Cupressaceae pollen is one of the major airborne allergens of the Mediterranean region and in other regions around the world. Pollen production of these species causes considerable allergic problems during winter, being this type of pollen the most abundant in this period of the year. This work aims to relate phenology, meteorology and airborne pollen records in these species. Aerobiological sampling

The aim of present study is to assess the seasonal effects during five different seasons on endotoxins levels at various sections (aeration tank, sludge bed, grit chamber and final settlement tank) of a sewage treatment plant. Samples for endotoxins were collected using a three-stage cascade impactor. The sampler collects particulate matters in three different sizes, viz. PM1, PM2.5 and PM10. We mainly

Fungal spores have a recognized allergenicity, but in recent years, fungal fragments have also been reported as inducers of Type I allergy. However, airborne hyphae are scarcely studied in tropical regions. The objective of this research was to analyze the fungal composition of the Havana aerosol during 2017 and 2018, emphasizing the presence of hyphae fragments. Air sampling was performed using a

The direct effect of fungi on human health makes the fungal diversity in the air an important and necessary subject for examination. Studies that determine fungal diversity generally depends on culture methods. Developed culture-independent methods eliminate many disadvantages of existing culture-dependent methods. In our study, duplicate air samples were collected on 5 different days at a Microbiology

Epidemiological analyses of airborne allergenic pollen often use concentration measurements from a single station to represent exposure across a city, but this approach does not account for the spatial variation of concentrations within the city. Because there are few descriptions of urban-scale variation, the resulting exposure measurement error is unknown but potentially important for epidemiological

Estimates of airborne pollen concentrations at the urban scale would be useful for epidemiologists, land managers, and allergy sufferers. Mechanistic models could be well suited for this task, but their development will require data on pollen production across cities, including estimates of pollen production by individual trees. In this study, we developed predictive models for pollen production as

The presence of fungal particulate matter in libraries air is a key issue due to its dual impact on the valuable artifacts and on humans. Indoor air fungal composition has been investigated with a volumetric culture-based method only once before in a National Library. The qualitative and quantitative spatiotemporal fluctuations of airborne fungi were evaluated in the National Library of Greece. A portable

The present research was conducted to assess the role of aeromycoflora around world heritage sites of Taxila and its relation with biodeterioration of stone monuments. The aerial mycoflora of six archaeological sites was recorded for one year to monitor the seasonal variations and transportation of fungal spores. Thirty-two fungal species belonging to twenty genera were isolated throughout the whole

Microbial organisms can cause huge crises in decorated caves, as seen in emblematic sites such as Lascaux cave. The preservation of such sites involves understanding the healthy microbial behavior of caves before the damage occurs. Indeed, knowledge of normal cave behavior is a prerequisite to identifying potential imbalance. This study seeks to determine whether models of aerobiological behavior could

Microorganisms are ubiquitous in the atmosphere with hundreds of taxa being identified in air samples collected around the world. Despite their importance on human and ecosystem health, the majority of air microbiological studies have been limited to cultivation-based methods that may not capture all of the microbial diversity in the air. The present study used pyrosequencing analysis of 16S rDNA fragments

Airborne pollen assemblage depends on the land cover of the area surrounding the volumetric trap and the flow of air masses. In urban contexts, the amount of airborne pollen is the result of the contribution of both local green areas and extra-urban vegetation, in addition to wind direction and speed. The present study focused on the combined effects of land cover and wind on the airborne pollen recorded

University students' health may be adversely affected by exposure to indoor bacterial contaminants on their campuses. This study aims (1) to quantify culturable bacterial concentrations in three indoor environments at a university, (2) to investigate the influence of meteorological factors and gender, to assess the relationship between indoor and outdoor, and (3) to estimate the bacterial dose for

Pollen concentrations on Alpine mountain tops are poorly known due to few observations and few modeling studies. We present two case studies from the Alps that provide insights into the spatial and temporal distribution of birch pollen. The numerical pollen dispersion model COSMO-ART (COnsortium for Small-scale MOdelling-Aerosols and Reactive Trace gases) was used to simulate the birch pollen transport

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) and advances in microbiota knowledge are opening new perspectives for environmental microbiology and public health. Massive parallel sequencing of bacterial DNA is providing new insights to unravel microbial dissemination in different matrices, including air. Here, we have assessed the air biodiversity in several indoor environments by NGS-based metagenomics and compared

In this work, we performed a palynological analysis of soil sampled from the footwear in order to provide their spatial and temporal classification. The sampling was performed in the shoes of 20 volunteers, in two different periods: autumn–winter and spring 2016/2017. The volunteers belonged to the same geographic region within a radius of 500 m. During the laboratorial treatment, the pollinic content

