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During the central months of the year, southwestern Spain is under strong insolation and weak synoptic forcing, promoting the development of sea breezes and mountain-induced winds and creating recirculations of pollutants. The complex topography of the Southwestern Iberia Peninsula induces the formation of vertical layers, into which the pollutants are injected and subjected to long-distance transport and compensatory subsidence. The characteristics of these highly complex flows have important effects on the pollutant dispersion. Air pollution studies in very complex terrains require high-resolution modelling for resolving the flow dynamics. This paper shows the results obtained from using the MM5-CAMx multiscale-nested air quality model to relate the sensitivity regimes for ozone, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds in an area of high geographical complexity. The article assesses the impact on the hourly and eight-hourly maximum daily ozone concentrations of four reduction strategies during two ozone pollution episodes. This analysis of the ozone response has led to a preliminary evaluation of the effectiveness of the most common control strategies: traffic, industry, mixed traffic and industry, and closure of some of the largest industries (oil and petrochemical refineries). Photochemical indicators show that ozone chemistry in southwestern Spain is strongly sensitive to NOx. However, volatile organic compound-sensitive points are found in areas with anthropogenic influence (highways, cities and industrial parks). Our results indicate that reductions in road traffic lead to ozone reductions over large areas, whereas reductions in industrial emissions, despite sometimes showing greater decreases in the maximum hourly and eight-hourly ground-level ozone levels, lead to ozone reductions in a local area only. In the control study case, with the oil refinery and the petrochemical plants closed, decreases in ozone hourly concentrations are up to 40% higher than in the other emission control scenarios studied. This analysis provides an assessment of the effectiveness of different policies for controlling precursor emissions by comparing the modelled results for different scenarios.

The characterization and evaluation of the impact that an industry is likely to have on the surrounding ozone levels is one of many problems confronting air quality managers and should be taken into consideration when authorizing its installation. The correct management of an environment, in terms of monitoring existing industries and planning new activities, requires adequate knowledge of the processes sustained by the industrial emissions therein. This paper explores the improvements in air quality management arising from taking into account the uncertainties involved in the photochemical modeling of the impact of an industry on surface ozone levels. For this, we evaluate the impact on ozone levels of a power plant located in an industrial area of southwestern Spain (Huelva). The evaluation takes into account the effects of both emissions' uncertainty and the non-linear chemistry between ozone and its precursors, thus providing a probable range of increase over the normative values (hourly and 8-hourly maximums) defined in the European Directive. The proposed methodology is easily applicable by air quality managers. Advanced modeling techniques were used for the power plant assessment, MM5 atmospheric modeling system, and air quality model CAMx. The results from meteorology and ozone forecasts have shown acceptable agreement with the observations. The spatial distribution of the impact is found to be strongly determined by mesoscale meteorological processes, which are reinforced by the local orography; there is also a marked temporal evolution. The industrial plume is observed to induce a decrease (or maintenance) of the ozone levels near the emission source (0–10 km), and an increase in the ozone concentrations farther away (with maximums between 10 and 50 km). In fact, in the meteorological episodes with a predominance of local breeze circulations, impacts have been detected at distances of more than 100 km from the emission source. Sensitivity of the power plant impact to variations in ozone precursor emissions is described, and the scenarios and the points in the domain presenting higher sensitivity and registering larger impacts are also identified. The results show that the largest impacts take place in emission scenarios where the NO x has been reduced with respect to the base case scenario. In contrast, in scenarios where the VOC emissions are reduced with respect to the base case scenario, the impact is smaller or remains unchanged. This is important in areas like the study case, where there is a high percentage of biogenic VOC emissions and the industrial areas are close to natural protected areas and agricultural fields.

