Urban aerobiological risk mapping of ornamental trees using a new index based on LiDAR and Kriging: A case study of plane trees.

Ornamental trees bring benefits for human health, including reducing urban pollution. However, some species, such as plane trees (Platanus sp.), produce allergenic pollen. Consequently, urban maps are a valuable tool for allergic patients and allergists, but they often fail to include variables that contribute to the "building downwash effect", such as the width and shape of streets and the height of buildings. Other factors that directly influence pollen dispersion (slopes and other geographical features) also have not traditionally been discussed. The LiDAR (Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) technique enables one to consider these variables with high accuracy. This work proposes an Aerobiological Index to create Risk maps for Ornamental Trees (AIROT) and the establishment of potential areas of risk of exposure to Platanus pollen. LiDAR data from five urban areas were used to create the DEM and DSM (Digital Elevation and Surface Models) needed to perform further analysis. GIS software was used to map the points for each city and to create risk maps by Kriging, with stable (3 cases) and exponential function (2 cases) as the optimal models. In short, the AIROT index was a useful tool to map possible biological risks in cities. Since AIROT allows each city to consider its own characteristics, including geographical specifications, by using remote sensing and geostatistics techniques, the establishment of risk maps and healthy itineraries is valuable for allergic patients, allergists, architects and urban planners. This new aerobiological index provides a new decision-making tool related to urban planning and allergenicity assessment.

Precise Pollen Grain Detection in Bright Field Microscopy Using Deep Learning Techniques.

The determination of daily concentrations of atmospheric pollen is important in the medical and biological fields. Obtaining pollen concentrations is a complex and time-consuming task for specialized personnel. The automatic location of pollen grains is a handicap due to the high complexity of the images to be processed, with polymorphic and clumped pollen grains, dust, or debris. The purpose of this study is to analyze the feasibility of implementing a reliable pollen grain detection system based on a convolutional neural network architecture, which will be used later as a critical part of an automated pollen concentration estimation system. We used a training set of 251 videos to train our system. As the videos record the process of focusing the samples, this system makes use of the 3D information presented by several focal planes. Besides, a separate set of 135 videos (containing 1234 pollen grains of 11 pollen types) was used to evaluate detection performance. The results are promising in detection (98.54% of recall and 99.75% of precision) and location accuracy (0.89 IoU as the average value). These results suggest that this technique can provide a reliable basis for the development of an automated pollen counting system.

Relationship of NDVI and oak (Quercus) pollen including a predictive model in the SW Mediterranean region.

Techniques of remote sensing are being used to develop phenological studies. Our goal is to study the correlation among the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) related with oak trees included in three set data polygons (15, 25 and 50 km to aerobiological sampling point as NDVI-15, 25 and 50), and oak (Quercus) daily average pollen counts from 1994 to 2013. The study was developed in the SW Mediterranean region with continuous pollen recording within the mean pollen season of each studied year. These pollen concentrations were compared with NDVI values in the locations containing the vegetation under a study based on two cartographic sources: the Extremadura Forest Map (MFEx) of Spain and the Fifth National Forest Inventory (IFN5) from Portugal. The importance of this work is to propose the relationship among data related in space and time by Spearman and Granger causality tests. 9 out of 20 studied years have shown significant results with the Granger causality test between NDVI and pollen concentration, and in 12 years, significant values were obtained by Spearman test. The distances of influence on the contribution of Quercus pollen to the sampler showed statistically significant results depending on the year. Moreover, a predictive model by using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) was applied with better results in NDVI25 than for NDVI15 or NDVI50. The addition of NDVI25 with the lag of 5 days and some weather parameters in the model was applied with a RMSE of 4.26 (Spearman coefficient r = 0.77) between observed and predicted values. Based on these results, NDVI seems to be a useful parameter to predict airborne pollen.

Near-ground effect of height on pollen exposure.

The effect of height on pollen concentration is not well documented and little is known about the near-ground vertical profile of airborne pollen. This is important as most measuring stations are on roofs, but patient exposure is at ground level. Our study used a big data approach to estimate the near-ground vertical profile of pollen concentrations based on a global study of paired stations located at different heights. We analyzed paired sampling stations located at different heights between 1.5 and 50 m above ground level (AGL). This provided pollen data from 59 Hirst-type volumetric traps from 25 different areas, mainly in Europe, but also covering North America and Australia, resulting in about 2,000,000 daily pollen concentrations analyzed. The daily ratio of the amounts of pollen from different heights per location was used, and the values of the lower station were divided by the higher station. The lower station of paired traps recorded more pollen than the higher trap. However, while the effect of height on pollen concentration was clear, it was also limited (average ratio 1.3, range 0.7-2.2). The standard deviation of the pollen ratio was highly variable when the lower station was located close to the ground level (below 10 m AGL). We show that pollen concentrations measured at >10 m are representative for background near-ground levels.

