Aerobiologia最新文献

Many methods have been devised to count pollen grains automatically; however, few combine speed, reliability, inexpensiveness and user friendliness. 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, visual counts of the same images and found to be high. Total pollen production per anther and per inflorescence was estimated by counting the number of pollen grains per anther and the number of florets per inflorescence. Methodological and natural variation in pollen counts is discussed. Results were compared to published pollen counts of the same species; new pollen production figures are published for Cynosurus cristatus. This method is portable to other plant species, and requires only readily available reagents, equipment and software, it is quick, reliable, inexpensive and user friendly.

Inhalation of olive pollen (Olea europaea L.) is one of the main causes of allergy in Mediterranean countries and some areas of North America. The response to allergens consists in the production of inflammatory cytokines which is mediated by the deregulation of Ca²⁺ signals. 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 and is able of blocking the increase Ca²⁺-cytosolic produced by thapsigargin (TG). PMR then restored Ca²⁺ homeostasis in PJ-15 cells deregulated by the endoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺-ATPases inhibitor. It is therefore possible that PMR can antagonize the effects of allergens on Ca²⁺ cytosolic. The analytical characterization of the material released by the pollen highlighted in the pollen allergen Ole e 3 and in the p-coumaric acid the possible culprits of the Ca²⁺-antagonist activity of PMR. Furthermore, the sequence of Ole e 3 could provide information for the possible construction of a synthetic peptide to be used in an allergy-targeted Ca²⁺-antagonist therapy.

The aim of this study was to identify and quantify the airborne fungal spore content in the Cathedral of Jaén (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 maximum 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 total the airborne spore monitoring. Peaks in the daily spore concentrations were mainly recorded in the first half of spring and during the middle of the summer. A total of 29 taxa were identified. Cladosporium and Aspergillus/Penicillium were the potentially biodeteriogen fungal spores that were more frequently recorded in all of the study areas. Of the total airborne fungal spores recorded in the indoor environment, 82.5% belong to biodeteriogen fungi that, under suitable conditions for their germination, could have a negative effect on the preservation of artistic-historical heritage. The installation and correct maintenance of air-conditioning systems and the aeromycological analysis in suspected places would be recommended.

Inhalation of grass pollen can result in acute exacerbation of asthma, prompting questions about how grass pollen reaches metropolitan areas. We establish typical atmospheric Poaceae (grass) pollen concentrations recorded at two pollen samplers within the Sydney basin in eastern Australia and analyse their correlation with each other and meteorological variables. We determine the effect of synoptic and regional airflow on Poaceae pollen transport during a period of extreme (≥ 100 grains m⁻³ air) concentration and characterise the meteorology. Finally, we tested the hypothesis that most Poaceae pollen captured by the pollen samplers originated from local sources. Fifteen months of daily pollen data, three days of hourly atmospheric Poaceae pollen concentrations and fifteen months of hourly meteorology from two locations within the Sydney basin were used. Weather Research Forecasting (WRF), Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) modelling and conditional bivariate probability functions (CBPF) were used to assess Poaceae pollen transport. Most Poaceae pollen collected was estimated to be from local sources under low wind speeds. Extreme daily Poaceae pollen concentrations were rare, and there was no strong evidence to support long-distance Poaceae pollen transport into the Sydney basin or across the greater Sydney metropolitan area. Daily average pollen concentrations mask sudden increases in atmospheric Poaceae pollen, which may put a significant and sudden strain on the healthcare system. Mapping of Poaceae pollen sources within Sydney and accurate prediction of pollen concentrations are the first steps to an advanced warning system necessary to pre-empt the healthcare resources needed during pollen season.