Four different mountainous locations were selected in the Valencia region, East coast of the Iberian Peninsula, for fog water collection studies. Data for 2004 were obtained by means of an instrument ensemble consisting essentially of a passive cylindrical fog water collector, a raingauge, a wind direction and velocity sensor and a temperature and humidity probe. An approximate data reduction technique was also found for this specific ensemble to eliminate the simultaneous rain water component from the fog water measurements. Main results indicate that fog water collection holds significant potential in this region, and especially for southern locations. Annual rates of fog water yield can be as high as 7.0 l/m 2 /day in the southern locations, in contrast to 2.0 l/m 2 /day collected at one site in a northern location. The highest summer fog water yield was 4.6 l/m 2 /day, a relatively large value. Except for the summer period, fog episodes delivering sizeable water volumes are inherently coupled to rainfall. Hourly frequencies of fog collection were also examined to show a distinct daily cycle in summer, denoting orographic fog formation during this period. Lastly, winds were analysed to resolve the most suitable directions for fog collector alignment.

It is widely known that the formation of ozone (O3) is chemically linked to the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC). This chemical interdependence is highly complex and gives rise to non-linear and coupled pollutant formation processes. In the present study, airborne measurements of sulfur dioxide (SO2), total reactive oxides of nitrogen (NOy), and O3 taken from an instrumented aircraft within MECAPIP-1989 project have been reexamined to asses the governing photochemical processes of ozone formation. This experiment was carried out in the Castellon urban-industrial area, located on the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Noon near field (within a 25-km radius from the coast line) transects show a strong ozone titration effect downwind of the main source area. Moreover, while afternoon measurements still depict ozone consumption near the emissions area, ozone net formation is observed in the mid-field (within a 75-km radius) of the Castellon urban-industrial complex. Ozone yields have been derived from these aircraft measurements. This analysis shows that there is almost no O3 production for the noon period. Conversely, the O3 yield reaches a maximum downwind of the emissions complex for the afternoon hours. Furthermore, measured values for the O3/NOy ratio have been used as photochemical indicators to determine the effectiveness of VOC or NOx controls in decreasing O3 abundance. The concentrations of these indicator species have been calculated from a series of simulations using a lagrangian photochemical model and good agreement has been observed between modeled and measured data. The sensitivity of ozone to changes in its primary sources has been examined by simulating scenarios with varying rates of NOx and VOC emissions. The results presented here show that for this particular case the measured and modeled O3/NOy ratios seem to identify a photochemical regime in which reductions in upwind NOx sources are more effective for lowering O3 than are VOC emissions.

Recent results from EU-sponsored projects have shed new light on the workings of the atmosphere in the Mediterranean Basin, where a large airmass becomes trapped and nearly stagnant over the sea during the summer. This work reviews the developments which have led to our present understanding of air pollution dynamics and associated meteorological processes in this region. In summer, the sea breezes combine with upslope winds to create recirculations along the coasts and within the western Mediterranean basin, with residence times in the order of days. Under strong insolation these recirculations become “large natural photo-chemical reactors” where most of the NOx emissions and other precursors are transformed into oxidants, acidic compounds, aerosols and ozone, which can exceed European Union directives for several months of the year. The objective of this paper is to evaluate available experimental evidence and complementary modelling results to help in the interpretation of observed ozone cycles and to anticipate possible scenarios for anthropogenic nitrogen deposition in the region.

During the warm season (March–September), high ozone concentrations have been reported at the coastal and mountain monitoring stations of the eastern Iberia coast (Millan et al., J. Geophys. Res. 102 (D7) 8811, J. Appl. Meteorol. 4 (2000) 487). The vegetation protection threshold of current Directive 92/72/EEC and the World Health Organisation guideline for the protection of crops and semi-natural vegetation are systematically exceeded during the whole period. The main objective of the present study is to search for the origin of these chronic pollution levels: to search for the reason(s) for such high O3 concentrations during such a long period. A mesoscale model is used to reproduce the diurnal cycle of winds and stability/layering over the Western Mediterranean Basin (WMB), at a sufficient space/temporal resolution, under a typical recursive synoptic condition during the warm season: data from the flight tracks of the European Project—Regional Cycles of Air Pollution in the West-Central Mediterranean Area—are used to substantiate the model results. Times of residence and the final distribution of pollutants entering the WMB are estimated using single-particle Lagrangian trajectories and a multiple-particle dispersion model. Our results show that the marine boundary layer and the lower troposphere in the region between the Balearic Islands and eastern Iberia are subject to a flow regime that tends to accumulate pollutants within large circulations, covering the entire western basin. We have also shown a diurnal pulsation of the Tramontana/Mistral wind regime, which can transport new pollutants into the area (background concentrations of 50–65 ppb of O3 of continental European origin) that are added to local emissions and re-circulated within the coastal breezes at eastern Iberia for periods of more than five days. Local emissions and wind configuration contribute to increase the O3 concentrations up to 100 ppb and even more.

