Airborne Pollen Research Articles

Airborne pollen and fungi indoors: Evidence from primary schools in Lithuania

The number of children suffering from respiratory allergies and asthma has been increasing worldwide and, hence, it is crucial to understand the burden of inhalant biological particles present in school facilities, where children spend one third of their life. From the perspective of indoor air quality, while there are numerous studies on outdoor bioaerosol exposure, there are still uncertainties regarding the diversity and deposition of airborne pollen and fungi indoors. When it comes to schools, there is limited research as to the potential bioaerosol exposure. Here we studied the indoor environment of public schools aiming to reveal whether primary schools of different sizes and at localities of different levels of urbanization may exhibit a variability in the biodiversity and abundance of particles of biological origin, which could pose a risk to child health. To achieve this, 11 schools were selected, located in a variety of environments, from downtown, to city centre-periphery, and to the suburbs. Fungal and pollen samples were collected from various surfaces in school classrooms and corridors, using passive air sampling and swab sampling. We demonstrated that fungi and pollen are detected in school premises during and after the vegetation season. The highest diversity of bioaerosols was found on the top of cabinets and windowsills, with Penicillium, Cladosporium and Acremonium being the most abundant indoors. The levels of fungi were higher in schools with more students. The diversity and amount of pollen in the spring were significantly higher than in samples collected in autumn. Our findings complemented existing evidence that bioaerosol measurements in schools (including kindergartens or informal education facilities) are vital. Hence, we here suggest that, in addition to monitoring air quality and bacterial levels indoors, fungi and pollen measurements have to be integrated in the existing regular biomonitoring campaigns so as to prevent exposure, increase awareness and manage efficiently allergic symptomatology.

Микологические факторы риска развития респираторных аллергозов тяжелого течения у населения, проживающего на юге России

Aim: to determine the concentration of mold spores and causative allergens of pollen-producing grasses in the cities of Southern Russia and to assess the prevalence of multisensitization in patients with severe allergic respiratory diseases, taking into consideration mold specific IgE results. Patients and Methods: from 2018 to 2020, concentrations of airborne allergens were evaluated in Stavropol, Krasnodar and Rostov-on-Don according to international techniques, using Burkard and Lanzoni volumetric spore and pollen traps. The levels of non-bacterial allergen- specific IgE were evaluated by allergen component testing in 143 patients (69 children and 74 adults) with allergic rhinitis and atopic asthma. Results: the results of aeropalynology studies demonstrated a high concentration of mold spores in the atmospheric air of all the studied cities co-occurring with seasonal increases in pollen allergen concentrations in the atmospheric air. The South of Russia is characterized by the year-round presence of mold allergens with sporulation peaks in July, August and September. The peak utilization of healthcare services coincided with the maximal concentration of plant pollen and mold spores. The results of comprehensive allergy diagnostic testing suggest that there is a predominance of patients with multisensitization (71%), including sensitization to pollen and mold spore allergens. As a result of the overlapping of the peaks of spreading airborne pollen allergens and mold sporulation, a frequent use of short-acting emergency β2-agonists and more calls for ambulance service are reported. Conclusion: the predominance of patients with multisensitization leads to the development of severe allergic respiratory diseases. Measures of timely management and prevention are needed for such patients. A daily monitoring of sporulation levels and pollen allergens in the air may help to avoid contacts with high concentrations of causative allergens and to implement the necessary preventive measures. The annual aeropalynology monitoring will provide an opportunity to predict allergen concentrations in the atmospheric air during the current year and to develop a statistically significant monitoring model in the future. KEYWORDS: molds, ragweed, aeromycology, aeropalynology, allergens, allergen component testing. FOR CITATION: Ukhanova O.P., Bogomolova E.V., Budnikov P.V. et al. Mycotic risk factors for the development of severe respiratory allergosis in the population of southern Russia. Russian Medical Inquiry. 2023;7(2):65–74 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.32364/2587-6821-2023-7-2-65-74.

