Breeding programs on Atlantic salmon in Norway: lessons learned

An early establishment of selective breeding programs on Atlantic salmon has been crucial for the success of developing efficient and sustainable salmon farming in Norway. A national selective breeding program was initiated by AKVAFORSK at the beginning of the 1970s, by collecting fertilized eggs from more than 40 Norwegian river populations. Several private selective breeding programs were also initiated in the 1970s and 1980s. While these private programs were initiated using individual selection (i.e. massselection) to genetically improve growth, the national program was designed to gradually include all economically important traits in the breeding objective (i.e. growth, age at sexual maturation, disease resistance and quality traits) using a combined family and within-family selection strategy. Independent of which selection strategy and program design used, it is important to secure and maintain a broad genetic variation in the breeding populations to maximize selection response. It has been documented that genetically improved salmon from the national selective breeding program grow twice as fast as wild Atlantic salmon and require 25 per cent less feed, while salmon representing the private breeding programs all show an intermediate growth performance. As a result of efficient dissemination of genetically improved Atlantic salmon, the Norwegian salmon farming industry has reduced its feed costs by more than US$ 230 million per year! The national selective breeding program on Atlantic salmon was commercialized into a breeding company (AquaGen) in 1992. Five years later, several private companies and the AKVAFORSK Genetics Center (AFGC) established a second breeding company (SalmoBreed) using breeding candidates from one of the private breeding programs. These two breeding companies have similar products, but different strategies on how to organize the breeding program and to disseminate the genetically improved seed to the Norwegian salmon industry. Greater competition has increased the necessity to document the genetic gain obtained from the different programs and to market the economic benefits of farming the genetically improved breeds. Both breeding companies have organized their dissemination to get a sufficient share of the economic benefits in order to sustain and improve their breeding programs.Biotechnology, Genetics, Food fish, Genetic drift, Genetic diversity, Aquatic animals, DNA, Selective breeding, Breeding success, Research programmes Salmonidae

Breeding programs on Atlantic salmon in Norway: lessons learned

An early establishment of selective breeding programs on Atlantic salmon has been crucial for the success of developing efficient and sustainable salmon farming in Norway. A national selective breeding program was initiated by AKVAFORSK at the beginning of the 1970s, by collecting fertilized eggs from more than 40 Norwegian river populations. Several private selective breeding programs were also initiated in the 1970s and 1980s. While these private programs were initiated using individual selection (i.e. massselection) to genetically improve growth, the national program was designed to gradually include all economically important traits in the breeding objective (i.e. growth, age at sexual maturation, disease resistance and quality traits) using a combined family and within-family selection strategy. Independent of which selection strategy and program design used, it is important to secure and maintain a broad genetic variation in the breeding populations to maximize selection response. It has been documented that genetically improved salmon from the national selective breeding program grow twice as fast as wild Atlantic salmon and require 25 per cent less feed, while salmon representing the private breeding programs all show an intermediate growth performance. As a result of efficient dissemination of genetically improved Atlantic salmon, the Norwegian salmon farming industry has reduced its feed costs by more than US$ 230 million per year! The national selective breeding program on Atlantic salmon was commercialized into a breeding company (AquaGen) in 1992. Five years later, several private companies and the AKVAFORSK Genetics Center (AFGC) established a second breeding company (SalmoBreed) using breeding candidates from one of the private breeding programs. These two breeding companies have similar products, but different strategies on how to organize the breeding program and to disseminate the genetically improved seed to the Norwegian salmon industry. Greater competition has increased the necessity to document the genetic gain obtained from the different programs and to market the economic benefits of farming the genetically improved breeds. Both breeding companies have organized their dissemination to get a sufficient share of the economic benefits in order to sustain and improve their breeding programs

Evaluation of Energy Saving Potentials in Non-Residential Buildings with Small Rehabilitation Measures

