Detection and Quantification of Grass and Olea Airborne Pollen Allergens in Outdoor Air Samples and its Correlation with Pollen Counts

Detection and Quantification of Grass and Olea Airborne Pollen Allergens in Outdoor Air Samples and its Correlation with Pollen Counts R Ferro1*, R Ribeiro1*, MR Martins1,2, AT Caldeira1,3, E Caeiro6, CM Antunes1,5 & R Brandão2,4 and the HIALINE working group7 1Dep. of Chemistry, University of Evora, Portugal; 2Mediterranean Inst. Crop and Environment Sciences, Univ.Evora, Portugal; 3Centro Química, University of Évora, Portugal; 4Dep. Biology, University of Evora; 5Center for NeuroSciences and Cell Biology-University of Coimbra, Portugal; 6Soc.Portuguesa Alergol.Imunologia Clínica , Portugal 7 M. Thibaudon, France, M. Smith, United Kingdom, C. Galan, Spain R. Albertini, Italy, L. Grewling, Poland, G. Reese, Germany, A. Rantio-Lehtimäki, Finland, S. Jäger and U. Berger, Austria, M. Sofiev, Finland, I. Sauliene, Lithuania, L. Cecchi, Italy Presenting author: [email protected] tel: +351 266760889 Introduction: Allergic respiratory diseases broken out after an exposure to airborne pollen, as asthma and allergic rhinitis, are deeply increasing and they represent one of the major public health problems nowadays, affecting about 40% of European population. In Portugal, grass and Olea europaea pollen are certainly one of the main sources of athmospheric aeroallergens and as such, one of the main causes of respiratory allergy. For these reasons, it is useful the development of new strategies for prevention and treatment of these pathologies. The execution of aerobiological analysis including pollen calendars and/or immunoassays for the detection and quantification of allergens which could forecast the allergenic potential of the athmosphere are quite relevant since they would contribute to develop prevention measures of allergic respiratory diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the putative correlation between the concentration of some of the major allergens of and with their pollen counts. Methodology: On a meteorological platform at the town center of Evora (south Portugal), ambient air was sampled at 800L/min with a Chemvol high-volume cascade impactor equipped with stages PM>10µm, 10 µm>PM>2.5µm. The polyurethane impacting substrate was extracted with 0.1M NH4HCO3, pH8.1, supplemented with 0.1% BSA. The major pollen allergens from grass Phleum p 5 and olive Ole e 1 were determined with allergen specific ELISA´s. Airborne pollen of and Olea europaea simultaneously monitored with a Burkard Seven Day Recording Volumetric Spore Trap* , between the 30th of April and the 8th of July of 2009. Both samplers were placed side-by-side with air input at the same level. Results: During the pollen season of 2009, high values of grass pollen were recorded between May 2th and June 1 th. It was also observed that the air content of Phl p5 or Ole e1 aeroallergens were directly correlated with airborne pollen counts of Poaceae and Oleaceae, respectively. Conclusions: These results suggest that the directly quantification of aeroallergens may contribute, together with pollen counts of air samples, to define the allergic risk with higher precision. Acknowledgments: This study is integrated in the european project HIALINE (Executive Agency for Health and Consumers under grant agreement No 2008 11 07

Sedentarism impact on cardio-respiratory response in college students

La vida universitaria constituye una etapa crítica para la adquisición de hábitos saludables, por ello sería conveniente establecer medidas para la detección del riesgo de desarrollar patologías en un futuro. Los objetivos de esta investigación son conocer cuál es el nivel de sedentarismo y la repercusión del mismo en la función pulmonar y en la respuesta cardiorrespiratoria, estudiada a través de las presiones respiratorias máximas en boca y la prueba de 6 minutos marcha. La población de estudio fueron estudiantes del Grado de Fisioterapia de la Universidad de Vigo, durante los cursos académicos 2012-2013 y 2013-2014, un total de 104 sujetos. La muestra la formaron un total de 71 estudiantes. Los resultados muestran un nivel bajo de sedentarismo. Se establecen relaciones negativas entre los hábitos sedentarios y las pruebas de función pulmonar y cardiorrespiratorias, lo cual sugiere que los hábitos adquiridos en la juventud tienen repercusiones sobre el organismo ya desde edades tempranasHigher education is a critical period for the acquisition of healthy habits. The measures to detect the risk of developing diseases in the future are necessary. The objective of this research is to understand the impact of physical inactivity on lung function and cardiorespiratory response, studied through maximal respiratory pressures and 6-minute walk tests. The study was done with the students of Degree of Physiotherapy of Pontevedra faculty in Vigo University throughout the academic courses 2012-2013 and 2013-2014, with a total of 104 subjects. The sample comprised a total of 71 students. The results show low levels of physical inactivity. Negative relationships between sedentary habits and cardiorespiratory tests and pulmonary function are established, suggesting that habits acquired in youth have implications on the body from an early ag

TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF POACEAE POLLEN IN AREAS OF SOUTHERN UNITED KINGDOM, SPAIN AND PORTUGAL

Overall, longer Poaceae pollen seasons coincided with earlier pollen season start dates. Winter rainfall noticeably affects the intensity of Poaceae pollen seasons in Mediterranean areas, but this was not as important in Worcester. Weekly data from Worcester followed a similar pattern to that of Badajoz and Évora but at a distance of more than 1500 km and 4-5 weeks later

An integrative assessment to determine the genotoxic hazard of estuarine sediments: combining cell and whole-organism responses

The application of the Comet assay in environmental monitoring remains challenging in face of the complexity of environmental stressors, e.g., when dealing with estuarine sediments, that hampers the drawing of cause-effect relationships. Although the in vitro Comet assay may circumvent confounding factors, its application in environmental risk assessment (ERA) still needs validation. As such, the present work aims at integrating genotoxicity and oxidative DNA damage induced by sediment-bound toxicants in HepG2 cells with oxidative stress-related effects observed in three species collected from an impacted estuary. Distinct patterns were observed in cells exposed to crude mixtures of sediment contaminants from the urban/industrial area comparatively to the ones from the rural/riverine area of the estuary, with respect to oxidative DNA damage and oxidative DNA damage. The extracts obtained with the most polar solvent and the crude extracts caused the most significant oxidative DNA damage in HepG2 cells, as measured by the formamidopyrimidine-DNA glycosylase (FPG)-modified Comet assay. This observation suggests that metals and unknown toxicants more hydrophilic than polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons may be important causative agents, especially in samples from the rural part of the estuary, where oxidative DNA damage was the most significant. Clams, sole, and cuttlefish responded differentially to environmental agents triggering oxidative stress, albeit yielding results accordant with the oxidative DNA damage observed in HepG2 cells. Overall, the integration of in vivo biomarker responses and Comet assay data in HepG2 cells yielded a comparable pattern, indicating that the in vitro FPG-modified Comet assay may be an effective and complementary line-of-evidence in ERA even in particularly challenging, natural, scenarios such as estuarine environments

Assessment of sediment contamination in an impacted estuary: differential effects and adaptations of sentinel organisms and implications for biomonitoring

Conferência realizada em Lisboa, de 6-9 November de 2013Estuarine pollution is reflected in the concentration of toxicants in sediments, depending on their geochemical properties, since sediments trap substances from the water column, either dissolved or bound to suspended matter. However, determining risk of sediment contaminants to biota has many constraints. For such reason, integrative approaches are keystone. Taking the Sado estuary (SW Portugal) as a case study, contrasted to a reference estuary (the Mira) within the same geographical location, the present study aimed at integrating sediment contamination with the effects and responses to pollutants in distinct benthic organisms with commercial and ecological value

Metodologia de gestão dinâmica do estuário do Sado

O estuário do Sado é um sistema litoral onde existem conflitos de gestão ambiental, uma vez que por um lado, localiza-se junto da zona industrial da Península de Setúbal e por outro lado, uma grande parte da sua área está classificada como Reserva Natural. Sendo uma área de especial sensibilidade, torna-se necessário implementar modelos de gestão, que passam pela elaboração de metodologias que avaliem o estado de qualidade da zona costeira. O objectivo deste trabalho é apresentar uma metodologia conceptual de gestão do estuário do Sado, ligado a um modelo dinâmico e ecológico suportado por uma infraestrutura de informação do tipo DPSIR e com base num sistema SIG (Sistema de Informação Geográfica). Desta forma pretende-se integrar a avaliação da qualidade do ecossistema, com base em indicadores da qualidade ambiental previamente seleccionados, com informação socio-económica. Nesta metodologia as propostas de intervenção e a avaliação do seu impacte no estuário são baseadas nos dados ambientais recolhidos e nas previsões dos efeitos dessas acções. Pretende-se que a modelação dinâmica e ecológica do sistema desempenhe um papel fundamental tanto na caracterização do estuário como nas propostas de intervenção. A simulação permite a caracterização do sistema, a comparação de cenários alternativos e a quantificação do impacte de acções de intervenção. Os dados de campo e os resultados da modelação são integrados numa plataforma comum que facilite o relacionamento e o cruzamento de toda a informação. Esta metodologia permitirá assim a elaboração de uma interface de suporte à gestão/decisão do Estuário do Sado para entidades com poder de decisão sobre este ecossistema