Relationship Between Annual Airborne Pollen Levels and Occurrence of Parkinson Disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Myasthenia Gravis, Multiple Sclerosis, Spinocerebellar Degeneration, Huntington’s Disease, Shy-Drager Syndrome, Moyamoya Disease and Creutzfeldt- Jakob Disease Based on the National Registry Database of Specific Intractable Disease in Japan, 1974-2014: A Retrospective Study

Background: In Japan, pollen counts increased between 1977 and 1987, including three peaks (1978- 1980, 1982, 1984-1986) coinciding with triphasic Kawasaki disease (KD) outbreaks. Epidemiological findings have been then extensively accumulated that KD and related specific intractable diseases such as systemic vasculitis, collagen diseases, inflammatory bowel diseases, idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and further various cancers may be correlated to pollen exposure (PE). Methods and results: To elucidate the effects of PE on outbreaks of neurological intractable diseases (NIDs), we evaluated the annual occurrence of disorders in relation to pollen counts using data from a national database. Specifically, we evaluated the occurrence of Parkinson disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Myasthenia Gravis (MG), multiple sclerosis (MS), spinocerebellar degeneration (SCD), Huntington’s disease (HUNTG), Shy-Drager syndrome, moyamoya disease and CreutzfeldtJakob disease (CJD). During 1975–2014, the 1984-86 peak of pollen scatter was the earliest big peak with which simultaneous increase in occurrence of PD, ALS, MG, MS, SCD and HUNTG coincided. Furthermore, simultaneous outbreaks of each NID coincided with subsequent ten peaks of pollen scatter till 2014. Our results showed statistically significant correlations for PD, ALS, MG, MS and SCD between the annual number of newly registered patients (nRPs) in the patient-registry year and annual pollen levels in the same patient-registry year. Significant correlations were also shown between the number of nRPs in the patient-registry year and annual pollen levels measured 3 years (PD), 6 years (PD, MG, MS, MMD), 9 years (PD, MS, MMD, CJD), 14 years (PD, CJD), and 16 years MG, MS, HUNTG and MMD before the patient-registry year. Conclusion: We assume that cumulative effects of PE during a decade or more before the diagnosis of NIDs might possibly trigger onset of NIDs when cumulative effects of PE as environmental stress overwhelmed immunoreactive threshold.

Short-Term Exposure of Dactylis glomerata Pollen to Atmospheric Gaseous Pollutants Is Related to an Increase in IgE Binding in Patients with Grass Pollen Allergies.

The concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and tropospheric ozone (O3) in urban and industrial site atmospheres are considered key factors associated with pollen-related respiratory allergies. This work studies the effects of NO2 and O3 on the protein expression profile and IgE binding in patients with grass allergies to Dactylis glomerata pollen extracts. Pollens were collected during the flowering season and were exposed to NO2 and O3 in a controlled environmental chamber. The amount of soluble protein was examined using the Bradford method, and the protein expression profile and antigenic properties were analysed using the immunoblotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. Our results showed apparent inter-sera differences concerning the number and intensity of IgE reactivity, with the most prominent at bands of 55 kDa, 35, 33, and 13 kDa. In the 13 kDa band, both gases tend to induce an increase in IgE binding, the band at 33 kDa showed a tendency towards a reduction, particularly pollen exposed to O3. Reactive bands at 55 and 35 kDa presented an increase in the IgE binding pattern for all the patient sera samples exposed to NO2, but the samples exposed to O3 showed an increase in some sera and in others a decrease. Regarding the ELISA results, out of the 21 tested samples, only 9 showed a statistically significant increase in total IgE reactivity after pollen exposure to the pollutants. Our study revealed that although airborne pollen allergens might be affected by air pollution, the possible impacts on allergy symptoms might vary depending on the type of pollutant and the patient's sensitisation profile.

Observations from the USA National Phenology Network can be leveraged to model airborne pollen

Observations from the USA National Phenology Network can be leveraged to model airborne pollen

Evaluating User Preferences, Comprehension, and Trust in Apps for Environmental Health Hazards: Qualitative Case Study.