Airborne Alternaria and Cladosporium fungal spores in Europe: Forecasting possibilities and relationships with meteorological parameters.

Airborne fungal spores are prevalent components of bioaerosols with a large impact on ecology, economy and health. Their major socioeconomic effects could be reduced by accurate and timely prediction of airborne spore concentrations. The main aim of this study was to create and evaluate models of Alternaria and Cladosporium spore concentrations based on data on a continental scale. Additional goals included assessment of the level of generalization of the models spatially and description of the main meteorological factors influencing fungal spore concentrations. Aerobiological monitoring was carried out at 18 sites in six countries across Europe over 3 to 21 years depending on site. Quantile random forest modelling was used to predict spore concentrations. Generalization of the Alternaria and Cladosporium models was tested using (i) one model for all the sites, (ii) models for groups of sites, and (iii) models for individual sites. The study revealed the possibility of reliable prediction of fungal spore levels using gridded meteorological data. The classification models also showed the capacity for providing larger scale predictions of fungal spore concentrations. Regression models were distinctly less accurate than classification models due to several factors, including measurement errors and distinct day-to-day changes of concentrations. Temperature and vapour pressure proved to be the most important variables in the regression and classification models of Alternaria and Cladosporium spore concentrations. Accurate and operational daily-scale predictive models of bioaerosol abundances contribute to the assessment and evaluation of relevant exposure and consequently more timely and efficient management of phytopathogenic and of human allergic diseases.

Assessing allergenicity in urban parks: A nature-based solution to reduce the impact on public health.

Urban parks play a key role in the provision of ecosystem services, actively participating in improving the quality of life and welfare of local residents. This paper reports on the application of an index designed to quantify the allergenicity of urban parks in a number of Spanish cities. The index, which records biological and biometric parameters for the tree species growing there, classifies parks in terms of the risk they pose for allergy sufferers, graded as null, low, moderate or high. In this initial phase, the index was applied to 26 green areas in 24 Spanish cities; green areas varied in type (urban park, historical or modern garden, boulevard, square or urban forest), size 1-100 ha), geographical location, species richness, number of trees and tree density (number of trees / ha.). The data obtained were used to calculate the percentage of allergenic species in each park, which varied between 17-67%; density ranged from 100 to 300 trees/ha. The index values recorded ranged from a minimum of .07 to a maximum of .87; a significant correlation was found between index value and both number of trees and tree density. Taking an index value of .30 as the threshold considered sufficient to trigger allergy symptoms in the sensitive population, 12 of the parks studied may be regarded as unhealthy at any time of the year. Corrective measures to mitigate the impact of pollen emissions include the implementation of nature-based solutions at various levels: planning and design, handling and management, and strengthening of urban green-infrastructure elements. The index proved to be a useful tool for environmental analysis, and complies with the principles of portability and scalability central to current and horizon scientific research.

Airborne Quercus pollen in SW Spain: Identifying favourable conditions for atmospheric transport and potential source areas.

The pollen grains of Quercus spp. (oak trees) are allergenic. This study investigates airborne Quercus pollen in SW Spain with the aim identifying favourable conditions for atmospheric transport and potential sources areas. Two types of Quercus distribution maps were produced. Airborne Quercus pollen concentrations were measured at three sites located in the Extremadura region (SW Spain) for 3 consecutive years. The seasonal occurrence of Quercus pollen in the air was investigated, as well as days with pollen concentrations ≥80Pm(-3). The distance that Quercus pollen can be transported in appreciable numbers was calculated using clusters of back trajectories representing the air mass movement above the source areas (oak woodlands), and by using a state-of-the-art dispersion model. The two main potential sources of Quercus airborne pollen captured in SW Spain are Q. ilex subsp. ballota and Q. suber. The minimum distances between aerobiological stations and Quercus woodlands have been estimated as: 40km (Plasencia), 66km (Don Benito), 62km (Zafra) from the context of this study. Daily mean Quercus pollen concentration can exceed 1,700Pm(-3), levels reached not less than 24 days in a single year. High Quercus pollen concentration were mostly associated with moderate wind speed events (6-10ms(-1)), whereas that a high wind speed (16-20ms(-1)) seems to be associated with low concentrations.