As part of the overall management of a Hospital, the Hygiene Unit has specific tasks including the improvement in the levels of hospital safety by air quality monitoring in hospital environments to control the sources of infection and assessing the healthiness of hospital facilities. Operating theaters (OTs) and cleanrooms air quality control can represent a focal point considering that environmental

Although considered a golden standard in aerobiology, continuous long-term sampling of bioaerosols is resource demanding. The aim of this study was to explore whether, if needed, intermittent sampling could replace the continuous one without major loss of information. Hourly pollen concentrations obtained by averaging 56, 28, 14 and 7 equidistantly distributed 1.07-min concentrations of Ambrosia airborne

This work aims to provide an historical overview on aerobiology applied to the preventive conservation of cultural heritage. Bioaerosol represents a potential risk to cultural artifacts since in favorable nutritional and microclimatic conditions the settled biological particulate matter can develop and grow, thus triggering the biodeterioration. Aerobiology has become an important discipline for developing

The land-use configuration has huge impact on emission sources and also a major influencing factor, which ultimately determine the microbial count, composition and seasonal dynamics of bioaerosols at respective site. Despite this, very few studies compare bioaerosols exposure at different land-use sites. The aim of the present study was to measure and compare the aerosolised bacterial and fungal counts

In the last decades, significant progresses have been reached in the management of atopic diseases in childhood. Several approaches have been proposed in patients affected by moderate-to-severe atopic diseases. Severe asthma and atopic dermatitis are poorly known with different underlying phenotypes and endotypes, and they may require further cares with biological therapies. Omalizumab, anti-IgE monoclonal

Airborne pollen reflects local vegetative composition and is a proxy for flowering phase. Long-term pollen data might reflect changes in biodiversity and phenology, attributable also to the effect of climate change. The present study, based on pollen data collected within the Italian aerobiological network POLLnet, aimed to verify whether there is any evidence of temporal changes in pollen season timing

From anther dehiscence to its atmospheric journey, airborne pollen grains can come into contact with other particulate matter (PM) and the external wall of pollen grains can be polluted by adhered atmospheric particles. Pollen and PM are some of the most common asthma triggers. The aim of this review was to discuss literature reporting pollen–particle complexes in the outdoor environment so their potential

Aerobiology studies biological particles present in the air of both indoor and outdoor environments. In the past few years, the application of molecular techniques has considerably improved the knowledge of organismal diversity in air samples and highlighted its ecological and clinical importance. DNA metabarcoding in particular has been recently applied worldwide to describe the biological composition

Aerobiological studies in urban areas are quite abundant in recent decades, but not in rural areas with a high environmental value. In this work, we analyze the airborne levels of pollen and fern spores in year 2012 collected by means of a volumetric sampler located in an ecological vineyard and in the Biosphere Reserve “Sierras de Béjar y Francia.” The results showed a high atmospheric representation

In India, since 2001, false smut disease of rice has been observed in severe form among major rice growing states. This disease is difficult to tackle, because pathogens infect the plant during flowering stage, and the symptoms are only visible after emergence of the panicle. Thus, disease forecasting is necessary to predict the chance of disease in a certain set of conditions. We analysed 3 years

Japanese cedar pollen and cypress pollen are the most common causes of seasonal allergic rhinitis in Japan. In the present study, we examined the relationship between climate factors and Japanese cedar and cypress pollen counts in Tsu city, Mie prefecture, Japan. Cedar and cypress pollen measurements were taken between 2009 and 2018 using a gravitational method (Durham’s sampler). Each year, during

Araucaria angustifolia is an anemophilous conifer native to Southern America threatened with extinction, with a noticeable decrease in its distribution area and seed production. To better understand the reproductive dynamics, the aerobiological curves obtained with Hirst methodology were analyzed during 7 years in San Antonio (Misiones, Argentina), including productivity, seasonality, start, end, duration

The influence of atmospheric circulation conditions on pollen concentrations of two taxons (Betula and Alnus) in Wroclaw, Poland, for the years 2005–2014 was analysed. Pollen concentration was analysed separately for twenty circulation types that were determined using objective classification. The results indicate the atmospheric circulation conditions favourable for both low and high pollen concentrations

The article Indoor air fungal pollution of a historical museum, Egypt: a case study, written by Abdel Hameed A. Awad, Yuosra Saeed, Alia A. Shakour, Nasser M. Abdellatif, Yasser H. Ibrahim, Manal Elghanam and Fatma Elwakeel was originally published electronically on the publisher’s Internet portal https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-019-09623-w on 02 January 2020 with open access.