EC supported projects have shown that atmospheric re-circulations develop along the Western Mediterranean coasts in summer. These lead to the formation of layers over the sea which act as reservoirs for aged pollutants to enter land with the seabreeze of the next or following days. Under strong insolation these circulations can be considered as “large natural photo-chemical reactors” where O3 is produced at levels which are potentially harmful to vegetation. The reach of these circulations within the coastal mountain ranges is also important to understand how, and where, forest ecosystems can be affected by pollutants in this region.

This chapter describes the physicochemical mechanisms that formulate the air quality over the Mediterranean region and the resulted impacts on the regional climate. At first, a detailed description of the teleconnections and regional flow patterns that dominate in the region is provided. The dominant flow patterns during the different seasons of the year determine the transport paths of air pollutants and aerosols towards and across the study area. The analysis on the characteristics of the air pollution transport is separated for the different parts of the Mediterranean region (eastern, western and entire), since the sources of pollutants that reach at different points in the region vary, while specific pollutant transport paths may influence the wider Mediterranean area. Similarities and differences in patterns are discussed. The air quality over the region, as recorded from black/organic carbon, ozone, aerosol observations, is extensively discussed, along with seasonal variabilities and annual trends. There is particular discussion on the suspension of naturally-produced aerosols and especially desert dust particles in the region and their spatial influence on the aerosol levels. At the last part of the chapter, the major impacts of the transport and transformation processes (natural and anthropogenic pollutants) on the regional climate are discussed. The impacts of aerosols are distinguished in direct (the impacts on radiation budget), health (the amounts of inhaled particles and impacts on health) and indirect effects (impacts on clouds and precipitation), are discussed on qualitative and quantitative way.

During January, July and August 1988, two experimental campaigns were carried out in the surroundings of the Castellon industrial area located on the Spanish east coast. The main objective was to study the dispersion of the power plant plume located on this site. This work also forms part of a larger program intended to compose a mosaic of atmospheric mesoscale flows related to air pollution cycles for the whole of the Iberian peninsula. In this program, air pollutants have also been considered as tracers of opportunity of the atmospheric circulations, and the study of ground-level concentration cycles has been used to provide evidence for the meso-meteorological processes. On the Castellon coast, and for most of the year, surface atmospheric dynamics are dominated by local cycles of north-west nocturnal drainage winds and east to south-south-east daytime sea-breeze flows. This regime is particularly marked during the summer, while the effect of large scale synoptic conditions is more noticeable in winter and spring. A mobile laboratory was used to collect 10 min averaged values of O3, NO, NO2, and SO2. This unit was placed in the expected zone of influence of the coastal industries during the sea-breeze regime. Data obtained under summer and winter conditions have been compared and, while the temporal evolution of the concentrations of the compounds studied have similar structures, high ozone values have been detected in association with the onset of the sea-breeze during the summer.