Regional forecast model for the Olea pollen season in Extremadura (SW Spain).

The olive tree (Olea europaea) is a predominantly Mediterranean anemophilous species. The pollen allergens from this tree are an important cause of allergic problems. Olea pollen may be relevant in relation to climate change, due to the fact that its flowering phenology is related to meteorological parameters. This study aims to investigate airborne Olea pollen data from a city on the SW Iberian Peninsula, to analyse the trends in these data and their relationships with meteorological parameters using time series analysis. Aerobiological sampling was conducted from 1994 to 2013 in Badajoz (SW Spain) using a 7-day Hirst-type volumetric sampler. The main Olea pollen season lasted an average of 34 days, from May 4th to June 7th. The model proposed to forecast airborne pollen concentrations, described by one equation. This expression is composed of two terms: the first term represents the resilience of the pollen concentration trend in the air according to the average concentration of the previous 10 days; the second term was obtained from considering the actual pollen concentration value, which is calculated based on the most representative meteorological variables multiplied by a fitting coefficient. Due to the allergenic characteristics of this pollen type, it should be necessary to forecast its short-term prevalence using a long record of data in a city with a Mediterranean climate. The model obtained provides a suitable level of confidence to forecast Olea airborne pollen concentration.

Temporal modelling and forecasting of the airborne pollen of Cupressaceae on the southwestern Iberian Peninsula.

Cupressaceae includes species cultivated as ornamentals in the urban environment. This study aims to investigate airborne pollen data for Cupressaceae on the southwestern Iberian Peninsula over a 21-year period and to analyse the trends in these data and their relationship with meteorological parameters using time series analysis. Aerobiological sampling was conducted from 1993 to 2013 in Badajoz (SW Spain). The main pollen season for Cupressaceae lasted, on average, 58 days, ranging from 55 to 112 days, from 24 January to 22 March. Furthermore, a short-term forecasting model has been developed for daily pollen concentrations. The model proposed to forecast the airborne pollen concentration is described by one equation. This expression is composed of two terms: the first term represents the pollen concentration trend in the air according to the average concentration of the previous 10 days; the second term is obtained from considering the actual pollen concentration value, which is calculated based on the most representative meteorological parameters multiplied by a fitting coefficient. Temperature was the main meteorological factor by its influence over daily pollen forecast, being the rain the second most important factor. This model represents a good approach to a continuous balance model of Cupressaceae pollen concentration and is supported by a close agreement between the observed and predicted mean concentrations. The novelty of the proposed model is the analysis of meteorological parameters that are not frequently used in Aerobiology.

Potential sources of airborne Alternaria spp. spores in South-west Spain.

Fungi belonging to the genus of Alternaria are recognised as being significant plant pathogens, and Alternaria allergens are one of the most important causes of respiratory allergic diseases in Europe. This study aims to provide a detailed and original analysis of Alternaria transport dynamics in Badajoz, SW Spain. This was achieved by examining daily mean and hourly observations of airborne Alternaria spores recorded during days with high airborne concentrations of Alternaria spores (>100 s m(-3)) from 2009 to 2011, as well as four inventory maps of major Alternaria habitats, the overall synoptic weather situation and analysis of air mass transport using Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model and geographic information systems. Land use calculated within a radius of 100 km from Badajoz shows that crops and grasslands are potentially the most important local sources of airborne Alternaria spores recorded at the site. The results of back trajectory analysis show that, during the examined four episodes, the two main directions where Alternaria source areas were located were: (1) SW-W; and (2) NW-NE. Regional scale and long distance transport could therefore supplement the airborne catch recorded at Badajoz with Alternaria conidia originating from sources such as crops and orchards situated in other parts of the Iberian Peninsula.

Identification of potential sources of airborne Olea pollen in the Southwest Iberian Peninsula.

