Background: Since pollen is a significant factor in allergies, and sensitized individuals often experience polysensitization to various allergen groups, breaks in the plant pollination season, providing patients with relief from allergic symptoms, are crucial times within the high allergenic period.
However, due to climate change and the prolongation of pollen seasons - the early start of...
Background & Aims: Being able to predict plant responses to their environment is essential in many ecological, economical and medicinal disciplines. This is especially relevant in terms of climate change, which is expected to affect temperature, precipitation and all derivate meteorological patterns via changing atmospheric and oceanic circulation. Plant phenology has been shown to be...
The South African Pollen Monitoring Network (SAPNET) was set up in 2019 to conduct the first long‐term national aerospora monitoring organised at a national level. , SAPNET has monitored airborne pollen and fungal spores in seven of the major cities across South Africa, covering multiple biomes with a diversity of climates, topographies, and vegetation types providing online weekly reports...
Bioaerosols are microorganisms or their fragments emitted from the surface of the sea or terrestrial environment to the atmosphere. So far, scientific research has focused much more on viruses, bacteria, and fungi, which has led to a weaker recognition of the presence of cyanobacteria and microalgae in the air compared to other microorganisms.
This study exclusively focuses on cyanobacteria...
Air pollution significantly impacts human health, reducing the quality of life. This study analysed free radicals in pollen, inflorescences, and associated soil samples. Free radicals are formed during plant metabolic processes, such as photosynthesis, and are influenced by environmental factors like pollution and various forms of radiation. The radicals can be harmful or advantageous to human...
Hinojosa del Duque is located at the north of the province of Cordoba, in Andalusia (southern Spain). This area is characterized by being a rural region, mainly agricultural with extensive vegetation formations of the Mediterranean Dehesa type.
This study develops a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the atmospheric pollen content over a period of two years, 2021 and 2022, using a...
Background: Fungi is an important factor of human allergy given that they are ubiquitous by their nature and humans can be exposed to fungal allergens in different sources. The most often the one contacts with inhalant mold allergens which are contained in microspores and in mycelium. Several important fungal allergens are known up to now and the most valuable among them is Alternaria which is...
Background:
This study conducted pollen monitoring in the North-West Province of South Africa from December 2022 to 2024, in Potchefstroom within the temperate Grassland Biome. Aligned with SAPNET (South African Pollenmonitoring Network), the project aimed to comprehensively monitor allergenic pollens and fungal spores across South Africa (Ajikah et al. 2020). The primary objective in...
Alternaria is a plant pathogen and human allergen. Alternaria alternata is one of the most abundant fungal spores in the air. The purpose of this study was to examine whether Alternaria spp. spore concentrations can be used to predict the abundance and spatio-temporal pattern of A. alternata spores in the air. This was investigated by testing the hypothesis that A. alternata dominates airborne...
Background: Airborne pollen monitoring depends on precise and reproducible pollen detection and analysis. In Europe, airborne pollen monitoring is done by manual counting, which is a labor-intensive and somewhat slow process. That is why there is a need for new automatic methodologies to solve these problems. Even though some significant work has been done with various degrees of success;...
Background
This intensive real-time monitoring campaign was carried out over a two-month period in Saclay, a semi-urban centre, southwest of the city of Paris, France, and is an outer suburb/exurb of the city proper.
Methods
The Wideband Integrated Bioaerosol Sensor (WIBS) 4+ model was first compared to the traditional Hirst volumetric sampling method. It was evaluated for its...
Background: Standard methodology for aerobiome analysis involves air sampling using Hirst-type sampler and microscopic analysis of pollen and spore morphology (SRPS EN 16868, 2019). However, morphology-based approach has limitations in total biodiversity assessment and thus demands application of more sensitive DNA-based methodology.
This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of three...
This research aims to modernise the pollen monitoring infrastructure in Ireland, by introducing real time monitoring using the Swisens Poleno and comparing it to the already established Hirst sampler. Using pollen data that was collected from previous years, updated pollen calendars were constructed for the benefit of individuals afflicted with hay fever. The Swisens Poleno device was...
Background:
Iceland, the second-largest island in Europe at 103,100 km2, exhibits unique biogeographical characteristics due to its location between Europe and North America and its position at the boundary of the Arctic and Boreal regions. The climate is influenced by various air masses and ocean currents, resulting in unstable weather conditions. The vascular flora of Iceland, originating...
Background: It is well known that the major allergens of PR-10 group, including birch (Bet v 1), hazel (Cor a 1.0103), alder (Aln g 1), and beech (Fag s 1), are the leading pollen allergen for trees of the Fagales order. The flowering period of these trees typically occurs from March to May, but climate change has influenced this pattern. Therefore, for pollen allergy prevention, it is crucial...
Bioaerosol pollution, such as pollen, can have negative effects on human health, serving as a cause of respiratory allergies. Moreover, pollen may contribute to the dispersion of industrial pollutants due to the accumulation of chemical elements on its surface. Particles that settle on the surface of pollen and modify the pollen microenvironment composition and contribute to external and...
Background
Cases of allergic rhinitis and asthma increase with about 20-30% of South Africans affected due to the increase in ambient particulate matter (PM) and climate change (Ajikah et al., 2020). There is also a general lack of continuous aerospora data throughout the southern Hemisphere (Davies et al. 2021). Consequently, there is a lack of studies that show the health impacts that...
Cupressales pollen is a significant cause of seasonal allergies worldwide. The dramatic increase in the concentration of Cupressales pollen is observed in Poznań (Western Poland) during last 25 years. Plant genera belonging to the Cupressales order, including Juniperus, Thuja, and Taxus, produce pollen grains that are morphologically indistinguishable. Consequently, it is unclear how various...
The number of pollen allergy sufferers is growing constantly in Europe and worldwide. A deeper understanding of the problem allows better solutions, such as forehanded therapy for allergy sufferers. Forehanded therapy and the lowest impact on human health is possible when the timing, approximate level of allergens and possible organism reaction on each individual are known. Currently running...