Climate change is projected to increase environmental health hazard risks through fire-related air pollution and increased airborne pollen levels. To protect vulnerable populations, it is imperative that evidence-based and accessible interventions are available. The environmental health app, AirRater, was developed in 2015 in Australia to provide information on multiple atmospheric health hazards in near real time. The app allows users to view local environmental conditions, and input and track their personal symptoms to enable behaviors that protect health in response to environmental hazards. This study aimed to develop insights into users' perceptions of engagement, comprehension, and trust in AirRater to inform the future development of environmental health apps. Specifically, this study explored which AirRater features users engaged with, what additional features or functionality needs users felt they required, users' self-perception of understanding app information, and their level of trust in the information provided. A total of 42 adult AirRater users were recruited from 3 locations in Australia to participate in semistructured interviews to capture location- or context-specific experiences. Participants were notified of the recruitment opportunity through multiple avenues including newsletter articles and social media. Informed consent was obtained before participation, and the participants were remunerated for their time and perspectives. A preinterview questionnaire collected data including age range, any preexisting conditions, and location (postcode). All participant data were deidentified. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis in NVivo 12 (QSR International). Participants discussed app features and functionality, as well as their understanding of, and trust in, the information provided by the app. Most (26/42, 62%) participants used and valued visual environmental hazard features, especially maps, location settings, and hazard alerts. Most (33/42, 78%) found information in the app easy to understand and support their needs, irrespective of their self-reported literacy levels. Many (21/42, 50%) users reported that they did not question the accuracy of the data presented in the app. Suggested enhancements include the provision of meteorological information (eg, wind speed or direction, air pressure, UV rating, and humidity), functionality enhancements (eg, forecasting, additional alerts, and the inclusion of health advice), and clarification of existing information (eg, symptom triggers), including the capacity to download personal summary data for a specified period. Participants' perspectives can inform the future development of environmental health apps. Specifically, participants' insights support the identification of key elements for the optimal development of environmental health app design, including streamlining, capacity for users to customize, use of real time data, visual cues, credibility, and accuracy of data. The results also suggest that, in the future, iterative collaboration between developers, environmental agencies, and users will likely promote better functional design, user trust in the data, and ultimately better population health outcomes.

Advanced CNN Architectures for Pollen Classification: Design and Comprehensive Evaluation

ABSTRACT Allergenic pollen affects the quality of life for over 30% of the European population. Since the treatment efficacy is highly related to the actual exposure to pollen, information about the type and number of airborne pollen grains in real-time is essential for reducing their impact. Therefore, the automation of pollen monitoring has become an important research topic. Our study is focused on the Rapid-E real-time bioaerosol detector. So far, vanilla convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are the only deep architectures evaluated for pollen classification on multi-modal Rapid-E data obtained by exposing collected pollen samples of known classes to the device in a controlled environment. This study contributes to the further development of pollen classification models on Rapid-E data by experimenting with more advanced concepts of CNNs, residual, and inception networks. Our experiments included a comprehensive comparison of different CNN architectures, and obtained results provided valuable insights into which convolutional blocks improve pollen classification. We propose a new model which, coupled with a specific training strategy, improves the current state-of-the-art by reducing its relative error rate by 9%.

Digitally accessible knowledge about airborne pollen data in Spain

Digitally accessible knowledge about airborne pollen data in Spain

Exploring the effects of seasons, diurnal cycle, and heights on airborne pollen load in a Southeast Asian atmospheric condition.

Aeropollen can induce detrimental effects, particularly in respiratory airways. Monitoring local aeropollen is essential for the management of pollen allergic patients in each area. However, without resources for constant monitoring, pollen counts are subjected to biases imposed by the choices of sampling season, time of collection, and location. Therefore, the effects of these factors must be better understood. This study investigated the dynamics of aeropollen types through seasonal variation, diurnal cycle and different heights from the ground in Bangkok, Thailand. Aeropollen samples were collected for 12 months at the Faculty of Science, Mahidol University in Bangkok, using a RotoRod Sampler®. For the investigation of diurnal effect, pollen was collected at 7 a.m., 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m., and 7 p.m. For the study of height effect, data were collected at 2, 10, and 18 meters above ground. This is the first study of the effects of diurnal cycle and height variation on airborne pollen count in Southeast Asia. The results showed the highest concentration of aeropollen was observed in November, which was at the beginning of the northeast monsoon season in Bangkok, whereas the lowest concentration was recorded in July (rainy season). Interestingly, the lowest airborne pollen concentration recorded in July was greater than the high level of most standards. Grass pollen was found as the major aeropollen. The highest total pollen concentration was detected at 1 p.m. The maximum pollen quantity was detected at 10 meters from the ground. However, the total aeropollen concentration was extremely high (>130 grains/m3) at all elevated heights compared to other studies that mostly found at lower height (approximately 1-2 m above ground). The result suggested that pollen concentrations of most pollen types increased as height increased. This study also illustrated the correlation between aeropollen quantity and local meteorological factors. This aeropollen survey reported that pollen concentration and diversity were affected by seasonal variation, diurnal cycle, and height from the ground. Understanding these relationships can help with predictions of aeropollen type and quantity.