This study aims to determine the potential origin of Olea pollen recorded in Badajoz in the Southwest of the Iberian Peninsula during 2009-2011. This was achieved using a combination of daily average and diurnal (hourly) airborne Olea pollen counts recorded at Badajoz (south-western Spain) and Évora (south-eastern Portugal), an inventory of olive groves in the studied area and air mass trajectory calculations computed using the HYSPLIT model. Examining olive pollen episodes at Badajoz that had distinctly different diurnal cycles in olive pollen in relation to the mean, allowed us to identify three different scenarios where olive pollen can be transported to the city from either distant or nearby sources during conditions with slow air mass movements. Back trajectory analysis showed that olive pollen can be transported to Badajoz from the West on prevailing winds, either directly or on slow moving air masses, and from high densities of olive groves situated to the Southeast (e.g. Andalucía). Regional scale transport of olive pollen can result in increased nighttime concentrations of this important aeroallergen. This could be particularly important in Mediterranean countries where people can be outdoors during this time due to climate and lifestyle. Such studies that examine sources and the atmospheric transport of pollen are valuable for allergy sufferers and health care professionals because the information can be incorporated into forecasts, the outputs of which are used for avoiding exposure to aeroallergens and planning medication. The results of studies of this nature can also be used for examining gene flow in this important agricultural crop.

Airborne spores of Basidiomycetes in Mérida (SW Spain).

The aim of this work was to detect the presence of Basidiomycetes spores (basidiospores, teliospores, uredospores and aeciospores) in Mérida (SW Spain) and assess the influence of weather parameters. Air was sampled continuously with a volumetric seven-day Burkard spore trap for two years. Fungi spores were identified and counted at x1,000 microscope resolution. Daily and weekly meteorological data and airborne spore concentration were analysed. Twenty-three spores types were identified, including basidiospores (Amanita, Agrocybe, Cortinarius, Coprinus -2 types-, Boletus, Bovista, Calvatia, Entoloma, Ganoderma, Inocybe, Russula, Scleroderma, Telephora), teliospores (Phragmidium, Tilletia, Ustillago -4 types-), uredospores, and aeciospores (2 types), all of these types of spores included different taxa. Average concentration was of 616 spores/m(3), with maximum concentration in autumn (October), and a second concentration in spring (May-June); however, some spore types were more frequent in summer (Bovista, Ganoderma) or even in winter (Entoloma, Calvatia). The Amanita type was the most frequent (white-hyaline basidiospores); the second were teliospores of Ustilago, the third spore type was basidiospores of Coprinus (blackish basidiospores) and Agrocybe type (smoothed light to dark coloured basidiospores). Basidiospore concentration was positively correlated with temperature and negatively with relative humidity in most cases, and Ustilago teliospores concentration was positively correlated with wind speed. Differences in monthly rain were probably the origin between years. Airborne spores of Basidiomycetes may be separated into more than 20 types, and their seasonal concentration depended on meteorology as well as whether they were saprotrophic or parasitic.

Monitorización de la presencia de hongos en el interior de un hospital / Monitoring the occurrence of indoor fungi in a hospital

Antecedentes. No existen protocolos estandarizados para el muestreo de hongos en interiores. Por esta causa es complicada la comparación de resultados a partir de diferentes estudios o la evaluación de los efectos de la presencia de hongos en los interiores de los edificios y en sus ocupantes. Objetivos. El objetivo del presente trabajo ha sido contribuir al conocimiento de la presencia de propágulos fúngicos aerovagantes en un hospital teniendo en cuenta diferentes factores ambientales. Métodos. Para analizar las causas potenciales de la aparición de hongos en el interior de un hospital durante dos años se han utilizado dos captadores aerobiológicos portátiles, uno para la captura y registro de propágulos fúngicos sobre una superficie adhesiva y otro sobre placas de Petri con agar Sabouraud con cloranfenicol como medio de cultivo. El muestreo se realizó en cuatro lugares del interior (dos en la planta baja y dos en la tercera planta, en cada caso se incluyó una habitación cerrada y una sala de espera) y uno en el exterior. Se estudiaron los siguientes factores: estación del año, condiciones meteorológicas, número de personas presentes en las salas de espera, el grado de aislamiento de los lugares de interior y la existencia de obras en el exterior y en las dos plantas. Se realizaron 60 muestreos de 10 minutos de duración, semanalmente en primavera (24 muestreos) y quincenalmente el resto del año (36 muestreos). Resultados. Se obtuvieron 2456 unidades formadoras de colonias (UFC), con una concentración promedio de 107UFC/m3 en el exterior y 24UFC/m3 en el interior. En el caso de los propágulos se contaron un total de 35330, con una concentración promedio de 2473 propágulos/m3 en el exterior y 790 propágulos/m3 en el interior. Se encontró una correlación positiva estadísticamente significativa entre el número de personas en una de las salas de espera y la presencia de hongos. La aparición de hongos en las habitaciones de ambas plantas apareció positivamente correlacionada con los niveles de hongos en el exterior. La presencia de hongos en el exterior mostró un patrón estacional con valores más elevados en verano; sin embargo, en el interior, los picos de concentración aparecieron en primavera y otoño. Las obras en el exterior afectaron a la presencia de propágulos en el interior pero no de colonias fúngicas. Conclusiones. La presencia de hongos en el interior del hospital fue independiente de las condiciones meteorológicas y del grado de aislamiento de los lugares seleccionados, pero se apreció una correlación con la estación y el número de personas en la sala de espera de la tercera planta. Los trabajos del exterior parecen haber tenido influencia en la presencia de propágulos del interior, aunque la estacionalidad podría enmascarar estos efectos(AU)

