Methods for estimating air pollutant emissions. PART 1: Review and source of input data.

This report is part of the development of a National Modelling System for local air quality (the “Nasjonalt Beregningsverktøy” or NBV project). The work focussed on the methods to estimate emissions and identified the main information sources of the needed input data for emissions. This report presents the most common methods to determine emissions and includes recommendations for future improvement of the emission calculations. The main purpose of the report is to identify the most relevant sources of emission information and the emission input data requirements necessary for modelling air quality in Norwegian cities and agglomerations

Safety and efficacy of fluoxetine on functional outcome after acute stroke (AFFINITY): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Trials of fluoxetine for recovery after stroke report conflicting results. The Assessment oF FluoxetINe In sTroke recoverY (AFFINITY) trial aimed to show if daily oral fluoxetine for 6 months after stroke improves functional outcome in an ethnically diverse population. Methods AFFINITY was a randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial done in 43 hospital stroke units in Australia (n=29), New Zealand (four), and Vietnam (ten). Eligible patients were adults (aged ≥18 years) with a clinical diagnosis of acute stroke in the previous 2–15 days, brain imaging consistent with ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke, and a persisting neurological deficit that produced a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 1 or more. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 via a web-based system using a minimisation algorithm to once daily, oral fluoxetine 20 mg capsules or matching placebo for 6 months. Patients, carers, investigators, and outcome assessors were masked to the treatment allocation. The primary outcome was functional status, measured by the mRS, at 6 months. The primary analysis was an ordinal logistic regression of the mRS at 6 months, adjusted for minimisation variables. Primary and safety analyses were done according to the patient's treatment allocation. The trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12611000774921. Findings Between Jan 11, 2013, and June 30, 2019, 1280 patients were recruited in Australia (n=532), New Zealand (n=42), and Vietnam (n=706), of whom 642 were randomly assigned to fluoxetine and 638 were randomly assigned to placebo. Mean duration of trial treatment was 167 days (SD 48·1). At 6 months, mRS data were available in 624 (97%) patients in the fluoxetine group and 632 (99%) in the placebo group. The distribution of mRS categories was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (adjusted common odds ratio 0·94, 95% CI 0·76–1·15; p=0·53). Compared with patients in the placebo group, patients in the fluoxetine group had more falls (20 [3%] vs seven [1%]; p=0·018), bone fractures (19 [3%] vs six [1%]; p=0·014), and epileptic seizures (ten [2%] vs two [<1%]; p=0·038) at 6 months. Interpretation Oral fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke did not improve functional outcome and increased the risk of falls, bone fractures, and epileptic seizures. These results do not support the use of fluoxetine to improve functional outcome after stroke

RAMMS::Rockfall versus Rockyfor3D in rockfall trajectory simulations at the Community of Vik, Norway

Assessment of advantages and limitations of rockfall models require in-depth-knowledge in the rockfall field, testing of model with field investigated data, as well as understanding rockfall mechanics. This thesis intends to give an overview of currently in-use rockfall models and summarizes the conclusions of researchers regarding the advantages and limitations of the models which were employed in their research projects. The main part of the thesis focused on the two complete rockfall models, RAMMS::Rockfall and Rockyfor3D. The two models were employed in back calculation analysis based on the field investigation data of a rockfall event that happened at Holaviki in the Community of Vik, Norway and was reported by Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI). The two models were compared, one versus another, by looking at requirement input parameters, trajectory simulation approaches and the outcome results. Each model has shown its advantages and also limitations for future developments. Applying those models in rockfall trajectory simulation is not a stand-alone approach, that does not disregard the important role of field observation data, case history data and scientist assessments that are essential for calibrating model parameters in order to improve simulation results

Emission estimates for Norwegian cities. NBV_Emission Database v.0.

This report is part of the development of a National Modelling System for local air quality (“Nasjonalt Beregningsverktøy” or NBV project). We describe and document the emission database used as baseline in the NBV project (i.e. NBV_Emission_Database v.0) and the preliminary emission estimates. This report presents NOx and PM10 emission estimates for Bergen, Drammen, Grenland, Oslo, Trondheim and Stavanger, and the breakdown among sectors. The report emphasizes on the need for update emissions. The developments carried out in 2015 and described in this report involves i) the traffic sector through the development of application to retrieve data; ii) the residential heating sector by updating emissions from wood burning; and iii) the update of shipping emissions. The updated emissions will constitute the NBV_Emission_Database v.1, which better represents current situation, is consistent regarding the methods used to estimate emissions, and completes identified gaps. Our study highlight the importance of updating regularly emissions inventories

Methods for estimating air pollutant emissions. PART 1: Review and source of input data.