Prediction of airborne pollen and sub-pollen particles for thunderstorm asthma outbreaks assessment

When exposed to convective thunderstorm conditions, pollen grains can rupture and release large numbers of allergenic sub-pollen particles (SPPs). These sub-pollen particles easily enter deep into human lungs, causing an asthmatic response named thunderstorm asthma (TA). Up to now, efforts to numerically predict the airborne SPP process and to forecast the occurrence of TAs are unsatisfactory. To overcome this problem, we have developed a physically-based pollen model (DREAM-POLL) with parameterized formation of airborne SPPs caused by convective atmospheric conditions. We ran the model over the Southern Australian grass fields for 2010 and 2016 pollen seasons when four largest decadal TA epidemics happened in Melbourne. One of these TA events (in November 2016) was the worldwide most extreme one which resulted to nine deaths and hundreds of hospital patient presentations. By executing the model on a day-by-day basis in a hindcast real-time mode we predicted SPP peaks exclusively only when the four major TA outbreaks happened, thus achieving a high forecasting success rate. The proposed modelling system can be easily implemented for other geographical domains and for different pollen types.

Metabarcoding airborne pollen from subtropical and temperate eastern Australia over multiple years reveals pollen aerobiome diversity and complexity

eDNA metabarcoding is an emergent tool to inform aerobiome complexity, but few studies have applied this technology with real-world environmental pollen monitoring samples. Here we apply eDNA metabarcoding to assess seasonal and regional differences in the composition of airborne pollen from routine samples collected across successive years. Airborne pollen concentrations over two sampling periods were determined using a continuous flow volumetric impaction air sampler in sub-tropical (Mutdapilly and Rocklea) and temperate (Macquarie Park and Richmond), sites of Australia. eDNA metabarcoding was applied to daily pollen samples collected once per week using the rbcL amplicon. Composition and redundancy analysis of the sequence read counts were examined. The dominant pollen families were mostly consistent between consecutive years but there was some heterogeneity between sites and years for month of peak pollen release. Many more families were detected by eDNA than counted by light microscopy with 211 to 399 operational taxonomic units assigned to family per site from October to May. There were 216 unique and 119 taxa shared between subtropics (27°S) and temperate (33°S) latitudes, with, for example, Poaceae, Myrtaceae and Causurinaceae being shared, and Manihot, Vigna and Aristida being in subtropical, and Ceratodon and Cerastium being in temperate sites. Certain genera were observed within the same location and season over the two years; Chloris at Rocklea in autumn of 2017–18 (0.625, p ≤ 0.004) and 2018–19 (0.55, p ≤ 0.001), and Pinus and Plantago at Macquarie Park in summer of 2017–18 (0.58, p ≤ 0.001 and 0.53, p ≤ 0.003, respectively), and 2018–19 (0.8, p ≤ 0.003 and 0.8, p ≤ 0.003, respectively). eDNA metabarcoding is a powerful tool to survey the complexity of pollen aerobiology and distinguish spatial and temporal profiles of local pollen to a far deeper level than traditional counting methods. However, further research is required to optimise the metabarcode target to enable reliable detection of pollen to genus and species level.

