Cold season dose rate contributions from gamma, radon, thoron or progeny in legacy mines with high natural background radiation.

In areas with high natural background radiation, underground cavities tend to have high levels of airborne radionuclides. Within mines, occupancy may involve significant exposure to airborne radionuclides like radon (222Rn), thoron (220Rn) and progeny. The Fen carbonatite complex in Norway has legacy mines going through bedrock with significantly elevated levels of uranium (238U) and especially thorium (232Th), and significant levels of their progeny 222Rn and 220Rn.

A methodology for the systematic identification of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM).

Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) are present worldwide and under certain circumstances (e.g., human activities) may give radiation exposure to workers, local public or occasional visitors and non-human biota (NHB) of the surrounding ecosystems.

Increased barium levels in recent marine sediments from the Norwegian and Barents Seas suggest impact of hydrocarbon drilling and production.

Barium (Ba) in recent marine sediments can originate from natural and anthropogenic sources including discharges from the oil and gas industry. In this study, we use data from the Norwegian and Barents Seas to assess whether Ba in recent marine sediments has increased due to these discharges. To account for Ba in detrital material, we normalise all samples with respect to aluminosilicate by calculating an enrichment factor.

Distribution of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides in sediments from the Vefsnfjord, Norway.

Areas in central Norway were heavily contaminated with fallout from the Chernobyl accident in 1986. In this study, we assess Cs in surface sediments and sediment cores collected in the Vefsnfjord in Nordland county. Concentrations of Cs in surface sediments ranged from 159 to 191 Bq kg dry weight (d.

Geochronology of sediment cores from the Vefsnfjord, Norway.

The sedimentary environment is a repository and carrier for a variety of pollutants, and sediment transport from land to coastal areas is an important environmental process. In the present study, we use Pb/Ra and Cs in sediment cores to assess sediment supply rates at four sites within the Vefsnfjord in Nordland county, Norway. This area was highly affected by fallout from the Chernobyl accident in 1986 and inventories of Cs in the fjord are much higher than in many other Norwegian fjords.

Reduced soil fauna decomposition in a high background radiation area.

Decomposition of litter and organic matter is a very important soil ecosystem function where soil fauna play an important role. Knowledge of the responses in decomposition and soil fauna to different stressors is therefore crucial. However, the extent to which radioactivity may affect soil fauna is not so well known.

Opposing fitness consequences of habitat use in a harvested moose population.

Landscape changes are happening at an unprecedented pace, and together with high levels of wildlife harvesting humans have a large effect on wildlife populations. A thorough knowledge of their combined influence on individual fitness is important to understand factors affecting population dynamics. The goal of the study was to assess the individual consistency in the use of risky habitat types, and how habitat use was related to fitness components and life-history strategies.

Realism and usefulness of multispecies experiment designs with regard to application in radioecology: A review.

Multispecies experiments like microcosms and mesocosms are widely used in many fields of research but not in radioecology. In radioecology, size limitations are important as large experimental volumes involve problems with waste (radionuclides), or shielding, absorption and available space in gamma fields (often within a climate chamber). We have therefore performed a literature review (ISI Web of Science, n = 406) of the design and properties of multispecies effect studies <100 L in size and with three or more mentioned taxa in other research fields to assess their suitability to radioecology.

Decomposing demographic contributions to the effective population size with moose as a case study.

Levels of random genetic drift are influenced by demographic factors, such as mating system, sex ratio and age structure. The effective population size (N ) is a useful measure for quantifying genetic drift. Evaluating relative contributions of different demographic factors to N is therefore important to identify what makes a population vulnerable to loss of genetic variation.

Effect of gamma radiation on the production of bystander signals from three earthworm species irradiated in vivo.

The effect of gamma radiation delivered over 24 h on the induction of bystander signals of three earthworm species exposed in vivo was investigated: A. chlorotica, A. caliginosa, and E.

Fitness correlates of age at primiparity in a hunted moose population.