This report is part of the development of a National Modelling System for local air quality (the “Nasjonalt Beregningsverktøy” or NBV project). The work focussed on the methods to estimate emissions and identified the main information sources of the needed input data for emissions. This report presents the most common methods to determine emissions and includes recommendations for future improvement of the emission calculations. The main purpose of the report is to identify the most relevant sources of emission information and the emission input data requirements necessary for modelling air quality in Norwegian cities and agglomerations

Anticancer Activity of New 1,2,3-Triazole-Amino Acid Conjugates

A multistep synthesis was developed to prepare new 1,2,3-triazole-amino acid conjugates (6 and 7). These compounds contain the diaryl ether moiety and were synthesized via SNAr reaction under mild condition and in good yield. Their structures were confirmed by spectroscopic analyses (HR-MS, NMR, IR). These compounds showed significant antiproliferative activity (&gt;30%) toward the breast MCF7 and liver HepG2 cancer cells lines at &lt;10 mu M concentration

Tiltaksutredning for lokal luftkvalitet i Tromsø

Tiltaksutredningen, med handlingsplan og tiltak, skal bidra til å redusere luftforurensningen til et nivå som tilfredsstiller kravene i forurensningsforskriften. Tiltaksutredningen omfatter en kartlegging av luftkvaliteten i Tromsø ved trafikkberegninger og utslipps- og spredningsberegninger for PM10, PM2,5 og NO2 for Dagens situasjon 2016 og Framtidig situasjon 2023 med og uten tiltak mot svevestøv. Basert på resultatene fra beregningene og i samarbeid med oppdragsgiver og arbeidsgruppen, er det foreslått en revidert handlings- og beredskapsplan som skal behandles politisk

The MetVed model: development and evaluation of emissions from residential wood combustion at high spatio-temporal resolution in Norway

We present here emissions estimated from a newly developed emission model for residential wood combustion (RWC) at high spatial and temporal resolution, which we name the MetVed model. The model estimates hourly emissions resolved on a 250 m grid resolution for several compounds, including particulate matter (PM), black carbon (BC) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Norway for a 12-year period. The model uses novel input data and calculation methods that combine databases built with an unprecedented high level of detail and near-national coverage. The model establishes wood burning potential at the grid based on the dependencies between variables that influence emissions: i.e. outdoor temperature, number of and type and size of dwellings, type of available heating technologies, distribution of wood-based heating installations and their associated emission factors. RWC activity with a 1 h temporal profile was produced by combining heating degree day and hourly and weekday activity profiles reported by wood consumers in official statistics. This approach results in an improved characterisation of the spatio-temporal distribution of wood use, and subsequently of emissions, required for urban air quality assessments. Whereas most variables are calculated based on bottom-up approaches on a 250 m spatial grid, the MetVed model is set up to use official wood consumption at the county level and then distributes consumption to individual grids proportional to the physical traits of the residences within it. MetVed combines consumption with official emission factors that makes the emissions also upward scalable from the 250 m grid to the national level. The MetVed spatial distribution obtained was compared at the urban scale to other existing emissions at the same scale. The annual urban emissions, developed according to different spatial proxies, were found to have differences up to an order of magnitude. The MetVed total annual PM2.5 emissions in the urban domains compare well to emissions adjusted based on concentration measurements. In addition, hourly PM2.5 concentrations estimated by an Eulerian dispersion model using MetVed emissions were compared to measurements at air quality stations. Both hourly daily profiles and the seasonality of PM2.5 show a slight overestimation of PM2.5 levels. However, a comparison with black carbon from biomass burning and benzo(a)pyrene measurements indicates higher emissions during winter than that obtained by MetVed. The accuracy of urban emissions from RWC relies on the accuracy of the wood consumption (activity data), emission factors and the spatio-temporal distribution. While there are still knowledge gaps regarding emissions, MetVed represents a vast improvement in the spatial and temporal distribution of RWC

Air quality in 7 Norwegian municipalities in 2015. Summary report for NBV results.

This report documents the methodology used to compile air quality information for the year 2015 in seven Norwegian municipality areas under the first phase of development of the Norwegian Air Quality Planning Tool, also called “Nasjonalt Beregningsverktøy” or NBV. It follows a similar structure to and complements the final report entitled “Air quality in 7 Norwegian municipalities in 2015 – Summary report for NBV results” (NILU rapport 21/2017) where information on air quality in the seven main city areas in Norway was presented. This report constitutes a user guide for the NBV-services, available at http://www.luftkalitet-nbv.no, in municipal areas. It provides recommendations on how to best use each product for air quality planning purposes and explains the main strengths and limitations of the results. The NBV air quality data for municipalities is subject to larger uncertainties than the data available for the main Norwegian city areas and this has to be taken into consideration when analyzing the results