Årlig erstattes rundt 1-3% av eldre bygninger med nybygg. Det er estimert at de fleste bygninger som brukes i 2050 allerede er bygd. Rehabilitering av eksisterende bygninger er derfor avgjørende for å redusere det totale energiforbruket i byggesektoren. Simuleringsverktøy kan brukes til å forutsi energiytelsen i et bygg og bidra i utvelgelsesprosessen for mulige energitiltak. Oppgaven hadde som mål å lage en simuleringsmodell av en kommersiell bygning i Nordre Gate 10 i Trondheim. Målet var å lage en grunnmodell som gjenspeilte bygningen så realistisk som mulig. Modellen ble videre brukt som grunnlag for sammenligningen av energitiltak. Det var ønskelig å evaluere forbedringspotensialer til mindre rehabiliteringstiltak, i form av energibruk og inneklima. Oppgaven er oppbygd med litteraturstudier av relevante temaer som historiske forskrifter, energibruk i bygninger samt relevante statistikker, inneklima parametere, oppbygging av varme- og ventilasjonssystemet og relevant teori om rehabilitering av bygninger. Videre ble det gjennomført en analyse av bygget der parametere for bygningskroppen og tekniske anlegg ble bestemt og implementert i en grunnmodell med simuleringsverktøyet IDA ICE. Energibruk og termisk komfort var deretter sammenlignet og vurdert for de ulike rehabiliteringsmodellene utviklet med grunnmodellen som basis. Grunnmodellen resulterte i et årlig energiforbruk på 215 kWh/m2, 9.8% mindre enn faktisk forbruk. Rehabiliteringsmodellen som tok for seg samtlige energitiltak resulterte i høyest energibesparelse for oppvarming med opp mot 68% reduksjon sammenlignet med grunnmodellen. Oppgaven tok kun i betraktning energitiltak som berørte bygningens fysiske egenskaper og evaluerte resultatene ut i fra energibesparelse. Det er anbefalt ved videre arbeid å se på andre mulige tiltak som fokuserer på interne laster og brukeratferd samt en detaljert simulering med behovsstyrt ventilasjon. Tiltakets økonomiske kostnader bør tas med i betraktning.The replacement rate of existing buildings is only around 1-3% per year and most of the buildings in use in 2050 have already been built. Rehabilitating existing buildings is therefore essential for reducing the total energy use in the building sector. Simulation tools can be useful in the prediction of a building’s energy performance and used in the selection process for energy measures. It was of interest to evaluate the effectiveness of small efficiency measures at improving the energy profile and indoor climate in older non-residential buildings. The thesis aims to create a simulation model that represents the case building on Nordre Gate 10 as realistically as possible and to be used as a basis for comparison of rehabilitation measures. The thesis is structured with a literature study on relevant topics such as historical building codes and its development, energy use in buildings and related statistics, parameters in the indoor environment, components in a HVAC system, and theory related to rehabilitation of buildings. Furthermore, a thorough investigation of the case building is conducted and used to develop a base case model with the simulation tool IDA ICE. The base case was used as a basis for further simulations 10 rehabilitation scenarios where results of energy use and thermal comfort were compared with each other. Results showed a specific annual energy use of 215 kWh/m2 for the Base Case, 9.8% less than measured. The rehabilitation scenario that included all evaluated measures resulted in the highest heat energy saving with up to 68% of the Base Case. Rehabilitation measures in this thesis focused only around improving the building’s physical properties and compared purely base on energy savings. For future work it was suggested to to look into measures on internal loads and occupant behaviour, as well as a more detailed simulation on a demand controlled ventilation system. Economic costs of rehabilitation measures should also be taken into consideration

Digestibility in selected rainbow trout families and modelling of growth from the specific intake of digestible protein

The experiments aimed to clarify variations in digestibility of dietary nutrients in rainbow trout. Furthermore, the objective was to study how differences in digestibility might be related to growth and feed utilisation at various growth rates. When comparing the results from the experiments it appeared that particularly protein digestibility was closely related to specific growth rate and feed conversion ratio at high growth rates. As a tool to visualise the relationship between protein digestibility and growth of rainbow trout a growth model was developed based on the specific intake of digestible protein, and general assumptions on protein content and protein retention efficiency in rainbow trout. The model indicated that increased protein digestibility only partly explained growth increase and that additional factors were important for growth increment

Plasticity in response to feed availability - does feeding regime influence the relative growth performance of domesticated, wild and hybrid Atlantic salmon Salmo salar parr?

