Publications
NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.
2024
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Seasonal pollen allergy is a major public health concern, with many different pollen aeroallergens being present in the atmosphere at varying levels during the season. In Norway, information about spatiotemporal variation of pollen aeroallergens is currently lacking, leading to reduced ability to manage and treat seasonal allergies. Seven pollen aeroallergens (alder, hazel, willow, birch, pine, grass and mugwort) were monitored daily for 16 years from 12 regions and coalesced to create regional pollen calendars. Seasonal statistics, such as seasonal pollen integral (SPIn), onset, duration and periods of high and very high concentrations, were calculated for all pollen types and regions. High days were further modelled with SPIn in a linear regression framework to investigate the connection between the strength of the season and number of days above high pollen thresholds. The tree pollen season occurred between January and mid-July, with the pollen aeroallergens birch and pine being the most prominent in all regions. The herb pollen season was observed to occur between June and mid-August, although mugwort was almost completely absent. The grass pollen season was mostly mild on average but more severe in some regions, primarily Kristiansand. South-east regions of Oslo, Kristiansand and Lillehammer had the overall highest pollen load, while northern regions of Bodø, Tromsø and Kirkenes had the overall lowest pollen loads. SPIn and days above high pollen thresholds had positive highly significant relationships (R2 > 0.85) for all pollen types, bar mugwort. Regional pollen calendars and seasonal statistics contribute to reliable information that can be used by medical professionals to effectively and timely manage and treat seasonal pollen allergies in Norway. Further research is needed to determine sensitization profiles of pine and willow.
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Carl Frisk Godfrey Philliam Apangu Geoffrey M. Petch Simon Creer Mary Hanson Beverley Adams-Groom Carsten Ambelas SkjøthAbstract
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Carl FriskAbstract
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Alternaria is a ubiquitous fungal genus with many allergenic and pathogenic species inhabiting grasslands. We hypothesise that grasslands (natural/man-made) host a diversity of fungal species whose spores have varying emission patterns. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the potential of grasslands for emission, diversity and composition of Alternaria and other fungal species. To test the hypothesis, Hirst-type and multi-vial Cyclone samplers collected air samples from two grassland sites (unmanaged and managed) and a non-grassland site at Lakeside campus of the University of Worcester, United Kingdom for the period May to September 2019. The unmanaged grassland was originally planted with grasses and left uncut for three years. The managed grassland was a roadside verge that was cut once every year, typically after most grasses have flowered. We used optical microscopy and Illumina MiSeq sequencing to investigate the emission, abundance, diversity and composition of the fungal spores from each site alongside meteorological variables. Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon tests examined differences in the bi-hourly Alternaria concentrations between the sites. Shannon's and Simpson's Index determined the diversity of the fungal spores between the unmanaged and non-grassland sites. The results showed that grasslands are a strong source of Alternaria spores with considerably higher numbers of clinically important days compared with the non-grassland site. The managed grassland varied in Alternaria spore emission pattern from the unmanaged, probably due to differences in environmental variables and cutting frequency. The unmanaged grassland and non-grassland sites showed a high diversity of fungi including Alternaria, Cladosporium, Ascochyta, Botrytis and Aureobasidium. Overall, the study shows that grasslands are a strong source of fungal spores with allergenic and pathogenic potential and have varying emission patterns, compared with nearby urban areas where monitoring stations are located. This information is useful for atmospheric modelling of airborne fungal spore sources and has implications for allergy sufferers in particular.
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Karen Ane Frøyland Skjennum Katinka Muri Krahn Erlend Sørmo Raoul Wolf Aleksandar I. Goranov Patrick G. Hatcher Thomas Hartnik Hans Peter Heinrich Arp Andrew R. Zimmerman Yaxin Zhang Gerard CornelissenAbstract
To better characterize properties governing the sorption of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to biochar, twenty-three diverse biochars were characterized and evaluated as sorbents for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Biochars were produced at various temperatures, using two different technologies, and made from sewage sludge, food waste reject, wood wastes, and one reference substrate (wood pellets). The biochars were characterized in terms of surface area, pore volume and pore size distributions, elemental composition, leachable elements, ash content, pH, zeta potential, condensed aromatic carbon (ConAC) content (determined by benzenepolycarboxylic acid (BPCA) markers), and their -OH functional group content (infrared spectroscopy). PFOA sorption isotherms were determined using Polanyi-Dubinin-Manes (PDM) and Freundlich models. The sludge-based biochars [Freundlich coefficients (log KF) between 2.56 ± 0.11 and 6.72 ± 0.22 (μg/kg)/(μg/L)nF; fitted free energy of adsorption (E) and pore volume (Vo) from the PDM model between 13.27 and 17.26 kJ/mol, and 0.50 and 523.51 cm3/kg] outperformed wood biochars [log KF between 1.02 and 4.56 ± 0.22 (μg/kg)/(μg/L)nF; E between 9.87 and 17.44 kJ/mol; Vo between 0.21 and 7.16 cm3/kg] as PFOA sorbents. Multivariate statistical analysis revealed that the sorption capacity was mainly controlled by pore volume within the pore diameter region that could accommodate the molecular size of PFOA (3–6 nm). Hydrophobic interactions between PFOA and aromatic carbon rich regions controlled sorption affinity, especially in the wood biochars.