Background. There is a lack of standardized protocols for assessing the presence of indoor fungi. It is thus difficult to compare results from different studies or to measure the effect of indoor fungal presence on occupants. Aims. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the presence of airborne fungal propagules within a hospital taking into account the influence of environmental factors. Methods. The study was conducted in a hospital over a period of two years. Two portable aerobiological samplers were used: one capturing propagules onto a sticky surface, and the other onto a culture medium consisting of Sabouraud dextrose agar in Petri dishes, supplemented with chloramphenicol. Sampling was performed indoors at four sites (two on the ground floor and two on the third floor, each consisting of an open ward and a closed room). Samples were also taken outdoors. The following factors were considered for fungus occurrence: season, weather conditions, number of people present in the wards, the insulation of the indoor sites and the existence of construction works on the two floors. We carried out 60 ten-minute samples, weekly during the spring (24 samples), and fortnightly for the rest of the year (36 samples). Results. A total of 2456 colony forming units (CFU) were obtained, with mean propagule concentrations of 107CFU/m3 outdoors and 24CFU/m3 indoors. 35330 counts were recorded for propagules. The mean concentrations were 2473 propagules/m3 outdoors and 790 indoors. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between the number of people in one of the wards and fungus occurrence, and the occurrence in both ground floor and third floor rooms was positively correlated with outdoor levels. These showed a seasonal pattern with peaks in summer. Indoors, however, the peaks appeared in spring and autumn. Outdoor construction activities affected the propagule loads but not the number of CFU. Conclusions. The indoor fungus occurrence in the hospital was independent of meteorological conditions and of insulation from outside of the indoor sites selected, but was correlated with the season and number of people in the third floor ward. Outdoor construction activities affected values of indoor propagules, although seasonality could mask their effect(AU)

Monitoring the occurrence of indoor fungi in a hospital.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of standardized protocols for assessing the presence of indoor fungi. It is thus difficult to compare results from different studies or to measure the effect of indoor fungal presence on occupants. AIMS: The aim of the present work was to evaluate the presence of airborne fungal propagules within a hospital taking into account the influence of environmental factors. METHODS: The study was conducted in a hospital over a period of two years. Two portable aerobiological samplers were used: one capturing propagules onto a sticky surface, and the other onto a culture medium consisting of Sabouraud dextrose agar in Petri dishes, supplemented with chloramphenicol. Sampling was performed indoors at four sites (two on the ground floor and two on the third floor, each consisting of an open ward and a closed room). Samples were also taken outdoors. The following factors were considered for fungus occurrence: season, weather conditions, number of people present in the wards, the insulation of the indoor sites and the existence of construction works on the two floors. We carried out 60 ten-minute samples, weekly during the spring (24 samples), and fortnightly for the rest of the year (36 samples). RESULTS: A total of 2456 colony forming units (CFU) were obtained, with mean propagule concentrations of 107 CFU/m(3) outdoors and 24 CFU/m(3) indoors. 35330 counts were recorded for propagules. The mean concentrations were 2473 propagules/m(3) outdoors and 790 indoors. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between the number of people in one of the wards and fungus occurrence, and the occurrence in both ground floor and third floor rooms was positively correlated with outdoor levels. These showed a seasonal pattern with peaks in summer. Indoors, however, the peaks appeared in spring and autumn. Outdoor construction activities affected the propagule loads but not the number of CFU. CONCLUSIONS: The indoor fungus occurrence in the hospital was independent of meteorological conditions and of insulation from outside of the indoor sites selected, but was correlated with the season and number of people in the third floor ward. Outdoor construction activities affected values of indoor propagules, although seasonality could mask their effect.

