Estimating the allergenic potential of urban green areas in the city of Madrid (Spain)
AbstractUrban green spaces offer large environmental, social, and economic benefits for the population. However, when species that compose it are chosen, its allergenicity is not usually considered, which poses a risk to the population with pollinosis. In this work, the potential allergenicity index (IUGZA) of five urban parks in the city of Madrid (Spain) has been calculated, in order to assess their allergenic potential and to identify the species that most contribute to increasing it. The results show that three of the parks register an index value sufficient high to cause adverse reactions in the exposed population. Th...
Source: Aerobiologia - August 19, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Airborne pollen trends in T étouan (NW of Morocco)
AbstractTrends of the airborne annual pollen integral (APIn) and pollen season of principal woody and herbaceous plants in T étouan were analysed over a 10-year monitoring period (2008–2017). Pollen was continuously sampled by means of a 7-day recording volumetric pollen trap by Burkard. Pollen trends were analysed by using Mann–Kendall tests and Sen’s slope. Aerobiological data were correlated with temperature and rainfall. A significant decreasing trend in annual minimum temperature was revealed together with significant decreasing trends in the APIn observed for Cupressaceae,Cannabis,Parietaria,Pinus andQuercus, ...
Source: Aerobiologia - August 19, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Efficiency of bioaerosol samplers: a comparison study
AbstractBioaerosols, including bacteria and fungi, are ubiquitous and have been shown to impact various organisms as well as biogeochemical cycles and human health. However, sample collection poses a challenge for aeromicrobiologists and can determine the success of a study. Establishing a standard collection procedure for bioaerosol sampling could help advance the field. We tested the efficiency (number of organisms collected and DNA yield per unit time) of three sampling devices: a membrane filtration device, a liquid impinger, and a portable electrostatic precipitator bioaerosol collector. We compared the efficiency o...
Source: Aerobiologia - August 19, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Airborne sub-pollen particles from rupturing giant ragweed pollen
AbstractRagweed pollen is a prevalent allergen in late summer and autumn, worsening seasonal allergic rhinitis and asthma symptoms. In the atmosphere, pollen can osmotically rupture to produce sub-pollen particles (SPP). Because of their smaller size, SPP can penetrate deeper into the respiratory tract than intact pollen grains and may trigger severe cases of asthma. Here we characterize airborne SPP forming from rupturing giant ragweed (Ambrosia trifida) pollen for the first time, using scanning electron microscopy and single-particle fluorescence spectroscopy. SPP ranged in diameter from 20 nm to 6.5 μm. Most SPP are...
Source: Aerobiologia - August 19, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Bioaerosols in public and tourist buses
AbstractPublic bus system worldwide transports daily more than 34 million people; therefore, air quality inside buses is an important urban air pollution issue. Airborne microbiological composition and abundance was examined inside five different fuel type buses (diesel (EURO IV and EURO V), hybrid diesel (HD), compressed natural gas (CNG), hybrid natural gas (HCNG) and electric vehicle (EV)) from Barcelona bus system, inside and outside the tourist bus and different periods of campaigns (summer: May –September and winter: November–March). Quantitative PCR was used to quantify total bacteria,Penicillium/Aspergillus and...
Source: Aerobiologia - August 19, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Characterization of bioaerosols in and around a landfill site in Delhi
AbstractThe present study was carried out to estimate the spatiotemporal variation of fungal bioaerosols, in and around a landfill site in Delhi. The sites were deep in the landfill to nearby residential areas. Fungal bioaerosol sampling was done with the help of Anderson six stage viable cascade impactor on monthly basis for one year from June 2015 to May 2016 at seven different sites in and around the landfill site. The entire sampling period was classified in five different seasons, viz., winter, spring, summer, monsoon and autumn, characteristic of Delhi. It was observed in monsoon season concentration was maximum at m...
Source: Aerobiologia - August 19, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
A systematic review of threshold values of pollen concentrations for symptoms of allergy
AbstractPollen threshold values used in public warning systems are intended to inform people of the risk of developing allergy symptoms. However, there is no consensus about which pollen concentrations provoke allergy symptoms. The aim of this systematic review was the evaluation of studies investigating the relationship between pollen concentrations (alder, ash, birch, hazel, mugwort and ragweed) and the number of cases in which participants visited a doctor, drug consumption and allergy symptoms. This systematic literature review is registered in PROSPERO (CRD42019112369). A PubMed search was applied and enriched by cons...
Source: Aerobiologia - August 19, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Fungi in the indoor air of critical hospital areas: a review
AbstractInvasive fungal infection is an important cause of mortality and morbidity in neonates, especially in low-birthweight neonates. The contribution of fungi in the indoor air to the incidence of mucocutaneous colonization and to the risk of invasive fungal infection in this population is uncertain. This review aimed to identify and to summarize the best available evidence on the fungal contamination in the indoor air of critical hospital areas with an emphasis on pediatric/neonatal ICUs. Publications from 2005 to 2019 were searched in the databases Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), US National Library of ...
Source: Aerobiologia - August 19, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Characterisation of pollen seasons in Iceland based on long-term observations: 1988 –2018
AbstractThis paper describes a long-term (1988 –2018) data series from pollen monitoring in two locations in Iceland: Akureyri and Reykjavík. Our data showed a low diversity of airborne pollen present in the aeroplankton of Iceland. We showed thatBetula spp. andPoaceae can be considered the main pollen allergens in Iceland. BothBetula spp. andPoaceae pollen seasons in Iceland are characterised by a late onset compared to continental Europe.Betula spp. seasons are further characterised by a longer duration and low SPI and peak values. IcelandicPoaceae seasons are shorter, but have SPI and peak values comparable to those ...
Source: Aerobiologia - August 19, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Correction to: Efficiency of bioaerosol samplers: a comparison study
(Source: Aerobiologia)
Source: Aerobiologia - August 11, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Subpollen particle release from different species of the invasive allergenic genus Ambrosia: the effect of rainwater composition and wind speed
AbstractAllergen-containing subpollen particles (SPPs) are micrometric or sub-micrometric particles (0.12 –5 µm) released from pollen. They are able to reach the lower airways, causing allergenic reactions. SPP release occurs through the pore of intact grains or by rupture of the whole grain. In this paper the results of two laboratory experiments investigating the dynamics of SPP release for three alien species ofAmbrosia genus are shown. Rainwater composition and wind speed were considered, by simulating different conditions, in accordance with a fully orthogonal experimental design. The principle response variable w...
Source: Aerobiologia - July 29, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Aspergillus and Penicillium spores as urban pathogens of the Havana atmosphere, Cuba
The objective of this research was to study their abundance in the atmosphere of Havana from 2013 to 2017. Two study methods were used, viable method monitoring of the spores with Chirana Aeroscope equipment and the other a non-viable method Lanzoni VPPS 2000. TheAspergillus/Penicillium spores were found to occur with high frequency, their atmospheric concentration varied statistically between climatic seasons, the highest incidence was detected during 2013 and 2015.Aspergillus was more abundant (69%) thanPenicillium (31%), with a predominance of theFlavi andNigri sections, and forPenicillium predominatedPenicillium andFur...
Source: Aerobiologia - July 27, 2021 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
