring Margin is investigated by integrating results from reflection and wide-angle seismic data, well log data, and 3-D gravity modeling. The reduced "crustal" Bouguer anomaly, obtained after computing the gravity effects of the water layer and Cenozoic and Cretaceous sedimentary cover, displays an arcuate-shaped gravity high that coincides with the Cretaceous subbasins. The Pre-Cretaceous layer varies in thickness from 7 to 8 km below the Vøring Marginal High to <2 km in the Mesozoic depocenters and is overlying a relative "high-density" upper-middle crust (2850 kg m-3). Underlying the upper-middle crust, there is a "high-velocity/density" body, which is imaged along the Marginal High and western region of the Vøring Basin. The High Velocity Body shallows to <14 km depth in the western end of the Marginal High and thins out toward the eastern and southeastern regions of the basin. Regions of thick crust (∼24 km) are located in the eastern and southern parts of the basin and northern and central parts of the Marginal High, whereas thinner crust is observed at the southwest region of the study area (∼16 km) and in the Fenris Graben region and Utgard High (∼18 km). Residual gravity anomalies are related to the distribution of interbedded volcanics and to the presence of sedimentary subbasins under the Marginal High. Crustal thinning is not directly related to thickening of the HVB and/or the location of Cretaceous depocentres, indicating a major rejuvenation of the Cretaceous Moho related to the Maastritchian-Paleocene rifting episode and massive emplacement of igneous material during breakup.This research has benefitted from a collaborative project between Norsk Hydro Oil Division and the Institute of Earth Sciences (ICTJACSIC)

The Effect of Labour Protection Laws on the Relationship between Leverage and Wages

Previous research has shown that leverage has a positive effect on wages. Using US state-level labour protection laws as an exogenous shock, we find that the adoption of the law alleviates the effect of leverage on wages. We show that the mitigating effect on the leverage-wage relationship is more pronounced for firms with strong employee bargaining power. Our study highlights the positive role played by labour protection laws in lowering firms’ labour costs and improving their financial flexibility, which complements the literature and advances our understanding of the broad implications of labour protection laws

Magnetostratigraphy of Miocene-Pliocene Zagros foreland deposits in the front of the Push-e Kush Arc (Lurestan Province, Iran)

The timing of the deformation in the Zagros Simply Folded Belt is poorly constrained because of the lack of an accurate absolute chronology of the syntectonic sedimentary sequences. The foreland basin infill at the front of the Push-e-Kush Arc is composed of fine-grained fluvial plain deposits (Agha Jari Fm.) and coarse conglomerates at the top of the section (Bakhtyari Fm.). A magnetostratigraphic study was carried out in a composite section spanning about 2800 m in order to date growth strata, and to constrain the timing of the deformation in the Mountain Front Flexure (MFF). Magnetostratigraphic correlation of the base of the Agha Jari Fm. with chron C5A yields an age of 12.8 to 12.3 Ma for this base. The transition to the conglomerates of the Bakhtyari Fm. correlates with the upper Gauss chron C2An at approximately 3 Ma. The deposition age of the top of the preserved Bakhtyari Fm. is extrapolated around the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary. The base of the Agha Jari Fm. growth strata, and thus the beginning of the deformation in the front of the Push-e Kush Arc, is dated at 8.1-7.2 Ma. The topmost preserved Bakhtyari is folded in the NE flank of the Changuleh anticline and is unconformably overlying the SW flank of the Anaran anticline. This indicates that the tectonic deformation in the front of the Push-e-Kush Arc was active at least during 5 My. The MFF is a relatively long-lived structure active from 8.1 to 7.2 Ma to about the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary, partly synchronous with the Changuleh anticline to the foreland. After MFF tectonic cessation, only the Changuleh anticline remained active. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.This study has been financed by a collaborative project between the Institute of Earth Sciences “Jaume Almera”, CSIC of Barcelona (Spain) and the Norsk Hydro Research Centre of Bergen (Norway), with the partial support of project 2001 SGR 00339 Grup d'Estructura i Processos Litosfèrics. We also thank the support in the field of Hydro Zagros Oil and Gas Tehran and NPA people, and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) for their collaboration during this project

Lithospheric structure and Cainozoic thermal evolution of the Møre continental margin since the break up of the North Atlantic Ocean

XXVII General Assembly of the European Geophysical Society (EGS), 22 Apr 2002, Nice, Franc

A high-resolution radiolarian-derived paleotemperature record for the Late Pleistocene-Holocene in the Norwegian Sea

Polycystine radiolarians are used to reconstruct summer sea surface temperatures (SSSTs) for the Late Pleistocene-Holocene (600-13,400 C-14 years BP) in the Norwegian Sea. At 13,200 C-14 years BP, the SSST was close to the average Holocene SSST (similar to12degreesC). It then gradually dropped to 7.1degreesC in the Younger Dryas. Near the Younger Dryas-Holocene transition (similar to10,000 C-14 years BP), the SSST increased 5degreesC in about 530 years. Four abrupt cooling events, with temperature drops of up to 2.1degreesC, are recognized during the Holocene: at 9340, 7100 ("8200 calendar years event''), 6400 and 1650 C-14 years BP. Radiolarian SSSTs and the isotopic signal from the GISP2 ice core are strongly coupled, stressing the importance of the Norwegian Sea as a mediator of heat/precipitation exchange between the North Atlantic, the atmosphere, and the Greenland ice sheet. Radiolarian and diatom-derived SSSTs display similarities, with the former not showing the recently reported Holocene cooling trend

Coumarins and coumarin-related compounds in pharmacotherapy of cancer

Cancer is one of the most common causes of disease-related deaths worldwide. Despite the discovery of many chemotherapeutic drugs that inhibit uncontrolled cell division processes for the treatment of various cancers, serious side effects of these drugs are a crucial disadvantage. In addition, multi-drug resistance is another important problem in anticancer treatment. Due to problems such as cytotoxicity and drug resistance, many investigations are being conducted to discover and develop effective anticancer drugs. In recent years, researchers have focused on the anticancer activity coumarins, due to their high biological activity and low toxicity. Coumarins are commonly used in the treatment of prostate cancer, renal cell carcinoma and leukemia, and they also have the ability to counteract the side effects caused by radiotherapy. Both natural and synthetic coumarin derivatives draw attention due to their photochemotherapy and therapeutic applications in cancer. In this review, a compilation of various research reports on coumarins with anticancer activity and investigation and a review of structure-activity relationship studies on coumarin core are presented. Determination of important structural features around the coumarin core may help researchers to design and develop new analogues with a strong anticancer effect and reduce the potential side effects of existing therapeutics

Lithospheric structure and Cainozoic thermal evolution of the More and Voring continental margins: a comparison

XXVII General Assembly of the European Geophysical Society (EGS), 22 Apr 2002, Nice, Franc