Background Intravenous thrombolysis with alteplase is the only approved treatment for acute ischemic stroke, but its efficacy and safety when administered more than 3 hours after the onset of symptoms have not been established. We tested the efficacy and safety of alteplase administered between 3 and 4.5 hours after the onset of a stroke. Methods After exclusion of patients with a brain hemorrhage or major infarction, as detected on a computed tomographic scan, we randomly assigned patients with acute ischemic stroke in a 1:1 double-blind fashion to receive treatment with intravenous alteplase (0.9 mg per kilogram of body weight) or placebo. The primary end point was disability at 90 days, dichotomized as a favorable outcome (a score of 0 or 1 on the modified Rankin scale, which has a range of 0 to 6, with 0 indicating no symptoms at all and 6 indicating death) or an unfavorable outcome (a score of 2 to 6 on the modified Rankin scale). The secondary end point was a global outcome analysis of four neurologic and disability scores combined. Safety end points included death, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, and other serious adverse events. Results We enrolled a total of 821 patients in the study and randomly assigned 418 to the alteplase group and 403 to the placebo group. The median time for the administration of alteplase was 3 hours 59 minutes. More patients had a favorable outcome with alte plase than with placebo (52.4% vs. 45.2%; odds ratio, 1.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02 to 1.76; P = 0.04). In the global analysis, the outcome was also improved with alteplase as compared with placebo (odds ratio, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.65; P

Each summer forest fires in southern Europe emit large quantities of pollutants to the atmosphere. These fires can generate a number of air pollution episodes as measured by air quality monitoring networks. We analyzed the impact of forest fires on air quality of specific regions of southern Europe. Data from several summer seasons were studied with the aim of identifying air pollution episodes related to the occurrence of forest fires. Emissions from forest fires were estimated on the basis of vegetation burned and fire characteristics. Emissions from aircrafts used to fight forest fires were also calculated. It was possible to identify and quantify several particulate and photochemical air pollution episodes caused or enhanced by smoke from forest fires. A case study is described and a mesoscale air quality modelling system, specifically adapted to forest fires, was applied to simulate the fire impact on air quality. Results from the modeling exercise were considered to be reasonable when compared to air concentration values from monitoring networks, taking into account all the uncertainties inherent to this kind of simulation.

Some of the meteorological approaches commonly considered in urban air pollution models do not take into account the importance of the smaller scales in the meteorology of complex-terrain coastal sites. The aim of this work is to estimate the impact of using the proper meteorological scales when simulating the behaviour of the pollutant concentrations emitted in the lower layers over coastal complex terrain areas. The availability of experimental measurements of a power plant plume near the Castellón conurbation (on the Spanish Mediterranean coast) has allowed us to use this plume as a tracer of opportunity of the lower atmosphere to check the results of a simulation exercise using the RAMS mesoscale model coupled to the HYPACT particle model. The results obtained show that in a complex-terrain coastal site, because of the strong effect of the meteorological interactions between the different scales on the integral advection and the turbulent dispersion of pollutants, using an inadequate scale to solve the meteorology can result in a very big gap in the simulation of lower-layer pollutant behaviour at urban scales.

Some of the meteorological approaches commonly considered in urban air pollution models do not take into account the importance of the smaller scales in the meteorology of complex-terrain coastal sites. The aim of this work is to estimate the impact of using the proper meteorological scales when simulating the behaviour of the pollutant concentrations emitted in the lower layers over coastal complex terrain areas. The availability of experimental measurements of a power plant plume near the Castellón conurbation (on the Spanish Mediterranean coast) has allowed us to use this plume as a tracer of opportunity of the lower atmosphere to check the results of a simulation exercise using the RAMS mesoscale model coupled to the HYPACT particle model. The results obtained show that in a complex-terrain coastal site, because of the strong effect of the meteorological interactions between the different scales on the integral advection and the turbulent dispersion of pollutants, using an inadequate scale to solve the meteorology can result in a very big gap in the simulation of lower-layer pollutant behaviour at urban scales.

Europe is a highly urbanised continent. In 1990, more than 70% of the total population lived in cities. The concentration of human activities on a relatively small area causes an enormous pressure on the natural system leading to numerous environmental problems. Maybe it is the best known, but least understood, problem in terms of impacts to citizens is air pollution.

Several experimental campaigns were taken place during successive summers within the framework of EC’ projects in the Iberian peninsula. Analyses of observed data served to document the structure and development of the Iberian Thermal Low (ITL), the coastal circulations and other meso-meteorological and air pollution processes involved inland and along the northern and eastern coasts of the peninsula. These processes were summarized in Millan et al.1.