Exposure to wastewater treatment system (WWTS)-associated bioaerosols is not only linked with macro/field scale systems but also facilities which are operated in micro- and/or indoor environment such as university campus and research institutions. In this context, investigations on a laboratory-scale WWTS, adopting a sequential batch biofilm process and fed with synthetic municipal wastewater, were done in terms of its global treatment performance and characterization of emitted bioaerosols species. The microbial diversity of captured bioaerosols, collected through conventional particulate matter samplers, was identified on the basis of their metabolic properties using analytical profile index, biochemical tests, and other media specific growth patterns. Monitoring and analysis results of air quality in control and experimental period revealed that particulate emission from bioreactor increased the concentration of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 up to 26.49 ± 4.18 µg/m³ and 12.84 ± 2.48 µg/m³ from an initial level of 17.26 ± 4.58 µg/m³ and 8.70 ± 1.84 µg/m³, respectively. Microscopic observations and staining characteristics revealed that cocci shape gram-negative and bacilli shape gram-positive bacteria dominated the bioaerosols with quantitative contribution as 70% and 9%, respectively. Based on the morphological and biochemical characterization, dominant isolated genera of opportunistic pathogenic bacteria in bioaerosols were identified as Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas sp. with % dominance as 38.46, 13.46, 9.61 and 25, respectively. Overall, the findings of this study reiterate the concern of biological air pollution in research laboratories and represent an inevitable aspect for the validation of bioaerosol exposure in laboratory-scale WWTS workplaces.

Since research began in diatom ecology, scientists have focussed more on diatoms from aquatic habitats as opposed to aerial habitats. In this paper, we present the first dataset on diatoms from aerial habitats in the Indo-Burma hot spot. We have chosen the Blue Mountain region to collect tree mosses, an aerial habitat where diatoms thrive. We have addressed diatom composition and diversity in relation to altitude. Twenty-two moss samples were collected and 53 diatom taxa belonging to 21 genera were discovered and enumerated using light microscopy. The diatom flora of tree mosses is dominated by acidophilous genera Eunotia and Luticola, with both of the most abundant species Orthoseira roeseana and Luticola acidoclinata being euaerial and oligotraphentic diatoms. The samples from 1902-m altitude had the highest species diversity. Species richness was 8–22 diatom per sample, with an average of 14. The species accumulation curve shows that more diatom species will be discovered with additional sampling of aerial habitats in the Blue Mountain region.

This study investigates the use of pollen elastically scattered light images for species identification. The aim was to identify the best recognition algorithms for pollen classification based on the scattering images. A series of laboratory experiments with a Rapid-E device of Plair S.A. was conducted collecting scattering images and fluorescence spectra from pollen of 15 plant genera. The collected scattering data were supplied to 32 different setups of 8 computer vision models based on deep neural networks. The models were trained to classify the pollen types, and their performance was compared for the test sub-samples withheld from the training. Evaluation showed that most of the tested computer vision models convincingly outperform the basic convolutional neural network used in our previous studies: the accuracy gain was approaching 10% for best setups. The models of the Weakly Supervised Object Detection approach turned out to be the most accurate, but also slow. However, even the best setups still did not provide sufficient recognition accuracy barely reaching 65%–70% in the repeated tests. They also showed many false positives when applied to real-life time series collected by Rapid-E. Similar to the previous studies, fusion of the new scattering models with the fluorescence-based identification demonstrated almost 15% higher skills than either of the approaches alone reaching 77–83% of the overall classification accuracy.

