Parts Of Norway Research Articles

The Content of Psilocybin in Norwegian Psilocybe semilanceata

Psilocybe semilanceata contains hallucinogenic indole alkaloids and has been used as a narcotic drug in Norway. The content of psilocybin, the major constituent in Norwegian P. semilanceata, has been investigated as well as its habitats and its distribution throughout the country. The mushroom is growing on grassy sites in most parts of Norway from the middle of August to the middle of October. The psilocybin content in dried mushrooms varied considerably, from 0.17 to 1.96%. The highest concentrations in percent was found among the smaller mushrooms whereas the content in mg was highest in larger mushrooms. The content of psilocybin makes P. semilanceata to a potent hallucinogenic drug.

The Norwegian lynx Lynx lynx population in the 1970's

Information on lynx distribution and population variation was gathered from municipal Game Boards throughout the country. Permanent populations occurred in all parts of Norway in the 1970s. Compared with the 1960s, the lynx had expanded southwards and westwards in southern Norway, while the distribution in northern Norway was little changed. An increase of the total Norwegian lynx population is indicated. Hunting statistics do not, however, reflect the assumed population increase. Only a small part of the annual mortality seems to be caused by hunting. The relationship between population status, and food availability is discussed.

Atmospheric deposition of heavy metals in Norway studied by the analysis of moss samples using neutron activation analysis and atomic absorption spectrometry

In a study of the atmospheric deposition of trace elements in different parts of Norway, samples of the mossHylocomium Splendens were analyzed with respect to 28 elements. The determination of Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb was carried out by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, while 24 additional elements were determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis. In samples from southernmost Norway, a substantially higher concentration was found for elements such as Pb, Sb, V, Cr, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Mo, Ag, and Cd than in samples from places located in the more northerly parts of the country. The results indicate that sources which are to the south and south-west of Scandinavia, contribute significantly to heavy metal deposition in Norway.

Testing the resistance of potato varieties to common scab

Resistance to common scab was tested by growing potatoes in dry sand or soil in 3 l pots placed on irrigated subsoil. Inoculated coarse sand (0.5–0.005 Petri dish culture ofStreptomyces scabies per pot) proved more reliable than naturally infested soil. The incidence of scab on the seed tubers did not significantly affect the results. Tests in the greenhouse were most reliable, although those in open air also often gave satisfactory results. For screening purposes satisfactory results can be obtained by using only two or three pots per variety. Thirty-six tyrosinase positive isolates ofStreptomyces from potato and carrot from different parts of Norway were tested on four potato varieties and some of the isolates were tested on carrot. Large differences in aggressiveness were found, but no difference in virulence could be demonstrated, i.e. the same varieties were the most resistant to all isolates.

Application of meteorological data to agroclimatological mapping

During the years 1969–72 a comprehensive agroclimatic survery was carried out in Aust-Agder, a county of approximately 9000 km2 in the southernmost part of Norway. Meteorological data were collected from some 70 stations grouped in 11 model locations. In the analysis the agricultural purposes behind the survey are born in mind and importance is attached to simple and direct methods that will allow extrapolations within the region with sufficient confidence. The geographical variations in growth climate is expressed by average radiation and temperature conditions, and by estimates of plant-available soil moisture.

Estimations of the Incidences of Toxoplasma Infections among Pregnant Women from Different Areas in Norway

2342 male military recruits from different parts of Norway were selected for serological screening with the dye test or the IgG-indirect fluorescent antibody test. The highest frequency of toxoplasma antibodies was observed in the south-western areas (27%), whereas the prevalence was found to be as low as 2% in the northermost areas of the country. On the basis of the prevalence values obtained in the different counties, the incidence rates for acquired infections in the pregnant population have been calculated. The annual incidence in Norway was estimated to be 4 0/00 and the incidence of congenital toxoplasmosis would be maximally 2 0/00 (or about 110 cases/year).