Determining if honey bees (Apis mellifera) collect pollen from anemophilous plants in the UK

Whether insect pollinators use wind-pollinated plants have implications for insect monitoring and conservation strategies in a wide range of environments. Habitats, such as coniferous plantations and arable crops of the Poaceae family are not typically considered priority for the monitoring of insect pollinators or habitat enhancement. Further many pollinator monitoring techniques focus on flowers and do not count insect interactions with wind-pollinated plants. Using two honey bee colonies from distinct environments (urban and rural) in north east England, we investigate the use of wind-pollinated plants over the summer of 2021. We combine honey bee pollen pellet analysis with airborne pollen sampling to investigate whether honey bees use three common wind-pollinated plant groups (Pinus sp., Plantago sp. and Poaceae) that have previously been considered sources of forage. Our results show that honey bees do forage on Plantago and Poaceae pollen, in line with previous studies. However, we show statistically that Pinus pollen is contamination from the atmosphere and not actively collected. It is important to consider airborne contamination before making interpretations based on small amounts of pollen in samples of bee products. The use of members of the Poaceae has implications for insect pollinator monitoring in urban environments, which has not always been considered in past studies.

Risk assessment of pollen allergy in urban environments

According to WHO, by 2050, at least one person out of two will suffer from an allergy disorder resulting from the accelerating air pollution associated with toxic gas emissions and climate change. Airborne pollen, and associated allergies, are major public health topics during the pollination season, and their effects are further strengthened due to climate change. Therefore, assessing the airborne pollen allergy risk is essential for improving public health. This study presents a new computational fluid dynamics methodology for risk assessment of local airborne pollen transport in an urban environment. Specifically, we investigate the local airborne pollen transport from trees on a university campus in the north of France. We produce risk assessment maps for pollen allergy for five consecutive days during the pollination season. The proposed methodology could be extended to larger built-up areas for different weather conditions. The risk assessment maps may also be integrated with smart devices, thus leading to decision-aid tools to better guide and protect the public against airborne pollen allergy.

Expert consensus on diagnosis, treatment and prevention of allergic diseases(Part Ⅲ)

As the third part of the expert consensus on allergic diseases, this article includes efficacy evaluation, characteristics of allergic diseases in special populations, social and economic burden, psychological problems and prevention. The efficacy evaluation methods include symptom score, quality of life score and drug score. Allergic diseases of special populations have unique clinical characteristics and need special attention. The social and economic burden of allergic diseases is becoming heavier, which requires more attention. The three-level prevention of pollinosis can be completed through the "five in one" prevention and control strategies such as local vegetation survey, airborne pollen monitoring, epidemiological survey, standardized training of grassroots medical personnel, science popularization and academic lectures, which is more comprehensive and perfect than the "four in one" treatment strategy.

Conservation of predatory mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) in vineyards by enhancing pollen provisioning

Pollen can be an important alternative food source for generalist phytoseiid mites occurring in vineyards, promoting the persistence of these beneficial mites in prey absence. In three field experiments, we studied the influence of airborne pollen provisioning on the population of generalist phytoseiid mites colonizing vineyards in northeastern Italy. In the first experiment, we investigated whether the presence of predatory mites found in vineyard plots located at increasing distance from hop plants with flowers was correlated with pollen abundance. In the second experiment, cattail pollen was sprayed on the grapevine canopy to evaluate the effect of this food source on predatory mite populations. In a third experiment, we investigated the effect of grass management based on a reduction of mowing frequency on predatory mite populations. Results were published in Malagnini et al. (2022), and showed that the abundance of the predatory mites Amblyseius andersoni, Kampimodromus aberrans, Phytoseius finitimus and Typhlodromus pyri was associated with pollen availability on grapevine leaves. K. aberrans population increases were promoted by hop pollen abundance. Both pollen spray and reduced the frequency of mowing groundcover increased the densities of predatory mite egg and motile stages. Pollen availability positively affected the four phytoseiid species considered here and promoted stable predatory mite populations in vineyards. According to our results, pollen availability could be guaranteed by: hedges with plants having scalar bloom; reducing the frequency of mowing groundcover inter-rows; pollen spray. These practices can be considered in light of biocontrol tactics to conserve predatory mite populations in vineyards. 

