Aerobiologia最新文献

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.

Abundance 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 identified by the national network. The grasses Lolium (10%), Agrostis (2%) and Holcus (1%) are in the national network grouped at family level, while Brassica (2%), Chenopodium (1%), Impatiens (2%), Plantago (4%) and Tilia (7%) are not part of the UK operational network. DNA from 138 genera was identified, where 2% of the sample could not be associated with specific genera. 40% of the sample was classified better using eDNA methods at the genus level, than by optical methods. We calculate Bray–Curtis dissimilarity for the rural and urban zones and find a systematic difference in biodiversity. Overall, this shows airborne DNA reveals more information than methods based on morphological differences. The results also suggest data from sites located in large urban areas will be less representative for less populated rural areas. This presents a dilemma in balancing a network and the associated costs delivering health relevant information to the most populated areas vs. a nation-wide approach.

The 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 for Elm, Cottonwood, and Mulberry, and early fall temperatures for Juniper. Linear regression models developed for Elm, Cottonwood, and Mulberry used the monthly mean maximum temperature for the month of June of the prior year as the independent variable to yield a R squared statistic (R²) of 0.88, 0.91 and 0.78, respectively. For Juniper, the average monthly mean minimum temperature for the previous September and October served as the independent variable and yielded the R² value of 0.80. We also observed a positive trend for the annual maximum temperature over time and a negative trend for the total APIn. Summers in New Mexico are hot and dry, and they may be getting hotter and drier because of climate change. Our analysis predicts that climate change in this area may lead to reduced allergies if temperatures continue to increase and if precipitation patterns remain the same.

This 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.

The 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, Spearman correlation coefficients, and Principal Coordinate Analysis. Pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacterial species, also detected in outdoor air samples, were found in all collected indoor samples. Staphylococcus pettenkoferi, Corynebacterium tuberculostearicum, and others coagulase-negative staphylococci, detected at high relative abundances in all the patients’ rooms, were the most abundant pathogenic species. The highest mean relative abundance of S. pettenkoferi and C. tuberculostearicum suggested that they were likely the main pathogens of COVID-19 patients at the ICU ward of this study. The identification of nosocomial pathogens representing potential patients’ risks in ICU COVID-19 rooms and the still controversial airborne transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 are the main contributions of this study.

Standards 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 site selection criteria. Despite no official standard yet existing, it is essential that all aspects of the measurement chain are carried out in a manner that is as standardised as possible to ensure high-quality data and information can be provided to end-users.

Plants have been exposed to the urban environment for many years, and in response to air pollution, they have adopted selective and adaptive changes. In this study, we examined Datura pollen deposition on the stigma for germination and also assessed the viability of the pollen along with its element and protein content. According to the hypothesis that pollen physiology is negatively impacted by air pollutants, we expected a highly polluted area to have a high degree of pollen abortion with low amount of total protein content with accumulation of different elements because the high amount of particulate pollutants deposited on pollen should alter its physiology. We found that pollen viability at all three different locations is significantly similar, while pollen germination is significantly affected by pollution in Amravati City. The protein content in pollen and its shape is also affected. Correlation analysis reveals the interrelationship between pollen viability, germination, elements and protein content with respect to the polluted area. Principal component analysis was used to determine pollen characteristics contributing to discriminate at the three locations studied. Results revealed that Datura is adaptive in nature. Further study is needed to evaluate the adaptive evolution of Datura with respect to pollen tube sensitivity and tolerance to environmental pollution.

Pollen monitoring has traditionally been carried out using manual methods first developed in the early 1950s. Although this technique has been recently standardised, it suffers from several drawbacks, notably data usually only being available with a delay of 3–9 days and usually delivered at a daily resolution. Several automatic instruments have come on to the market over the past few years, with more new devices also under development. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of all available and developing automatic instruments, how they measure, how they identify airborne pollen, what impacts measurement quality, as well as what potential there is for further advancement in the field of bioaerosol monitoring.