The proceedings of the late 1993 conference comprise papers on topics in integrated regional modeling, global and long-range transport, new modeling developments, accidental releases, and model assessment and verification. In addition, there are two special sessions: Athenian photochemical smog inte

The philosophy behind the development of the correlation spectroscopic techniques now in use for the remote sensing of air pollutants is briefly examined. In order to focus attention on the operational characteristics common to most of these, dispersive as well as non-dispersive, -sensors, the authors select one of the commercially available instruments to describe in certain detail how the instrumental design parameters, the available backgrounds or sources and the geometry of the observation interact to affect the output signal. This work is intended to review the development of the selected instrumental technique, and also to alert the user about some factors which must be considered both with the gathering and during the analysis of the data collected with these types of sensors.

Accident cerebrovascular; Serveis mèdics d'emergència; Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; 2019-nCoV Accidente cerebrovascular; Servicios médicos de emergencia; Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; 2019-nCoV Stroke; Emergency medical services; Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; 2019-nCoV Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in significant healthcare reorganizations, potentially striking standard medical care. We investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on acute stroke care quality and clinical outcomes to detect healthcare system's bottlenecks from a territorial point of view. Methods: Crossed-data analysis between a prospective nation-based mandatory registry of acute stroke, Emergency Medical System (EMS) records, and daily incidence of COVID-19 in Catalonia (Spain). We included all stroke code activations during the pandemic (March 15-May 2, 2020) and an immediate prepandemic period (January 26-March 14, 2020). Primary outcomes were stroke code activations and reperfusion therapies in both periods. Secondary outcomes included clinical characteristics, workflow metrics, differences across types of stroke centers, correlation analysis between weekly EMS alerts, COVID-19 cases, and workflow metrics, and impact on mortality and clinical outcome at 90 days. Results: Stroke code activations decreased by 22% and reperfusion therapies dropped by 29% during the pandemic period, with no differences in age, stroke severity, or large vessel occlusion. Calls to EMS were handled 42 min later, and time from onset to hospital arrival increased by 53 min, with significant correlations between weekly COVID-19 cases and more EMS calls (rho = 0.81), less stroke code activations (rho = -0.37), and longer prehospital delays (rho = 0.25). Telestroke centers were afflicted with higher reductions in stroke code activations, reperfusion treatments, referrals to endovascular centers, and increased delays to thrombolytics. The independent odds of death increased (OR 1.6 [1.05-2.4], p 0.03) and good functional outcome decreased (mRS ≤2 at 90 days: OR 0.6 [0.4-0.9], p 0.015) during the pandemic period. Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Catalonia's stroke system's weakest points were the delay to EMS alert and a decline of stroke code activations, reperfusion treatments, and interhospital transfers, mostly at local centers. Patients suffering an acute stroke during the pandemic period had higher odds of poor functional outcome and death. The complete stroke care system's analysis is crucial to allocate resources appropriately.

Background Mobile apps provide an accessible way to test new health-related methodologies. Tobacco is still the primary preventable cause of death in industrialized countries, constituting an important public health issue. New technologies provide novel opportunities that are effective in the cessation of smoking tobacco. Objective This paper aims to evaluate the efficacy and usage of a mobile app for assisting adult smokers to quit smoking. Methods We conducted a cluster randomized clinical trial. We included smokers older than 18 years who were motivated to stop smoking and used a mobile phone compatible with our mobile app. We carried out follow-up visits at 15, 30, and 45 days, and at 2, 3, 6, and 12 months. Participants of the intervention group had access to the Tobbstop mobile app designed by the research team. The primary outcomes were continuous smoking abstinence at 3 and 12 months. Results A total of 773 participants were included in the trial, of which 602 (77.9%) began the study on their D-Day. Of participants in the intervention group, 34.15% (97/284) did not use the app. The continuous abstention level was significantly larger in the intervention group participants who used the app than in those who did not use the app at both 3 months (72/187, 38.5% vs 13/97, 13.4%; P Conclusions Regular use of an app for smoking cessation is effective in comparison with standard clinical practice. Trial Registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01734421; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01734421