Description: Important sources of chemical and biological indoor pollutants include outdoor air, the human body and human activities, emission from materials, furnishings, appliances and use of commodities. The main purpose of this study was to identify culturable indoor airborne bacteria in normal and dust event days in indoor environments of a school, a hospital and a university in Ahvaz city, which individuals such as children, teenagers, adolescences and old people had activity there. Samples were collected using the biostage sampler, an Andersen-based method, with a flow rate of 28.3 l/min, from July 2010 to March 2011. Temperature and humidity were measured and registered in each time of sampling. The identification of bacteria was performed to genus level by using appropriate methods and standard biochemical tests. Gram-positive bacteria in both normal and dust event days with more than 90 % had the highest concentration and frequency. Predominant bacteria in normal and dust event days were Staphylococcus spp. (72.9, 87.9 %), Streptomyces spp. (60.9, 62.1 %), Bacillus spp. (94, 89 %) and Micrococcus spp. (65.4, 71.2 %), respectively. The highest concentrations of bacteria in normal and dust event days were in winter. The range of bacteria in normal and dust event days were 0–4,800 and 210–10,000 cfu/m 3 , respectively. There was a significant difference between the concentration of bacteria in normal and dust event days ( p  = 0.001) and also a significant association was found between the concentration of total bacteria with temperature and humidity ( p  〈 0.05). The concentration of bacteria in dust event days was 1.8 times higher than normal days. Consequently, the concentrations of bacteria in all three sampling sites were higher in dust event days than normal days indicating the impact of dust storms on increased bacterial concentration in indoor environment.

Description: Identification and characterization of viable culturable bacteria (VCB) associated with soils from Africa and the Americas are significant for environmental and battlefield security. Such analyses are scarce, and their evaluation using traditional microbiological methods does not fully elucidate the structure and chemotaxonomic characteristics of the microbial community. In this study, matrix-assisted laser desorption time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), spectrometry in addition to 16S rRNA sequencing, and diversity indices were employed to characterize VCB and their associated biomarkers. Nineteen genera were identified across all sample locations, but only four ( Bacillus , Brevibacillus , Paenibacillus, and Terribacillus ) confirmed by ClustalW2 as being 98–99 % similar among locations. Further evaluation of soils showed bacterial diversity ( H ) of (1.0–8.4), evenness ( E H ), (0.14–0.72), similarity ( Sj ), (0.0–0.38), and cfu/g soil (2.5 × 10 1 –2.2 × 10 7 ). Analysis of representative bacteria using MALDI-TOF MS identified biomarkers for the genera Bacillus at m/z 6,778 (75 %), 9,437 (100 %); Brevibacillus , m/z 7,381 (86 %); Paenibacillus , 5,473 (63 %); and Terribacillus , 4,517, 6,532, 7,574 (67 %). Peptide mass fingerprinting of biomarkers identified partial peptide maps for several potential virulence factors such as hemagglutinin from a Brevibacillus spp. The data indicate an east (Sudan) to west (Jamaica; Mexico; Washington, DC; Baltimore) trend of potentially pathogenic endospore-forming bacteria.

Description: Airborne pollen distribution in Antalya was measured volumetrically during 2 consecutive years, 2008 and 2009. A total of 30,497 pollen grains/m 3 belonging to 44 taxa were recorded annually during the study period. Among the taxa recorded, 27 belonged to arboreal (88.29 %) and 17 to non-arboreal taxa (11.53 %). Seven plant taxa taken as predominant pollen types with the greatest influence in the atmosphere, Cupressaceae/Taxaceae (38.33 %), Pinus (24.18 %), Olea europaea (6.86 %), Morus (5.17 %), Poaceae (4.88 %), Platanus (4.66 %) and Quercus (4.58 %), showed maximum pollen distribution in the atmosphere. The season of maximum pollen concentration was from February to May, with a high prevalence of arboreal pollen grains.