Growth of farmed, wild and F1 hybrid Atlantic salmon parr, Salmo salar, was investigated under three contrasting feeding regimes in order to understand how varying levels of food availability affects relative growth. Treatments consisted of standard hatchery feeding (ad libitum), access to feed for 4h every day, and access to feed for 24h on three alternate days weekly. Mortality was low in all treatments, and food availability had no effect on survival of all groups. The offspring of farmed S. salar significantly outgrew the wild S. salar, while hybrids displayed intermediate growth. Furthermore, the relative growth differences between the farmed and wild S. salar did not change across feeding treatments, indicating a similar plasticity in response to feed availability. Although undertaken in a hatchery setting, these results suggest that food availability may not be the sole driver behind the observed reduced growth differences found between farmed and wild fishes under natural conditions

The Krone Exchange Rate Puzzle: Uncovering the Power of Market Sentiment and Nonlinearity

Denne avhandlingen undersøker om inkludering av markedssentiment og ikke-lineæritet forbedrer statistisk modellering og prediksjon av fire forskjellige norske valutakurser: USDNOK, EURNOK, CADNOK og SEKNOK. En ny tilnærming blir brukt for å fange opp markedssentiment ved hjelp av Google Trends, som benyttes til å utforme sentimentindekser. Verdien av disse indeksene blir først vurdert innenfor rammene av PPP, UIRP og monetære strukturelle modeller. Deretter blir de integrert i lineære og ikke-lineære autoregressive distribuerte lag modeller med feiljustering. Formålet med denne metodikken er todelt. For det første tillater den en bedre vurdering av sentimentindeksenes betydning i mer komplekse modeller og deres samspill med andre variabler. For det andre undersøker den de ikke-lineære påvirkningene av råvarer, globale økonomiske risikoer og finansmarkeder for å forbedre de statistiske modellene og prediksjonene. Analysen utføres med månedlige data fra januar 2005 til desember 2022. Våre innledende resultater indikerer at sentimentindekser forbedrer statistiske modeller for alle undersøkte valutaer, og prediksjonene for noen av dem, et resultat som er i tråd med tidligere litteratur. Vi finner også et asymmetrisk forhold mellom prisene på Brent oljefutures og alle studerte valutakurser, med unntak av USDNOK, som viser et asymmetriske forhold til S&P500. Disse resultatene fremhever svakhetene ved lineære modeller som utelukkende inkluderer tradisjonelle makroøkonomiske og monetære variabler for å modellere den norske valutakursen, og bidrar dermed med en dypere forståelse av den pågående strukturelle svekkelsen av den norske kronen.This thesis examines if the inclusion of market sentiment and nonlinearity improves statistical modeling and forecasting of four different Norwegian exchange rates: USDNOK, EURNOK, CADNOK, and SEKNOK. A novel approach is used to capture market sentiment with Google Trends and formulate sentiment indices. The merit of these indices is initially assessed within the frameworks of the PPP, UIRP, and monetary structural models. Then, they are integrated into linear and nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag regressions with error correction. The purpose of this methodology is twofold. First, it permits a better assessment of the sentiment indices’ significance in more complex models and their interplay with other variables. Second, it inspects the nonlinear influences of commodities, global economic risks, and financial markets on improving the statistical models (in-sample) and forecasts (out-of-sample). The analysis is performed using monthly data from January 2005 until December 2022. Our initial results indicate that our sentiment indices improve the statistical models for all examined currencies and the forecasting for some. We also provide evidence of an asymmetric relationship between Brent oil futures prices and all studied exchange rates, except for the USDNOK, which exhibits asymmetric ties with the S&P500 stock market. These results underscore the shortcomings of linear models exclusively reliant on traditional macroeconomic and monetary variables for modeling the Norwegian exchange rate, thus signifying a pivotal advancement in understanding the ongoing structural weakening of the Norwegian krone

Implementing Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems: Themes of Cultural Conflicts and Public Resistance - A Case Study