Trade-offs between fitness-related traits are predicted from the principle of resource allocation, where increased fecundity or parental investment leads to reduced future reproduction or survival. However, fitness traits can also be positively correlated due to individual differences (e.g.

Norwegian monitoring (1990-2015) of the marine environment around the sunken nuclear submarine Komsomolets.

Norway has monitored the marine environment around the sunken Russian nuclear submarine Komsomolets since 1990. This study presents an overview of 25 years of Norwegian monitoring data (1990-2015). Komsomolets sank in 1989 at a depth of 1680 m in the Norwegian Sea while carrying two nuclear torpedoes in its armament.

Outdoor thoron and progeny in a thorium rich area with old decommissioned mines and waste rock.

Radon (Rn), thoron (Rn) and their decay products may reach high levels in areas of high natural background radiation, with increased risk associated with mining areas. Historically, the focus has mostly been placed upon radon and progeny (RnP), but recently there have been reports of significant contributions to dose from thoron progeny (TnP). However, few direct measurements of TnP exist under outdoor conditions.

Harvest-induced phenotypic selection in an island population of moose, Alces alces.

Empirical evidence strongly indicates that human exploitation has frequently led to rapid evolutionary changes in wild populations, yet the mechanisms involved are often poorly understood. Here, we applied a recently developed demographic framework for analyzing selection to data from a 20-year study of a wild population of moose, Alces alces. In this population, a genetic pedigree has been established all the way back to founders.

Population properties affect inbreeding avoidance in moose.

Mechanisms reducing inbreeding are thought to have evolved owing to fitness costs of breeding with close relatives. In small and isolated populations, or populations with skewed age- or sex distributions, mate choice becomes limited, and inbreeding avoidance mechanisms ineffective. We used a unique individual-based dataset on moose from a small island in Norway to assess whether inbreeding avoidance was related to population structure and size, expecting inbreeding avoidance to be greater in years with larger populations and even adult sex ratios.

Effects of inbreeding on fitness-related traits in a small isolated moose population.

Inbreeding can affect fitness-related traits at different life history stages and may interact with environmental variation to induce even larger effects. We used genetic parentage assignment based on 22 microsatellite loci to determine a 25 year long pedigree for a newly established island population of moose with 20-40 reproducing individuals annually. We used the pedigree to calculate individual inbreeding coefficients and examined for effects of individual inbreeding (f) and heterozygosity on fitness-related traits.

Moose body mass variation revisited: disentangling effects of environmental conditions and genetics.

Large-scale geographical variation in phenotypic traits within species is often correlated to local environmental conditions and population density. Such phenotypic variation has recently been shown to also be influenced by genetic structuring of populations. In ungulates, large-scale geographical variation in phenotypic traits, such as body mass, has been related to environmental conditions and population density, but little is known about the genetic influences.

Clustering of IgA-producing immunocytes related to HLA-DR-positive ducts in normal and inflamed salivary glands.

Ig-producing immunocytes and epithelial expression of secretory component (SC) and HLA-DR were evaluated by two-colour immunofluorescence staining in 10 normal and 20 inflamed salivary glands; the latter included specimens from 10 patients with obstructive sialadenitis and 10 with Sjögren's syndrome (SS). Epithelium adjacent to T-cell infiltrates showed extensive co-expression of SC and HLA-DR, suggesting that leucocyte-derived cytokines were responsible for this concurrent up-regulation. Clusters (greater than 2 positive cells) of IgA-producing cells were spatially related to DR-positive ducts.

Subperiosteal transmucosal porous ceramic/titanium implants. Clinical experience from three cases.

Porous ceramic (Al2O3) material was used in combination with titanium fixtures as subperiosteal transmucosal implants in three patients at the Department of Oral Surgery and Oral Medicine, Dental Faculty, University of Oslo. Ceramic pieces were furnished with titanium receptacles and matching threaded posts. The implantation approach was based upon two stages, the first for subperiosteal placement of the ceramic onlay segment containing the titanium receptacles, and the second procedure for perforation of the mucosa and insertion of the posts intended for prosthetic use.