Heavy trace elements in ancient Norwegian teeth

The present work was undertaken in order to determine the content of lead, cadmium, copper and zinc in 26 teeth retrieved from burial-grounds in various parts of Norway, dated from A.D. 200 up to 1850. The analyses were made by differential pulse stripping voltammetry on hydrochloric acid digests of the teeth. High levels of lead were found in teeth dated from ca A.D. 1500 from Gimsøy Kloster and Tønsberg. Teeth originating from A.D. 200 showed a high content of Cd, Cu and Zn.

On the retrogression of landslides in sensitive muddy sediments

The literature dealing with extensive retrogression of landslides in sensitive sediments is reviewed and found to be inadequate in several respects. One obvious deficiency is in the link between supposed retrogressive mechanisms and the morphology of the resultant ‘earthflow’ cavity. Detailed attention is focussed on the origin of linear clay ridges that protrude from the floors of fresh earthflows, and persist for only a short time before being degraded to micro-scale features. The theory of landslide retrogression proposed by Odenstad, after the Sköttorp landslide in Sweden, is discussed, and developed into a model for the prediction of landslide retrogression, and for the explanation of 'flowbowl' morphology. The model, essentially an undrained retrogressive spreading failure, is tested against selected retrogressive landslide sites for which all the necessary information is available; the agreement between nature and theory is good. Some speculation is made regarding the origin of bottlenecked flowbowls, which are viewed as the exception rather than the rule in the sensitive muds of the St. Lawrence Lowlands. Emphasis is directed at the importance of the undrained shear strength of sensitive sediments, and less significance is attached to the actual magnitude of sensitivity of such deposits. Finally, the limitations of the model in very soft sediments, such as found in parts of Norway, are briefly pointed out.

Epidemiological aspects of toxoplasmosis. III. The influence of contact with animals upon the prevalence of positive toxoplasmic reactions.

AbstractThe frequency of positive toxoplasmin cutaneous test (TcT) was studied in 3 047 young males from all parts of Norway. Neither keeping of animals, including cats, or birds, nor bite by an animal altered the frequency of positive TcT.

Selenium and Zinc Concentrations in Kidney, Liver And Muscle of Cattle from Different Parts of Norway

Cattle slaughtered in four different parts of Norway have been examined with respect to selenium and zinc content in kidney, liver and muscle. Highest selenium concentrations were found in kidney and lowest in muscle. In spite of extensive use of standardized concentrates, geographic differences were detected with regard to selenium tissue levels, animals from the southeastern inland region having the lowest levels. According to other workers, this region has low-selenium humus soils, and selenium responsive diseases among young ruminants have been of considerable importance, especially when concentrates had not been given during winter feeding. The recorded tissue selenium levels are compared to other workers’ proposals for normal values. All animals examined in this study seem to be well within healthy limits. Kidney, liver and muscle from cattle are good sources of selenium with respect to human nutrition. As far as zinc concentrations are concerned, muscle has the highest and kidney the lowest levels. Geographic differences were found, and individuals from the midland and northern coastal regions have the highest zinc tissue levels. Cattle from the northern coastal region seems to have especially high zinc concentrations in the organs.