A six-year study investigates the challenges of balancing stakeholders’ interests when implementing climate adaptation regulations and makes a case for analytical tools that can improve the acceptance and adoption of local planning initiatives. In this study, the challenges of adopting European Union and Norwegian national climate adaptation regulations at a local level are examined through the analysis of the ‘Fredlybekken Water Management Proposal’ case study. This study includes an overview of the proposed climate adaptation project ‘Fredlybekken’, a site analysis, quantitative surveys, and qualitative interviews with the project’s stakeholders. Reflexive thematic analysis is employed to establish themes of the project and categorically describe the feedback and objections of residents. The findings of the study set forth recommendations to improve the implementation processes of stormwater management infrastructure and other urban climatic adaptation initiatives. These findings are aimed at public policy makers and municipal administrations. The general conclusions within this paper are also relevant for egalitarian countries with similar societal challenges attempting to implement climate policy at the local level.publishedVersio

On the Exchange Rate Dynamics of the Norwegian Krone

Global energy production is undergoing a transition from fossils to renewables. At the same time, the Norwegian Oil Fund has grown exponentially in size and is now a major global investor. These events in combination are likely to impact the dynamics of the Norwegian krone. Concurrently, the persistent weakening of the Norwegian krone (NOK), hitting record low exchange rates against the major currencies, is sparking national and international interest. Using updated data, we find that oil prices and global asset prices are both important drivers of EURNOK returns. However, we find that the relative importance changed following the 2015 oil price decline, whereafter asset prices became more significant. Furthermore, we observe an impact of investor risk aversion, suggesting that the krone is no longer a safe-haven currency.publishedVersio

Effect of IR-scanning and use of feeder

Effektmålet til etatsprogrammet Varige veger er «Økt dekkelevetid og reduserte årskostnader for hele vegkonstruksjonen på det norske vegnettet». Etatsprogrammet har fokus på følgende tre hovedtema som utgjør hver sin arbeidspakke: 1. Vegdekker 2. Dimensjonering og forsterkning 3. Kunnskapsformidling- implementering Programmets målsettinger skal nås gjennom tiltak på hele vegkonstruksjonen inkludert undergrunn/underbygning. I tillegg er det et siktemål å heve kompetansen både hos Statens vegvesen og andre byggherrer, entreprenører, konsulenter, undervisnings- og forskningsinstitusjoner. Denne rapporten omhandler forsøk med IRskanning og feeder på tre forskjellige asfalteringsjobber i Sør-Trøndelag i 2012. Gjennom feltregistreringer med varme-kamera og analyser av borprøver er det gjort sammenligning av dekker utført med og uten slikt utstyrStatens vegvesen Vegdirektorate

Formulation and characterisation of drug-loaded antibubbles for image-guided and ultrasound-triggered drug delivery

The aim of this study was to develop high load-capacity antibubbles that can be visualized using diagnostic ultrasound and the encapsulated drug can be released and delivered using clinically translatable ultrasound. The antibubbles were developed by optimising a silica nanoparticle stabilised double emulsion template. We produced an emulsion with a mean size diameter of 4.23 ± 1.63 µm where 38.9 ± 3.1% of the droplets contained a one or more cores. Following conversion to antibubbles, the mean size decreased to 2.96 ± 1.94 µm where 99% of antibubbles were <10 µm. The antibubbles had a peak attenuation of 4.8 dB/cm at 3.0 MHz at a concentration of 200 × 103 particles/mL and showed distinct attenuation spikes at frequencies between 5.5 and 13.5 MHz. No increase in subharmonic response was observed for the antibubbles in contrast to SonoVue®. High-speed imaging revealed that antibubbles can release their cores at MIs of 0.6. In vivo imaging indicated that the antibubbles have a long half-life of 68.49 s vs. 40.02 s for SonoVue®. The antibubbles could be visualised using diagnostic ultrasound and could be disrupted at MIs of ≥0.6. The in vitro drug delivery results showed that antibubbles can significantly improve drug delivery (p < 0.0001) and deliver the drug within the antibubbles. In conclusion antibubbles are a viable concept for ultrasound guided drug delivery.publishedVersio