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Studies on particulate air pollution indicate that a new type of pollutant should be considered from mainly fossil fuel combustion and automobile exhaust emissions, i.e., environmentally persistent free radicals. These radicals, ubiquitous in the environment, have a long life span and are capable of producing harmful reactive oxygen species. Samples of dandelion were collected in 2020 and 2021 in spring and late summer. Roots, leaves, flower stalks, and inflorescences of Taraxacum sp. were collected from six sites with three plants each, along with monitoring of particulate matter air pollution. Four sites were located at streets with heavy traffic and two were control sites in the rural part of the city. The free radical content in each part of the plant was measured by electron paramagnetic resonance. The leaf was selected as the most appropriate part of the plant for the measurement of carbon-derived free radicals. The geff value and the total number of spins were calculated. Relationships were found between location, season, and measurements. The electron paramagnetic resonance spectrum consists of at least two components, which can be attributed to C-type radicals and mixed C + O radicals. Their increase in numbers in the fall seasons, compared to the spring seasons, is also noticeable. It has also been observed that leaves collected in autumn have a higher geff value, which is probably related to the higher amount of oxygen- and carbon-derived free radicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fungal spores often cause allergic diseases in people working outdoors, especially in agriculture. In the case of vineyard workers, the threat of mycotoxins is generally considered, and aerobiological monitoring focuses mainly on pathogenic fungi that cause diseases in grapes. The current requirement is to increase knowledge regarding the risk to vineyard workers coming from highly allergenic fungal spores such as Alternaria and Epicoccum. Aerobiological monitoring was conducted using the volumetric method. The relationships between meteorological parameters and airborne fungal concentrations were detected using Spearman's correlation and a logistic regression model. It was found that this risk is significant and is particularly strong from July to September, when periods of high concentrations of Alternaria and Epicoccum spores overlap. High concentrations of spores are favoured by an increase in air temperature, sunshine duration, and low relative humidity. When the weather conditions are favourable for the release and dispersion of spores, their concentration exceeds the threshold to trigger allergic reactions in sufferers. Due to their high concentrations and cross-reactions of their allergens with other aeroallergens, airborne fungal spores may pose a health risk to allergy sufferers working in vineyards. For this reason, aerobiological monitoring is particularly important in agricultural workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The invasive alien species Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common or short ragweed) is increasing its range in Europe. In the UK and the Netherlands, airborne concentrations of Ambrosia pollen are usually low. However, more than 30 Ambrosia pollen grains per cubic metre of air (above the level capable to trigger allergic symptoms) were recorded in Leicester (UK) and Leiden (NL) on 4 and 5 September 2014. The aims of this study were to determine whether the highly allergenic Ambrosia pollen recorded during the episode could be the result of long distance transport, to identify the potential sources of these pollen grains and to describe the conditions that facilitated this possible long distance transport. Airborne Ambrosia pollen data were collected at 10 sites in Europe. Back trajectory and atmospheric dispersion calculations were performed using HYSPLIT_4. Back trajectories calculated at Leicester and Leiden show that higher altitude air masses (1500 m) originated from source areas on the Pannonian Plain and Ukraine. During the episode, air masses veered to the west and passed over the Rhône Valley. Dispersion calculations showed that the atmospheric conditions were suitable for Ambrosia pollen released from the Pannonian Plain and the Rhône Valley to reach the higher levels and enter the airstream moving to northwest Europe where they were deposited at ground level and recorded by monitoring sites. The study indicates that the Ambrosia pollen grains recorded during the episode in Leicester and Leiden were probably not produced by local sources but transported long distances from potential source regions in east Europe, i.e. the Pannonian Plain and Ukraine, as well as the Rhône Valley in France. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have shown that contact with nature plays a crucial role in the amelioration of human health. Forest therapy has recently received widespread attention as a novel and subsidiary treatment approach for stress recovery and health promotion. However, there is a lack of ample research on the comprehensive evaluation of the forest healthcare benefits. Moreover, it is not entirely clear what kind of forest types and seasons are suitable for forest therapy activities and how healthcare forests should be constructed and managed. From September 2019 to January 2020 and May to August 2020., five forest types of Phyllostachys edulis forest, subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest, Liquidambar formosana forest, Cunninghamia lanceolata forest, coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest and a forestless control group in Shimen National Forest Park, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, China were selected. Variations in the character of negative air ion concentration, air oxygen content, human comfort index and phytoncide relative content were analyzed. Principal component analysis and systematic clustering were used to construct forest comprehensive healthcare index and evaluation grade in order to assess the healthcare benefits of different forest types. In terms of negative air ion concentration, the subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest was far ahead of the other forest types throughout the year, while the forestless control group was the worst. All stands reached the annual maximum in summer, followed by spring, autumn and winter. From the perspective of air oxygen content, summer > spring > autumn > winter, among them, all forest stands clearly exceeded the normal atmospheric oxygen content (20.9%) in the first three quarters. Moreover, the air oxygen content of coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest was the highest in five forest types; the forestless control group was the lowest. Judging from the human comfort index, in the whole year, all forest types, including the forestless group, were at the comfortable level and above. However, the five forest types still differed greatly in diverse seasons, among which Phyllostachys edulis forest and subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest were superior to Liquidambar formosana forest, Cunninghamia lanceolata forest, coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest in spring and summer, while it was in reverse in autumn and winter. In view of the phytoncide relative content, the subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest was the highest, followed by the Cunninghamia lanceolata forest. The relative content of phytoncide was released more in summer, second, by spring, autumn and winter. Furthermore, establishing forest comprehensive healthcare index (FCHI = 0.1NAICi + 0.35AOCi + 0.27HCIi + 0.28PRCi), according to the FCHI value, it was divided into five rating levels. Overall, the comprehensive healthcare index of the five forest stands distinctly outperformed the forestless control group in all seasons. In addition, the five forest types were at level I in spring and summer. From the comprehensive data of the whole year, the comprehensive healthcare index of the coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest was the best, followed by the subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest. The forest environment has a favorable influence on the human body and mind, so it is suggested that citizens go to the forest environment regularly for healthcare and physical and mental washing. In terms of the forest healthcare benefits, the best seasons for forest therapy in Shimen National Forest Park are spring and summer; autumn is suitable as well. When planning and constructing the forest therapy bases in Shimen National Forest Park in the future, coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forests should be allocated more in the stand transformation to promote forest healthcare benefits. Protecting and developing the landscape resources of the subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests should be paid close attention, as well as making rational use of their health activity space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]