The adverse impact of sewage treatment plants on the environment, resulting from the emission of harmful biological agents to the atmosphere, depends mainly on the size of the facility, the quantity and composition of treated sewage as well as the technologies and equipment used. The aim of the conducted research was to determine the microbiological quality of atmospheric air at Municipal-Industrial

Airborne bacteria and fungi in hospital environments are of great concern due to their potential role as a source of nosocomial infections. The aim of this study was to evaluate concentration and diversity of airborne bacteria and fungi in relation to particle mass concentration in sensitive wards of a pediatric hospital. The study was performed in the cardiac care unit (CCU), the neonatal intensive

The exposure to airborne dusts and microorganisms is associated with respiratory diseases and other health effects. Currently, research concerning fungal aerosol and particulate matter levels in animal enclosures of zoological gardens is very scarce. Such premises are characterized by numerous sources of air contamination, and they are both working environment and popular tourist attractions. This

The present work has studied the trends in pollen seasons of winter flowering trees (Alnus, Cupressaceae, Fraxinus, Populus and Ulmus) in Córdoba, Granada and Málaga (Andalusia, Spain) over the years 1994–2017. The influence of meteorological parameters on the seasonal airborne pollen has been also analyzed. Pollen concentrations were recorded using Hirst-type volumetric spore traps, following the

Fungi can cause serious damages to historical works of art. This study aims to evaluate fungal pollution in the indoor air environment, deposited dust and surfaces of works of art in a historic house museum “Prince’s Mohamed Ali museum”, Giza, Egypt. Fungal pollution was evaluated at six museum’s buildings differed in size, design, location and content, for 2 years of campaign. The deposited dust was

Ambrosia artemisiifolia L., known as common ragweed, is an invasive and allergenic plant that has begun to expand its presence in Turkey. Although ragweed pollen has been monitored for a long time—especially in the atmosphere of cities in Northern Anatolia—the invasion of the plant is more limited compared to that of other European countries. Here, we present the highest ragweed pollen concentration

Grass pollen grains are an important source of aeroallergens eliciting respiratory allergic diseases worldwide. In the field of allergology, Phleum pratense pollen is considered as a model for other grass taxa. Upon contact with the aqueous phase of mucosa membranes, lipids are co-delivered from pollen grains with allergens. Lipid molecular species have pro-allergic, pro-inflammatory and immunomodulatory

We present some first insights into hourly automatic pollen measurements from two campaigns performed at MeteoSwiss (spring to early summer 2015 and 2016). While the focus of the campaigns was on device validation, the data obtained provided the possibility to carry out a statistical analysis to estimate airborne pollen concentrations at hourly resolution. We compare the time series from the automatic

Cladosporium spp. and Alternaria spp. spores are dominating the airspora of Denmark. Currently, little is known about the influence of climate change on the fungal spore abundance in the air. The aim of this study was to examine temporal changes in airborne Alternaria and Cladosporium spores over 26 years. This is the first report of long-term airborne Cladosporium spore occurrence in Denmark. Air

Ragweed Pollen Alarm System (R-PAS) has been running since 2014 to provide pollen information for countries in the Pannonian biogeographical region (PBR). The aim of this study was to develop forecast models of the representative aerobiological monitoring stations, identified by analysis based on a neural network computation. Monitoring stations with 7-day Hirst-type pollen trap having 10-year long

In this study, the morphology and chemical composition of pollen grains of six birch species (Betula utilis Doorenbos, B. dahurica, B. maximowicziana, B. pendula, B. pubescens and B. humilis) were examined to verify which of these features allow distinguishing them in a more unambiguous way. For this purpose, scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy, as well as Fourier transform infrared (FTIR)

The aim of the work was to compare the alder pollen seasons in the years 1997-2017 in Sosnowiec. The measurements of pollen concentration were taken with the volumetric method using Burkard's apparatus. The impact of atmospheric conditions on the daily alder pollen grain concentration, the annual totals, and the duration of pollen seasons were studied. The dependency between each meteorological condition

Endotoxins are a component of Gram-negative bacteria cell walls and are known to be present in biosolids. Endotoxins have been shown to be potent stimulators of the innate immune response causing airway irritation and shortness of breath. Class B biosolids are routinely applied to agricultural lands to enhance soil properties and can be used as an alternative to chemical fertilizers. This study investigated

Numerous studies have focused on occupational and indoor environments because people spend more than 90% of their time in them. Nevertheless, air is the main source of bacteria in indoors, and outdoor exposure is also crucial. Worldwide studies have indicated that bacterial concentrations vary among different types of outdoor environments, with considerable seasonal variations as well. Conducting comprehensive

The aim of this work was to determine the genera or species composition and the number of colony forming units of airborne bacteria and fungi, respectively, in two salt mines in Poland "Wieliczka" (Lesser Poland) and "Polkowice-Sieroszowice" (Lower Silesia). Both of them are working environments characterized by extreme conditions, and additionally "Wieliczka," officially placed on the UNESCO World