Description: A diverse variety of microorganisms comprising bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoa and algae are found in the atmosphere. They have various implications in the environment and on the health aspects in living organisms. The spatial distribution and their prevalence is affected by climatic changes and other natural processes including human activities. Although bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoa and algae have been well studied, research in the area of airborne algae appears to be limited indicating that airborne algae are the least studied organisms in both aerobiological and phycological research. The main focus in the studies carried out so far include an analysis of diversity of airborne algae in different climatic conditions, at a particular locality or in different geographical regions. Few available studies review the allergenicity of the airborne algae to humans and/or its possible role in the ecosystem(s). Therefore, in this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of research carried out so far on airborne algae and suggest future research directions for fulfilling the existing gaps based on our understanding of the literature in this area of phycological research.

Description: The aim of the study was to determine functional relationships between composition of air spora and meteorological factors, using multivariate statistical technique: canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Analyses were conducted for the data collected during the 4 year (2007–2010) and, in order to show the dynamics of such relationships, for each year separately. The CCA results indicated that all statistically significant variables accounted for 15.3 % of the total variance in the spore data in the 4 years. The largest amount of the total variance was explained in this period by the mean air temperature (9.2 %). The meteorological factors impacted spore composition differently in different years, when analysis was done for each year separately. The highest values of the total variance in the spore data, explained by the statistically significant variables, were found in 2010 (32.3 %), with the highest contribution of mean air temperature (23.8 %). In that year, the above-mentioned parameter had the lowest value in comparison to other years. Canonical correspondence analysis provides not only a comprehensive assessment of the impact of meteorological factors on specific spore combinations in the air, but also informative graphical presentations of the results, illustrating the correlation between the occurrence of particular spore taxa and meteorological variables.

Description: Bioaerosol concentrations and deposition were monitored at the edge of a dairy manure application site in northern New York State. Total bacteria, fecal indicator bacteria ( Enterococcus spp. and Escherichia coli ), and select bacterial pathogens ( Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., and E. coli O157:H7) were measured in the manure and air by real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). The 8-h average bacterial air concentration measured by liquid impingement following manure application was 7.89 × 10 5  copies m −3 , one order of magnitude greater than mean background measurements (6.35 × 10 4  copies m −3 ; n  = 6). Eight-hour ambient concentration of Enterococcus spp. was 1.54 × 10 4  copies m −3 ; E. coli and pathogens were less than their respective limits of detection. The measured deposition flux of bacteria was 1.08 × 10 3  copies m −2  s −1 , corresponding to bulk deposition velocity of 0.15 cm s −1 . Using inverse dispersion modeling with the US Environmental Protection Agency’s AERMOD, the emission of bacteria from the manure-amended field was estimated to be 1.27 × 10 5  copies m −2  s −1 . AERMOD was also used to model downwind bioaerosol concentrations; the greatest modeled 8-h average downwind bacteria concentrations were 8.00 × 10 5  copies m −3 above background at 100 m and 3.95 × 10 3  copies m −3 above background at 1,000 m. Potential health risks associated with these bioaerosols were estimated by quantitative microbial risk assessment based on AERMOD results using measured pathogen concentrations in land-applied manure and emission rate estimates for total bacteria. Median risks of infection over an 8-h exposure period were 1:500 at 100 m and 1:100,000 at 1,000 m; peak risks (95th percentile) were 1:250 and 1:50,000, respectively.

Description: Allergy is a public health problem that affects a significant part of the population. In Europe, pollen allergy is the most common form of seasonal allergic respiratory disease, and in Western Europe, nearly 20 % of the population currently suffers from an allergy to pollen (Thibaudon et al. in Rev Mal Respir 30(6):463–479, 2013 ). Epidemiological studies conducted in Europe and other parts of the world in the late twentieth century show that allergic diseases (i.e. rhinoconjunctivitis, asthma, eczema) have almost tripled in the last 30 years. In order to measure the exposure of the European population to allergenic pollen, networks of pollen monitoring sites have been set up using standardised techniques. Hirst-type volumetric spore traps are routinely used to capture airborne pollen. The biological particles are impacted onto a transparent strip that is coated with an adhesive. However, due to regulations, some products are prohibited and are no longer produced, as is the case of carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 ) commonly used as an adhesive. In this study, we examined the impaction efficiency of CCl 4 and diethyl ether ((C 2 H 5 ) 2 O) over several weeks. The results show that there is no significant difference between the two silicone solvents and that diethyl ether may replace CCl 4 for coating the tape.