From clinical point of view, knowledge of the pollen season and loads in the atmosphere of every community is important so as to guide on incidence and management of pollinosis. The aim of this work therefore is to evaluate the weekly constituents of the atmospheric pollen and fern spores of two communities in Lagos Nigeria and the relationship, if any, between the weekly aeroflora and hospital reported pollinosis cases. As part of efforts to contribute to the gathering of aerobiological data in Lagos State, a weekly gravimetric sampling of two locations (Ipaja and Ogba) in Lagos, Nigeria were undertaken from January 2018–December 2018 and the reported pollinosis cases (asthma and rhinitis) were collected from the surrounding hospitals. The samplers were placed on rigid platforms at 2 m above the ground level, the harvested residues were subjected to standard palynological procedure and twenty microlitres of each sample were studied microscopically. A total of 30 pollen taxa were identified with Amaranthaceae (544) dominating the palynomorphs at Ipaja and Elaeis guineensis (347) at Ogba. Using correlation (r = 0.1, p-value = 0.55 at Ipaja while r = 0.3, p-value = 0.33 at Ogba) and RDA test at p > 0.05, there is insignificant positive relationship between pollinosis cases and abundance of palynomorphs. However, at Ipaja, RDA indicated Poaceae and Elaeis guineensis as the possible drivers for asthma cases while Amaranthaceae and fungal spores were identified as weak drivers for catarrh. At Ogba, the loess curve and correlation test showed a significant positive relationship at p < 0.05 between the reported pollinosis cases and abundance of recovered palynomorph. Elaeis guineensis, Nephrolepis sp. and Dryopteris sp. seem to be the main drivers of asthma while Casuarina sp. and fungal spores perhaps drove catarrh. Dryopteris and Nephrolepis spores are firstly implicated as possible allergenic aeroconstituents in Nigeria in this work. The results from this work provide a background reference for the general public and hypersensitive individuals on the spatial distribution of pollen grains and fern spores in the study areas of Lagos as well as being a guide to the identification of culprit allergenic aeroconstituent.

Pollen grains of the anemophilous plants are the most important source of allergens in the atmosphere, triggering allergic diseases such as rhinitis and asthma in atopic individuals. Pollen grains in the atmosphere of Tétouan (NW of Morocco) were recorded during a 10 years/period (2008–2017) using a 7 day recording volumetric pollen trap by Burkard. Daily mean pollen concentrations of 10-day periods were summed and averaged over the study period to construct the pollen calendar. The average annual pollen integral (APIn) recorded during this period was 37,955 p*day/m³, belonging to 52 higher plant taxa (30 trees and/or shrubs and 22 herbaceous species). The maximum APIn (62,848 p*day/m³) was recorded in 2009 and the minimum (18,423 p*day/m³) in 2017. During the study period, the main pollen was registered from February to June (89%), with the highest daily mean pollen concentrations recorded in March (26.38%) and February (21.13%). The timing, intensity and length of the pollen seasons varied according to the taxa. The pollen calendar of Tétouan atmosphere reflects a great pollen diversity (37 pollen types), Pollen omnipresence throughout the year, long pollination periods and typically Mediterranean taxa: Cupressaceae, Olea, Platanus and Quercus. Some trees and herbaceous plants perform their anthesis in winter: Cupressaceae, Fraxinus, Populus, Pinus, Mercurialis and Parietaria. Some of them extend their pollen season until spring at the same time as other types of pollen appear typical of spring. Morus and Pistacia have a short pollen season, while Cannabis sativa, Amaranthaceae, Olea, Parietaria, Plantago, Poaceae, Quercus, Rumex and U. membranacea are characterized by prolonged pollen season. The pollen spectrum of Tétouan is differentiated by Cannabis pollen, and a longer and more intense pollination period than that detected in other Mediterranean regions. Based on these results, pollen calendar of Tétouan provides interesting and useful information to aerobiologists as well as professionals working in fields such as allergy and public health.

Alternaria is a pathogenic and allergenic fungus affecting 400 plant species and 334 million people globally. This study aimed at assessing the diversity of Alternaria 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 in Alternaria 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 Burkard sampler were identified and quantified using optical microscopy. Optical microscopy and eDNA revealed a high abundance of Alternaria in the rural, urban and unmanaged sites. ITS1 and ITS2 detected five and seven different Alternaria species at the three sampling sites, respectively. A. dactylidicola, A. metachromatica and A. infectoria were the most abundant. The rural, urban and unmanaged grassland sites had similar diversity (PERMANOVA) of the species due to similarity in land use and proximity of the sites. Overall, the study showed that heterogeneous and neighbouring sites with similar land uses can have similar Alternaria species. It also demonstrated that an eDNA approach can complement the classical optical microscopy method in providing more precise information on fungal species diversity in an environment for targeted management. Similar studies can be replicated for other allergenic and pathogenic fungi.