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Nord Pool is the leading power market in Europe. It has been documented that the forward contracts traded in this market exhibit a significant forward premium, which could be a sign of market inefficiency. Efficient power markets are important, especially when there is a goal to increase the share of the power mix stemming from renewable energy sources. We therefore contribute to the understanding of this topic by examining how the forward premium in the Nord Pool market depend on several economic and physical conditions. We utilise two methods: ordinary least squares and quantile regression. The results show that the reservoir level and the basis (the difference between the forward and spot price) have a significant impact on the forward premium. The realised volatility of futures prices and the implied volatility of the stock market have strong effects on both the conditional lower and upper tails of the forward premium. We also find that, as the market has matured, the forward premium has decreased, indicating an increase in market efficiency.

The carotenoid composition of the flower of Telekia speciosa was investigated for the first time by HPLC-DAD-MS. In addition to the main carotenoid lutein and its geometrical isomers, 5,6-epoxy-carotenoids, namely violaxanthin, lutein 5,6-epoxide and antheraxanthin, were detected in larger amounts. In addition, β-carotene 5,6-epoxide and β-carotene 5,6,5′,6′-diepoxide were found, which occurs very rarely in plants. For unambigous identification, β-carotene 5,6-epoxide and β-carotene 5,6,5′,6′-diepoxide were prepared semisynthetically, and they were characterized by 1H and 13C NMR and HPLC-CD methods.

Air corridors are an integral part of the advanced air mobility infrastructure. They are the virtual highways in the sky for the transportation of people and cargo in a controlled airspace at an altitude of around 1000 ft. to 2000 ft. above ground level. These corridors will be utilized by (unmanned) air taxis, which will be deployed in rural and metropolitan regions to carry passengers and freight, as well as air ambulances, which will be deployed to offer first responder services such as 911 emergencies. This paper presents fundamental insights into the design of air corridors with high operational efficiency as well as zero collisions. It begins with the definitions of air cube, skylane or track, intersection, vertiport, gate, and air corridor. Then a multi-layered air corridor model is proposed. Traffic at intersections is analyzed in detail with examples of vehicles turning in different directions. The concept of capacity of an air corridor is introduced along with the nature of distribution of locations of vehicles in the air corridor and collision probability inside the corridor are discussed. Finally, results of traffic flow simulations are presented.

Melilotus officinalis is known to contain several types of secondary metabolites. In contrast, the carotenoid composition of this medicinal plant has not been investigated, although it may also contribute to the biological activities of the drug, such as anti-inflammatory effects. Therefore, this study focuses on the isolation and identification of carotenoids from Meliloti herba and on the effect of isolated (all-E)-lutein 5,6-epoxide on primary sensory neurons and macrophages involved in nociception, as well as neurogenic and non-neurogenic inflammatory processes. The composition of the plant extracts was analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The main carotenoid was isolated by column liquid chromatography (CLC) and identified by MS and NMR. The effect of water-soluble lutein 5,6-epoxide-RAMEB (randomly methylated-β-cyclodextrin) was investigated on Ca2+-influx in rat primary sensory neurons induced by the activation of the transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 receptor agonist to mustard-oil and on endotoxin-induced IL-1β release from isolated mouse peritoneal macrophages. (all-E)-Lutein 5,6-epoxide significantly decreased the percent of responsive primary sensory neurons compared to the vehicle-treated stimulated control. Furthermore, endotoxin-evoked IL-1β release from macrophages was significantly decreased by 100 µM lutein 5,6-epoxide compared to the vehicle-treated control. The water-soluble form of lutein 5,6-epoxide-RAMEB decreases the activation of primary sensory neurons and macrophages, which opens perspectives for its analgesic and anti-inflammatory applications.