Evaluating fungi indoor presence in homes through viable and non-viable sampling / Evaluación de la presencia de hongos en el interior de domicilios a través de muestreo viable o no viable

Moulds are common and important allergens. They are more abundant outdoors but patients affected by mould allergy stay indoors much longer than outdoors. So, indoor sampling could help to assess the influence of the concentration of allergens in allergic symptoms. The aim of this study was to assess the relative efficiencies of two air sampling methods, viable and non viable, for the quantification of airborne indoor fungi in the homes of patients sensitized to Alternaria. Furthermore, outdoor sampling was carried out to compare results. Samples were taken over six months in Badajoz (SW Spain). Two houses were selected according to the presence of allergic patients to Alternaria. They were sampled once a month using both viable and non viable personal samplers at solar noon. A Burkard personal sampler was used to record spores and a Sampl’air AES Chemunex sampler was used for colonies. Three rooms were selected in each home: living room, kitchen and bathroom. Temperature and relative humidity were registered at each sample. Outdoor sampling was performed one day per week at the Faculty of Science, using a seven day Burkard sampler for spores and the same personal sampler for colonies. On average, 200-300 CFU/ m3 were found from more than 40 taxa identified. The highest number of colonies was recorded in the kitchen, then in the bathroom and finally in the living room. Nevertheless, there were minor differences between rooms. The houses studied showed a similar temporal pattern, with maximum values in December and minimum in January. Cladosporium colonies showed statistical differences between homes, but these differences were not found with Alternaria, Aspergillus or Penicillium colonies. Differences between rooms appeared for Alternaria colonies and Cladosporium herbarium spores. Temperature was positively correlated in most cases and relative humidity negatively with Alternaria spores.

Los hongos son alérgenos comunes e importantes. Son más abundantes en exteriores pero los pacientes afectados por alergia a los hongos permanecen en interiores mucho más tiempo que en exteriores. Por esto, el muestreo en interiores puede ayudar a evaluar la influencia de la concentración de alérgenos en los síntomas de la alergia. El objetivo de este trabajo ha sido valorar la eficiencia relativa de dos métodos de muestreo del aire, viable y no viable, para la cuantificación de hongos aerovagantes de interiores en hogares de pacientes sensibilizados a Alternaria. Adicionalmente, se ha realizado un muestreo en exteriores para comparar los resultados. Las muestras se tomaron durante seis meses en Badajoz (SO de España). Dos casas fueron seleccionadas de acuerdo a la presencia de pacientes alérgicos a Alternaria spp. Fueron muestreadas hacia el mediodía de forma mensual utilizando simultáneamente captadores personales con métodos viables y no viables. Un captador personal Burkard se utilizó para el registro de las esporas y un captador Sampl’air AES Chemunex para las colonias de hongos. Se seleccionaron tres habitaciones en cada casa, el salón, la cocina y el cuarto de baño. La temperatura y la humedad relativa fueron registradas en cada muestreo. El muestreo en el exterior se llevó cabo un día a la semana en la Facultad de Ciencias utilizando un captador Burkard 7-day para las esporas y el mismo captador personal para las colonias. En promedio se encontraron 200-300 CFU/m3 pertenecientes a más de 40 taxones identificados. El mayor número de colonias fue registrado en la cocina, luego en el cuarto de baño y finalmente en el salón. Sin embargo las diferencias entre las habitaciones fueron mínimas. Las casas estudiadas mostraron un patrón temporal similar, con valores máximos en Diciembre y mínimos en Enero.

Seasonal and spatial variations of indoor pollen in a hospital.

The airborne indoor pollen in a hospital of Badajoz (Spain) was monitored over two years using a personal Burkard sampler. The air was sampled in four places indoors-one closed room and one open ward on each of the ground and the third floors-and one place outdoors at the entrance to the hospital. The results were compared with data from a continuous volumetric sampler. While 32 pollen types were identified, nearly 75% of the total counts were represented by just five of them. These were: Quercus, Cupressaceae, Poaceae, Olea, and Plantago. The average indoor concentration was 25.2 grains/m(3), and the average indoor/outdoor ratio was 0.27. A strong seasonal pattern was found, with the highest levels in spring and winter, and the indoor concentrations were correlated with the outdoor one. Indoor air movement led to great homogeneity in the airborne pollen presence: the indoor results were not influenced by whether or not the room was isolated, the floor level, or the number of people in or transiting the site during sampling. The presence of ornamental vegetation in the area surrounding the building affected the indoor counts directly as sources of the pollen.