Biological-based and remote sensing techniques to link vegetative and reproductive development and assess pollen emission in Mediterranean grasses

Connecting the signals of the vegetative and reproductive cycles of plants using large-scale phenological techniques is not always an easy task, and this complexity increases considerably when analysing the plant life cycle in grasses, due to the ubiquity and diversity of this taxonomic family. This work integrates remote sensing techniques (NDVI from satellite remote sensing data and greenness from near-surface imagery) and biological-based techniques (airborne pollen monitoring and field observations and sampling) to analyse phenological patterns and productivity in grass-dominated vegetation types. We aim to answer two main applied and unanswered questions; i) how are the specific phases of vegetative and reproductive cycles in grasses linked at the species and plant community level? and ii) which grass-dominant habitats are the major contributors of grass pollen emission to the atmosphere at the plant community level? The multi-scale integration and validation of large-scale methods such as satellite remote sensing data and aerobiological monitoring using high-resolution or field phenological techniques is recommended. The results clearly support the hypothesis that the highest rates of grass pollen emission are successively produced when the major grass-dominated vegetation types go through the final phases of vegetative development during their biological senescence or equivalent phases. At the plant community level, natural and semi-natural grass-dominated vegetation types, rather than grass cropland habitats, constitute the major sources of pollen emission. The major contributors to the grass pollen emission at the species level are also identified. Finally, a positive relationship between year-to-year primary productivity (measured as annual sum or maximum NDVI) and pollen production (measured as airborne pollen intensity) was observed at the community level. This is a very timely study, as the availability of remote sensing data is increasing interest in generating enhanced forecasting model of allergenic airborne pollen.

Relationship among airborne pollen, sensitization, and pollen food allergy syndrome in Asian allergic children.

Causes of pediatric pollen food allergy syndrome (PFAS) differ depending on airborne pollen levels in a particular region. We aimed to analyze airborne pollen counts, IgE sensitization rates, and PFAS incidence among children with allergies in South Korea and Japan. This cross-sectional study included children aged 5-17 years with allergies in 2017. Airborne pollen samples were collected from Busan in South Korea, and Fukuoka and Tochigi in Japan. Questionnaires were used to assess bronchial asthma, seasonal allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, food allergy, and PFAS. The serum IgE specific to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, pollen, tomato, and peach were investigated. In total, 57, 56, and 20 patients from Busan, Fukuoka, and Tochigi, respectively, were enrolled. Airborne Japanese cedar and cypress pollen were predominant in Fukuoka and Tochigi, whereas pine and alder pollen were predominant in Busan. Children with allergies in Fukuoka and Tochigi had a significantly higher sensitization rate to Japanese cedar, cypress, juniper, orchard grass, ragweed, Japanese hop, and tomato compared with children in Busan. In Fukuoka and Tochigi, where Japanese cedar and cypress pollen were frequently scattered, high sensitizations among allergic children were observed. The sensitization rate was not affected by the pollen count in alder, grass, ragweed, and Japanese hop. In multivariable analysis, only alder sensitization was found to be associated with PFAS (odds ratio: 6.62, 95% confidence interval: 1.63-26.87, p = 0.008). In patients with PFAS in Busan and Tochigi, peach associated with birch allergen Bet v 1 was a causative food item for PFAS. Moreover, PFAS was associated with ragweed and Japanese hop pollen sensitization in Fukuoka. Regardless of pollen counts, alder pollen sensitization was associated with PFAS in children. Ragweed and Japanese hop pollen sensitization were associated with PFAS, particularly among children in southern Japan.

SICK BUILDING SYNDROME: HOW IS IT AFFECTED BY AIRBORNE POLLEN, INDOOR AND OUTDOOR POLLUTANTS?