We report on the determination of the spore concentration and the species composition of the airborne fungi in selected caves of the Tatra Mountains, Poland. The following caves were surveyed: Mylna, Obłazkowa, Mroźna, Zimna and Naciekowa. The sampling was carried out in July 2015 and in January 2016. The aeromycological analyses were performed with the impact method, using the Air Ideal 3P apparatus

Air sampling was conducted in Szczecin (Poland) throughout April-September 2013. The final data set included 177 daily and 4248 hourly samples. The total of 21 types of spores, which occurred in a number >10 in the season, were taken into account. The following meteorological parameters were analyzed: air temperature, relative humidity, precipitation and wind speed. Effects of individual weather parameters

This paper is the first aero-mycological report from Demänovská Ice Cave. Fungal spores were sampled from the internal and external air of the cave in June, 2014, using the impact method with a microbiological air sampler. Airborne fungi cultured on PDA medium were identified using a combination of classical phenotypic and molecular methods. Altogether, the presence of 18 different fungal spores, belonging

Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) and ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) are highly allergenic Asteraceae. They often cause pollen allergies in late summer and fall. While mugwort is native to Europe, ragweed reached Europe as a neophyte from North America about 150 years ago and continued spreading ever since. To understand possible relationships between the spread of ragweed, its abundance in air, and

The aim of the study was to assess the levels of inhalable dust, endotoxins and (1-3)-β-d-glucans as agents harmful to the respiratory tract of workers of municipal waste sorting plants and interaction between these agents based on the measurements taken in two plants with different processing capacities. The study was conducted in summer season in two waste sorting plants (WSPs) differing in processing

Exposure to elevated air pollution levels can aggravate pollen allergy symptoms. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between airborne birch (Betula) pollen, urban air pollutants NO2, O3 and PM10 and their effects on antihistamine demand in Gothenburg and Malmö, Sweden, 2006-2012. Further, the influence of large-scale weather pattern on pollen-/pollution-related risk, using Lamb

Bacteria of the genus Staphylococcus were isolated from air sampled from living spaces in Kraków (Poland). In total, 55 strains belonging to the genus Staphylococcus were isolated from 45 sites, and 13 species of coagulase-negative staphylococci were identified. The species composition of studied airborne microbiota contains Staphylococcus species that are rarely infectious to humans. Most commonly

We have investigated the relationship between the inflow of air masses and the ragweed pollen concentration in SW Poland (Wrocław) for a 10-year period of 2005-2014. The HYSPLIT trajectory model was used to verify whether episodes of high concentrations can be related to regions outside of the main known ragweed centres in Europe, like Pannonian Plain, northern Italy and Ukraine. Furthermore, we used

The European Commission Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action FA1203 "SMARTER" aims to make recommendations for the sustainable management of Ambrosia across Europe and for monitoring its efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The goal of the present study is to provide a baseline for spatial and temporal variations in airborne Ambrosia pollen in Europe that can be used for the management

High Pinaceae pollen concentrations in the air and on the surface of puddles before the main pollen season started were observed in Kraków (southern Poland) in May 2013. The paper presents the results of detailed studies of the composition and source of the "yellow rain" in 2013, and as a comparison, the Pinaceae pollen concentrations and samples collected from the ground surface in 2014 were considered

This discussion paper reveals the contribution of pollen transport conditions to the inter-annual variability of the seasonal pollen index (SPI). This contribution is quantified as a sensitivity of the pollen model predictions to meteorological variability and is shown to be a noticeable addition to the SPI variability caused by plant reproduction cycles. A specially designed SILAM model re-analysis

ABSTRACT In this study, the effect of urbanization and environmental pollution on qualitative (structural) and quantitative changes of the Corylus avellana (hazel) pollen was investigated using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and curve-fitting analysis of amide I profile. The obtained spectroscopic results show significant variations in the fraction of proteins

The most recent IPCC report presented further scientific evidence for global climate change in the twenty-first century. Important secondary effects of climate change include those on water resource availability, agricultural yields, urban healthy living, biodiversity, ecosystems, food security, and public health. The aim of this explorative study was to determine the range of expected airborne pathogen

The ambient atmosphere is dominated with pollen and spores, which trigger allergic reactions and diseases and impact negatively on human health. A survey of pollen and fungal spores constituents of the atmosphere of Garki, Abuja (North-Central Nigeria) was carried out for 1 year (June 1, 2011-May 31, 2012). The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and abundance of pollen and fungal spores

Pets are an important source of indoor allergens. The aim of the study was to compare cat and dog allergen levels in cars, schools and homes. The study was carried out in 17 cars, 14 classrooms and 19 dwellings located in the highly industrialized and urbanized region of Poland. Dust and air samples were analyzed for Fel d 1 and Can f 1 using a double monoclonal ELISA assay. The highest amounts of