Environmental DNA reveals diversity and abundance of Alternaria species in neighbouring heterogeneous landscapes in Worcester, UK
This study aimed at assessing the diversity ofAlternaria species in airborne samples collected from closely located (7 km apart) and heterogeneous sites (rural, urban and unmanaged grassland) in Worcester and Lakeside, the UK. A secondary objective was to examine how the ITS1 subregion varies from ITS2 inAlternaria species diversity and composition. Airborne spores were collected using Burkard 7-day and multi-vial Cyclone samplers for the period 5 July 2016 –9 October 2019. Air samples from the Cyclone were amplified using the ITS1and ITS2 subregions and sequenced using Illumina MiSeq platform whereas those from the Bu...
Source: Aerobiologia - October 23, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Correction to: False positives: handling them operationally for automatic pollen monitoring
(Source: Aerobiologia)
Source: Aerobiologia - October 21, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Summer pollen flora in rural and urban central England dominated by nettle, ryegrass and other pollen missed by the national aerobiological network
AbstractAbundance and diversity of airborne pollen are important to human health and biodiversity. The UK operational network collects airborne pollen from 8 flowering trees, grasses and three weeds using Hirst traps and microscopic identification from urban areas. Knowledge of total pollen diversity and differences between rural and urban zones is limited. We collect environmental DNA (eDNA) from air during summer and autumn over 3 years with mini cyclones from one urban and one rural site. Data are analysed using next generation sequencing and metabarcoding. We find the most common genus,Urtica (57%), is also identifie...
Source: Aerobiologia - October 11, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Analysis of the annual pollen integral in Albuquerque, New Mexico, shows a negative trend with temperatures for Juniper, Cottonwood, Elm, and Mulberry
AbstractThe goal of this study is to determine if the annual pollen integral (APIn) for the top tree allergens in the City of Albuquerque is correlated with meteorological variables. This analysis would be the first of its kind for this area. We used 17 consecutive years from 2004 to 2020 and data collected by the city of Albuquerque using a Spore Trap (Burkard) volumetric air sampler in a location designed to represent a typical desert environment. The pollen studied include Juniper, Elm, Ash, Cottonwood, and Mulberry. We found a negative linear correlation with early summer temperatures of the previous year and APIn fo...
Source: Aerobiologia - September 26, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
False positives: handling them operationally for automatic pollen monitoring
AbstractThis note provides a generic method for handling falsely identified particles (false positive detections) in automatic pollen monitoring systems. The benefits of the method are illustrated using data from two different automatic pollen monitoring devices (Swisens Poleno and Plair Rapid-E) in comparison to reference Hirst-type pollen measurements. Neither climatological nor phenological information are introduced to filter out false positive detections: the method is based only on the measurements. (Source: Aerobiologia)
Source: Aerobiologia - September 15, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Simultaneous monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 and bacterial profiles from the air of hospital environments with COVID-19-affected patients
AbstractThe SARS-CoV-2 presence and the bacterial community profile in air samples collected at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Operational Unit of Infectious Diseases of Santa Caterina Novella Hospital in Galatina (Lecce, Italy) have been evaluated in this study. Air samplings were performed in different rooms of the ICU ward with and without COVID-19 patients. No sample was found positive to SARS-CoV-2, according to Allplex 2019-nCoV Assay. The airborne bacterial community profiles determined by the 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding approach up to the species level were characterized by richness and biodiversity indices, ...
Source: Aerobiologia - September 8, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
Towards standardisation of automatic pollen and fungal spore monitoring: best practises and guidelines
AbstractStandards for manual pollen and fungal spore monitoring have been established based on several decades of experience, tests, and research. New technological and methodological advancements have led to the development of a range of different automatic instruments for which no standard yet exist. This paper aims to provide an overview of aspects that need to be considered for automatic pollen and fungal spore monitoring, including a set of guidelines and recommendations. It covers issues relevant to developing an automatic monitoring network, from the instrument design and calibration through algorithm development to...
Source: Aerobiologia - September 7, 2022 Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research