AnthropologicaI significance of phenylketonuria

The highest incidence rates of phenylketonuria (PKU) have been observed in Ireland and Scotlant. Parents heterozygous for PKU in Norway differ significantly from the general population in the Rhesus, Kell and PGM systems. The parents investigated showed an excess of Rh negative, Kell plus and PGM type 1 individuals, which makes them similar to the present populations in Ireland and Scotlant. It is postulated that the heterozygotes for PKU in Norway are descended from a completely assimilated sub-population of Celtic origin, who came or were brought here, 1ooo years ago. Bronze objects of Western European (Scottish, Irish) origin, found in Viking graves widely distributed in Norway, have been taken as evidence of Vikings returning with loot (including a number of Celts) from Western Viking settlements. The continuity of residence since the Viking age in most habitable parts of Norway, and what seems to be a nearly complete regional relationship between the sites where Viking graves contain western imported objects and the birthplaces of grandparents of PKUs identified in Norway, lend further support to the hypothesis that the heterozygotes for PKU in Norway are descended from a completely assimilated subpopulation. The remarkable resemblance between Iceland and Ireland, in respect of several genetic markers (including the Rhesus, PGM and Kell systems), is considered to be an expression of a similar proportion of people of Celtic origin in each of the two countries. Their identical, high incidence rates of PKU are regarded as further evidence of this. The significant decline in the incidence of PKU when one passes from Ireland, Scotland and Iceland, to Denmark and on to Norway and Sweden, is therefore explained as being related to a reduction in the proportion of inhabitants of Celtic extraction in the respective populations.

Problems relating to the early Mesolithic settlement of Southern Norway

The former status of the Mesolithic research in Southern Norway is presented with an addition of the latest investigation results from the highlands and the west coast. It is concluded that the earliest N⊘stvet elements in West Norway cannot be later than 5 600–6 100 BC, that the earliest Fosna elements cannot be later than from the Preboreal Period, and that there were settlement possibilities in South and West Norway in the Aller⊘d Period, possibly also in the B⊘iling Period. There ate typological, as well as environmental data suggesting an earlier settlement in South and West Norway than in East Norway. A migration on the ice across the North Sea, from the former North Sea Continent to the southernmost part of Norway is proposed as the earliest migration path to Southern Norway. The ‘tanged point traditions’ of the Northwest European plains survived in Norway, especially in the highland areas, for several thousand years after they disappeared from the Continent. Differences in the tool kits between th...

Sentra i Bergensregionen — hierarkisk struktur og etableringstreghet

Johansen, T. 1975. Centres in the Bergen region – hierarchical structure and establishment inertia. Norsk geogr. Tidsskr. 29, 141–158. This study deals with the location of central functions in the Bergen region, an urban area with about 230,000 inhabitants, situated in the western part of Norway. The location pattern is partly explained by the central place theory, but the central hierarchy is found to be incompletely developed. Its functions are highly concentrated in the CBD. There are very few other important centres in the region. Several new built-up areas are poorly supplied with central functions, both absolutely and weighted according to number of households. This is explained by the inertia of the centre system.

Utbredelseskart for Planter i Tre Dimensjoner

Ouren, T. 1974. Distribution maps for plants in three dimensions. Norsk geogr. Tidsskr. 28, 97–102. A grid map with a ‘level scale’ in the middle of each square is used to indicate the vertical distribution of plants in addition to the horizontal pattern. As an example of the method is shown the three dimensional distribution of the bog myrtle (Myrica gale L.) in a part of Norway.

Geographical Synchronism of Cycles of Small Rodents in Norway

In Norway three country-wide cycles in small-rodent years occurred during the period 1961-1971. In one cycle the peak occurred one year later in northeast in Norway (County of Finnmark). In the two other cycles the exceptions from a general synchronism of the cycle pulses seemed to occur at random throughout the country. The three cycles were not all apparent in all parts of Norway, one 10 year cycle being observed for lemmings in Finnmark.

Phytoplankton and zooplankton of some lakes in northeastern Norway

During the summer of 1966 some limnological aspects of thirteen lakes and one pond in the most northeasterly part of Norway were studied. A total of 418 taxa of algae including 104 genera, and 70 taxa of zooplankton including 46 genera are identified. The composition of the plankton in all the waters is shown to be typical for fundamentally oligotrophic lakes. A few of the lakes show some humic influence. This is in agreement with the hydrographic results from these waters (Boyum [1]).