<h3>Introduction</h3> The Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) is defined as symptoms experienced by occupants of specific indoor environments. Other factors may influence this syndrome such as indoor and outdoor pollutants. The aim of the study was to determine the association of the clinical manifestations of the SBS with pollen, indoor and outdoor pollutants in the home environment. <h3>Methods</h3> It was an observational, transversal and descriptive study that was performed from November 2021 to April 2022. It included subjects >18 years old who completed an online survey regarding SBS (general symptoms, nasal, eye, oropharyngeal and skin symptoms) presented at home, housing information and personal history. Pollen Sense SensorÒ was used for airborne pollen data and the local pollution monitoring system for pollutant information. Ethics committee approval: AL21-00015. SPSS version 24 was used for statistical analysis. <h3>Results</h3> A total of 402 surveys were included; 91% of subjects reported having at least 1 symptom, fatigue (74.6%) was the most frequent. Humidity at home was associated to nasal, eye and cutaneous symptoms (p<0.001). Presence of cats was associated to nasal and eye symptoms (p=0.028). Smoking (p=0.045), allergy history (p<0.001) and living in an apartment (p=0.006) were related to nasal symptoms. Headache was associated with exposure to high levels of <i>Fraxinus</i> pollen (p=0.019). Nitrogen oxides (NOx) presented a p=0.05 with eye and nasal symptoms. PM10 were related to cutaneous symptoms and itchy scalp at levels of 67.5 µg/m3. <h3>Conclusion</h3> SBS was associated with airborne pollen, indoor and outdoor pollutants. Humidity represents a risk factor for the development of SBS symptoms.

Genotypic and environmental effect on male flower production in Cupressus sempervirens clones and selection of genotypes with reduced pollen emission.

Common cypress (Cupressus sempervirens L.) is widespread in the Mediterranean area and is frequently planted as ornamental tree in parks and gardens. Like other species of Cupressus, common cypress releases a significant amount of the total annual airborne pollen in most regions and is known as responsible for winter pollinosis. Although variation in the production and release of pollen has been observed among C. sempervirens trees growing in urban areas, no information is available on effects due to genotype × environment interaction on this trait. In this study more than 150 C. sempervirens clones were analyzed for two to four consecutive years in clonal orchards situated in central Italy to evaluate variations in the production of male cones. Variance component ANOVA underscored an important genetic control of male flowering, with high repeatability (from 0.80 to 0.95) found in single environments. Analysis for combined sites or years (in a single site) showed significant effect of environment and genotype × environment interaction on the total variance. Intra-trait genetic correlations between environments were moderate to high (from 0.40 to 0.92), which indicates that male cone production of clones is fairly consistent across years and sites. Of the 10 clones characterized by the lowest mean male cone production, three showed good stability across environments based on the linear regression coefficient and Wricke's ecovalence. The mean cone production of these 10 clones was 5 to 10 times lower than the mean production observed in the same environment. These clones have both ornamental and hypoallergenic traits and hold promise for designing green spaces with low allergy impact.

PILOT STUDY OF MODIFIED ROTATING ARM IMPACTOR FOR USE IN AEROBIOLOGICAL STUDIES

<h3>Introduction</h3> Utilized in aerobiological studies, the Rotarod Sampler (IQVIA) remains the gold standard in determining volumetric ambient airborne pollen concentration. However, utilization comes at the cost of high energy consumption, start-up and maintenance fees, and variable air patterns generated by rotating I-rods. We present a prototype to address the aforementioned issues: a battery-powered rotating arm impactor utilizing slides as opposed to rods. <h3>Methods</h3> The Rotorod Sampler Model 40 and prototype were situated in the same area and height, equipped with two rods and two slides coated with silicone grease, respectively. 7 atmospheric samples were collected and counted at various intervals over an 18-day period in June 2022, and directly compared. <h3>Results</h3> The prototype was created using 3D printing, with a 24 × 24 -millimeter exposure of each slide for sample collection. The prototype's speed was set at 10 revolutions per minute (RPM), while the Rotarod Sampler was set at 2400 rpm and utilized standard 31 × 1-millimeter sampler rods. Prototype battery needed to be replaced on days 2 and 18, and consequently may have impacted results. Mean pollen count and standard deviation of Rotarod Sampler was 124.2 and 40, and 23.4 and 10.6 for the prototype. The correlation coefficient was 0.61, signifying moderate positive association between pollen counts obtained from the Rotarod Sampler and prototype. <h3>Conclusion</h3> Though our prototype has a larger surface area, it collected significantly less pollen than the Rotarod Sampler. A moderate correlation between the two devices was observed, though increases in the RPM of the prototype should be considered for future evaluation.