Digitally accessible knowledge about airborne pollen data in Spain
AbstractUp-to-date reporting of atmospheric pollen contents is essential to assist doctors and allergy sufferers alike to undertake treatment or preventative measures. We have evaluated the extent of the digitally accessible knowledge (DAK) created by the Spanish network of pollen monitoring stations and analyzed the gaps in three main DAK factors: data completeness, data obsolescence, and data publication. Data from 118 distinct stations were discovered, of which one in four seemed to have discontinued publication of updated data either continuously or seasonally. While two-thirds of the sites published data through their...
Source: Aerobiologia - December 19, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Assessment of fungal aerosols in a public library with natural ventilation
This study aims to assess the concentration of fungal aerosols in the interior environment of the Popular Library of Gaira in the District of Santa Marta, Colombia, using a two-stage cascade impactor utilizing Sabouraud dextrose agar on Petri dishes for the collection of samples. The sampler was positioned at 1.5 m above ground level, operated with a flow rate of 28.3 l/min for 4 min and thermo-hygrometric conditions were also recorded. Concentrations in the air of up to 1197.0 CFU/m3 were reported, with a mean value close to 150 CFU/m3. Higher values during the morning samples were noted. Seven genera of fungi were...
Source: Aerobiologia - December 2, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Live oak pollen as a source of atmospheric particles
This study is a laboratory evaluation of live oak,Quercus virginiana, to determine the environmental conditions needed to emit SPPs and measure the concentration of SPPs produced. To represent conventional SPP release, live oak branches were exposed to high relative humidity (> 95%), followed by reduced relative humidity (73.5%-76.3%) and wind (up to 1.8 m s−1). In contrast, wind-driven SPP release experiments were conducted by exposing branches to constant relative humidity while cycling fans used to simulate winds. Wind-driven experiments produced maximum SPP concentrations as high as 3.3 × 102 ± 2.7...
Source: Aerobiologia - December 1, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Biological contaminants in indoor environments of educational institutions
AbstractBiological contaminants mainly consisting of living or dead microorganisms and compounds or fragments of plants and animal origin are gaining widespread research interest in recent years due to their ubiquitous presence along with their health effects on humans. Students spend a significant time of the day in educational institutions, which increases the cumulative health risk over the years. This review discusses the major biological contaminants, sampling strategies, health effects, and the factors affecting their prevalence in educational institutions. Fungi and bacteria were the most reported bio-contaminants f...
Source: Aerobiologia - November 21, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
A prediction of the beginning of the flowering of the common hazel in the Czech Republic
AbstractTimely information on the beginning of the flowering of important plant species of pollen allergens is consequential for the entire population due to pollen allergy and its extensive clinical impact worldwide. This paper examines the prediction of the beginning of the flowering of the common hazel(Corylus avellana) based on the PhenoClim phenological model using long-term phenological observations (1991 –2020) in the Czech Republic. Furthermore, temporal and spatial evaluations of the beginning of the flowering ofC. avellana were examined in different climate zones in the Czech Republic within the same period. In...
Source: Aerobiologia - November 10, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Automatically counting pollen and measuring pollen production in some common grasses
This study describes a combination of simple, glycerine-based extraction, digital imaging and free particle counting software configured to achieve semi-automated processing of a large volume of images. Pollen grains were extracted from anthers of 10 common perennial grass (Poaceae) species, all implicated in pollinosis in Europe, and samples, illuminated on slides and digitally imaged. ImageJ algorithms were designed to remove significant extraneous content and count just the pollen grains, then applied in batch mode on multiple images. Accuracy was assessed by comparing a sample of automated software counts to manual, vi...
Source: Aerobiologia - November 8, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
The calcium-antagonist activity of the material released by olive pollen (PMR), tested on Ca2+-cytosolic of PE/CA-PJ15 cells
In this study, the biological activity of the material released in olive pollen hydration (PMR) was tested on Ca2+ cytosolic of PE/CA-PJ15 cells (PJ-15). Ca2+ cytosolic was determined by fluorometric assay with the cell line PE/CA-PJ15 (PJ-15) labeled with the fluorescent probe FURA 2 AM. The material released in olive pollen hydration (PMR) was analyzed by HPLC for the determination of phenolic acids. PMR was subjected to fractionation by gel filtration, and the fractions with Ca2+-chelating activity were tested with SDS-PAGE and the single bands characterized by proteomic analysis. PMR showed high Ca2+-chelating activity...
Source: Aerobiologia - November 7, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Analysis of airborne fungal spore content in different indoor microenvironments in the Cathedral of Ja én (South Spain)
AbstractThe aim of this study was to identify and quantify the airborne fungal spore content in the Cathedral of Ja én (South Spain). The evaluation of the microclimatic conditions and their relationship with the presence of airborne fungal spores in different indoor areas was also tested. Airborne fungal spores were recorded during 2019 by using a volumetric sampler. The Choir was the study area with the maximu m airborne fungal spore concentrations, representing 55% of the total compared to the minimum representation of 12% sampled in the Museum. Regarding the seasonality, winter records represented only 20% of the tota...
Source: Aerobiologia - November 4, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