Evolution of the Caledonides in the northern Trondheim region, Central Norway: a review

SummaryA résumé of the stratigraphy, sedimentation and volcanism of the Lower Palaeozoic rocks in the northern Trondheim region is presented. Spatially the Caledonian rocks occupy a shallow trough which plunges south-west. Within the trough the rocks have been subject to four episodes of deformation; the essential structure of the region is an anticline flanked by recumbent fold nappes (F1) which spill outwards on either side of the NE-trending spine. These are deformed by further major folds (F2). The F3 folds, developed widely but only on a mesoscopic scale, show a constant down-dip sense of overturning. It is thought that they were formed in response to gravitational sliding. F4 is represented only by local kink bands. It is probable that large areas of these Cambro-Silurian rocks are allochthonous, the marginal thrust being of late-F2 age. Examination of the structures is illuminating many other aspects of the geology of this segment of the Caledonian chain, making it possible to visualize the changing sequences of deformation, the relationship of metamorphism to tectonic level and the tectonic behaviour of domal granitic masses. In conclusion, comments are made on the relative significance of the orogenic ‘disturbances’ described from this part of Norway.

Some physical and chemical properties of lakes in north-eastern Norway

Chemical and physical properties in 12 lakes in the north-easternmost part of Norway are studied. Geologically the lakes are situated on the pre-cambrian “Baltic shield”, with metamorphic and intrusive rocks that are not easily soluble.

Obstetrical analgesia in Norway.

Abstract. A random sample of 503 women from all parts of Norway who had given birth to a child during the last 24 months, were interviewed by the Scan‐Gallup institution. Only 31% of the women thought they had received any kind of analgesia during stage I and 55% when sutured. Nevertheless 80% were satisfied with the treatment and care given, and of the dissatisfied, 70% complained of lack of attention and only 17% of too little analgesia given.

Devonian (Old Red Sandstone) Sedimentation and Tectonics of Norway: ABSTRACT

Lower and Middle Devonian continental redbeds in Norway record the deposition of coarse clastic fluvial sediments in a series of separate intramontane basins. Contemporaneous uplifting of surrounding provenance areas resulted in the deposition of breccias, conglomerates, and sandstones as thick coalescing alluvial fans and stream deposits in E-W-trending grabens and half-grabens. The largest of the structurally formed basins covers an area of approximately 2,000 sq km and has a maximum preserved continuous Devonian section of approximately 5,000 m. Devonian rocks crop out in four parts of Norway: (1) 6 basins along the west coast north of Bergen thought to contain Middle Devonian sediments; (2) several isolated areas west of Trondheim thought to be primarily Early Devonian; (3) a small outlier of very coarse Lower Devonian sediments in eastern Norway near Roragen; and (4) redbeds of probable Early Devonian age near Oslo. Fossils are scarce and include plants, crustaceans, and Crossopterygian vertebrates. The Devonian basins in western Norway developed in the former eugeosynclinal part of the Caledonian geosyncline, which underwent major orogeny and uplift during the Late Silurian and Early Devonian. This uplift resulted in the formation of a major NE-SE-SW-trending mountain system, which supplied abundant and varied detritus to the Devonian intramontane basins, including eugeosynclinal metasediments and metavolcanics, high-grade metamorphic schists, gneisses and amphibolites, and diverse mafic and felsic intrusive igneous rocks. Postdepositional folding and faulting have obscured the original basin margins; the Devonian sediments presently form a series of E-W-trending anticlines and synclines that have locally been thrust over surrounding End_Page 2498------------------------------ older rocks. The original basin margins probably were high-angle normal faults, although strike-slip faulting is suggested locally. Paleocurrent patterns suggest transport of sediment from surrounding highlands toward the central part of the basins, where larger rivers flowed parallel with the basin axes. No consistently oriented regional pattern is apparent. Stratigraphic relations, sedimentary structures, and fabrics are characteristic of fluvial deposition. The coarse intramontane sediments are very similar to Old Red Sandstone deposits in Svalbard, East Greenland, eastern Quebec, Ireland, and Scotland. End_of_Article - Last_Page 2499------------