Description: To account for the heterogeneous distribution of airborne microbes, we tested a modified impaction sampling protocol to facilitate repeated samplings throughout an extended sampling duration and flexibility in downstream analyses. Tests of the ability of four buffered agars showed that peptone-phosphate agar most effectively supported bacteria viability for multiple days. A novel, periodic sampling protocol (10 min h −1 for 6 h) was developed and included placing a nitrocellulose membrane onto the buffered agar prior to the sampling, which was processed for bacteria enumeration (cell extraction and dilution plating) and assemblage analyses (deoxyribonucleic acid extraction, polymerase chain reaction, and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis (DGGE)). Among three indoor locations, a significantly greater density of bacteria was detected following periodic sampling (81 CFU m −3 ) than traditional, continuous sampling onto tryptic soy agar (54 CFU m −3 ; p  = 0.037). The temporal dynamics of bacteria densities were assessed and showed that densities ranged from 34 to 86 CFU m −3 air and varied significantly throughout the three corridor locations ( p  = 0.0006) and through time ( p  〈 0.05). DGGE fingerprinting revealed that periodic and continuous samplings resulted in an average of 30 and 19 bands per fingerprint, respectively ( p  〈 0.040), indicating that periodic sampling revealed a greater portion of the overall airborne bacteria assemblage than continuous sampling. Overall, compared with traditional sampling, modifications to the impaction protocol allowed detection of a significantly greater number of bacteria, as well as the potential for simultaneous culture-dependent and culture-independent analyses.

Description: Airborne pollen emission model was used to determine pollen metrics and to examine their relationship with vineyard phenology in two wine regions of Northern Portugal: Vinhos Verdes (1993–2007) and Douro (1992–2011). A number of airborne pollen metrics were obtained through the rate of changes of logistic model adjusted to the time series of airborne pollen. In both regions, the mean absolute differences between observed phenology and model-predicted values for start, peak and final of flowering phenophases were always lower than 5 days and the slope of the regression through the origin is close to one. These metrics can be used to accurately and precisely predict the dynamic of Vitis flowering observed at field level. The model’s simplicity and flexibility are of great advantage for its practical use in aerobiology.

Description: The aim of the study was to compare the content of ergosterol in different microorganisms (bacteria, yeasts and moulds) isolated from the air as well as in six species of moulds in their different morphological forms—live mycelium, dead mycelium, and spores. Evaluation of the level of mould contamination of the air in various places using culture method and ergosterol determination was also performed. The analysis of ergosterol was carried out by gas chromatography equipped with flame ionisation detector. For evaluation of the results, analysis of variance and multiple comparison test were used. The quantity of ergosterol in the spores of various species of mould was in the range 1.9–9.4 pg/spore. The presence of yeasts and bacteria in the air does not significantly affect ergosterol concentration, in view of the low content of that sterol in their cells (max. 0.009 pg/cell for bacteria and 0.39 pg/cell for yeast). An ergosterol concentration above 1 ng per m 3 can be considered an indicator of excessive mould contamination of indoor air. Based on determination of ergosterol in the air of mouldy rooms the result obtained may be compared with the culture method, due to the 1,000 times higher concentration of ergosterol in the mycelium compared with spores. However, in the analysis of outdoor air, in view of the presence of mould mainly in the form of spores and the degradation of ergosterol by UV radiation, analysis of that compound may indicate a lower level of contamination compared with the culture method.