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Disease interactions between farmed and wild populations have been poorly documented for most aquaculture species, in part due to the complexities to study this. Here, we tested 567 farmed Atlantic salmon escapees, captured in a Norwegian river during 2014-2018, for five viral infections that are prevalent in global salmonid aquaculture. Over 90% of the escapees were infected with one or more viruses. Overall prevalences were: 75.7% for piscine orthoreovirus (PRV-1), 43.6% for salmonid alphavirus (SAV), 31.2% for piscine myocarditis virus (PMCV), 1.2% for infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) and 0.4% for salmon anaemia virus (ISAV). A significantly higher prevalence of PMCV infection was observed in immature compared to mature individuals. The prevalence of both SAV and PMCV infections was higher in fish determined by fatty acid profiling to be 'recent' as opposed to 'early' escapees that had been in the wild for a longer period of time. This is the first study to establish a time-series of viral infection status of escapees entering a river with a native salmon population. Our results demonstrate that farmed escapees represent a continuous source of infectious agents which could potentially be transmitted to wild fish populations., (© 2024 The Authors. Journal of Fish Diseases published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The Storegga tsunami, dated in Norway to 8150±30 cal. years BP, hit many countries bordering the North Sea. Run‐ups of >30 m occurred and 1000s of kilometres of coast were impacted. Whilst recent modelling successfully generated a tsunami wave train, the wave heights and velocities, it under‐estimated wave run‐ups. Work presented here used luminescence to directly date the Storegga tsunami deposits at the type site of Maryton, Aberdeenshire in Scotland. It also undertook sedimentological characterization to establish provenance, and number and relative power of the tsunami waves. Tsunami model refinement used this to better understand coastal inundation. Luminescence ages successfully date Scottish Storegga tsunami deposits to 8100±250 years. Sedimentology showed that at Montrose, three tsunami waves came from the northeast or east, over‐ran pre‐existing marine sands and weathered igneous bedrock on the coastal plain. Incorporation of an inundation model predicts well a tsunami impacting on the Montrose Basin in terms of replicate direction and sediment size. However, under‐estimation of run‐up persisted requiring further consideration of palaeotopography and palaeo‐near‐shore bathymetry for it to agree with sedimentary evidence. Future model evolution incorporating this will be better able to inform on the hazard risk and potential impacts for future high‐magnitude submarine generated tsunami events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Technological innovations are strongly promoted to meet the demands posed by increased pressure on home care services and to assist ageing in place in western societies. Although heavily advocated as plug and play solutions, technologies have proven difficult and unpredictable when integrated into home care services. We need greater insight into what happens when technologies are integrated into caring practices. All technologies come with expectations as to their function. This study explores how actors who are involved with the social alarm, which is an established technology innovation, relate to, perceive and articulate these expectations of the technology in everyday living.Methods: The article presents results from a two-case study, using a triangulation of qualitative methods in order to gain an in-depth understanding of technology in use in home care services through "thick descriptions". The study was conducted in Norway and data were analysed using a stepwise deductive-inductive analysis.Results: The empirical findings demonstrate that expectations regarding the social alarm, even though it represents a simple and well-established technology, are complex and multidimensional. The notion of script and domestication provided relevant tools for exploring these expectations and for understanding how actors interpret and adapt their practices of using the technology. This enabled a more comprehensive understanding of how technology opens up for different interpretations and puts values in play.Conclusions: This article suggests exploring technology in use as scripted in multidimensional script, and offers a frame for doing so. It also reveals how technology scripts and articulation prove important for understanding the complex reality when integrated into home care practices, thus identifying how using the technology leads to the taming and unleashing of both technology and actors. The study offers an increased understanding of how and why technology is unpredictable and works differently in different contexts. Moreover, it stresses the importance of avoiding expectations of plug-and-play in a reality of complex interactions between different actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conduct, to our knowledge, the first cost-benefit analysis of the universal service obligation (USO) in the postal sector. Three alternatives are analysed that reduce delivery frequency and/or delivery speed, with particular emphasis on quantifying the potential loss of consumer benefits. Social cost savings are analysed for the service provider, for the environment and for the government through lower levels of distortionary taxes. Although there are challenges involved in measuring the net welfare change, especially loss in consumer benefits, our results suggest that only the largest reduction in the USO may be justified on social efficiency grounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]