Differential Ole e 1 Release from Olea Airborne Pollen in the Southwest Iberian Peninsula. Results from the HIALINE Study

Background: Ole e 1 is the major allergen of olive pollen (Olea europaea L.), the second largest cause of pollinosis in some areas from the Mediterranean Region. Although it has been assumed that airborne pollen is a representative parameter for allergen exposure, variability of allergen content and/or release from pollen has been demonstrated for other taxa. The aim of this study was to: i) estimate the correlation between daily airborne olive pollen and Ole e 1 in ambient air; ii) evaluate the annual and geographical variation of pollen and allergenic loads in southwest Iberian Peninsula; iii) evaluate the contribution of meteorological parameters to ambient Ole e 1 loads variations. Methods: Airborne Ole e 1 and olive pollen were assessed simultaneously in Cordoba, Spain and Evora, Portugal. Aeroallergens were collected in 2009-2011 using prewashed polyurethane foam as impacting substrate (Rupprecht & Patashnick ChemVol®2400 high-volume cascade impactor, Albany, NY, USA). Flow was adjusted to 800 L/min with a rotameter controlled high-volume pump (Digitel DHM-60, Ludesch, Austria). After extraction, Ole e 1 was quantified by ELISA. Airborne Olea pollen was monitored with a Burkard Hirst type Seven-Day Recording Volumetric SporeTrap®. Both samplers were placed side-by-side with the air input at the same level. Results: The aeroallergen and airborne pollen profiles overlapped during pollen seasons, however, deviations between pollen counts and allergen load were found. Annual pollen index of Olea was 3-4 folds higher in Spain (29,956, 26,274 and 42,223 in Spain versus 12,524, 7,144 and 10,499 in Portugal). A 4-9 fold difference in aeroallergen load was observed (14,375, 18,913 and 20,989 in Portugal and 108,720, 80,972 and 171,248 in Spain). Annual Ole e 1/pollen was 3.1-4.0 in Spain, 0.8-2.6 in Portugal and was positively correlated with precipitation prior to pollen season. Conclusions: These results have shown that Ole e 1 is mostly associated with olive pollen grains but aeroallergen load was not always directly proportional to airborne pollen counts. This suggests that Ole e 1 quantification is a better marker for olive allergen exposure. In conclusion, aeroallergen monitoring may contribute to a better understanding of the Ole e 1 exposure from airborne pollen. Acknowledgments: This study is integrated in the European project HIALINE (Executive Agency for Health and Consumers, grant agreement No 2008 11 07). 1st&2nd author equally contributed to the work

Comparison between Poaceae pollen counts and ambient Phl p 5 concentration in Évora, south Portugal

Airborne pollen of grasses (Poaceae family) is the main aeroallergen in many european countries, namely in Portugal. Grasses includes many herbaceous species with an anemophyllous pollination

Environmental risk assessment in a contaminated estuary: an integrated weight of evidence approach as a decision support tool

Environmental risk assessment of complex ecosystems such as estuaries is a challenge, where innovative and integrated approaches are needed. The present work aimed at developing an innovative integrative methodology to evaluate in an impacted estuary (the Sado, in Portugal, was taken as case study), the adverse effects onto both ecosystem and human health. For the purpose, new standardized lines of evidence based on multiple quantitative data were integrated into a weight of evidence according to a best expert judgment approach. The best professional judgment for a weight of evidence approach in the present study was based on the following lines of evidence: i) human contamination pathways; ii) human health effects: chronic disease; iii) human health effects: reproductive health; iv) human health effects: health care; v) human exposure through consumption of local agriculture produce; vi) exposure to contaminated of water wells and agriculture soils; vii) contamination of the estuarine sedimentary environment (metal and organic contaminants); viii) effects on benthic organisms with commercial value; and ix) genotoxic potential of sediments. Each line of evidence was then ordinally ranked by levels of ecological or human health risk, according to a tabular decision matrix and expert judgment. Fifteen experts scored two fishing areas of the Sado estuary and a control estuarine area, in a scale of increasing environmental risk and management actions to be taken. The integrated assessment allowed concluding that the estuary should not be regarded as impacted by a specific toxicant, such as metals and organic compounds hitherto measured, but by the cumulative risk of a complex mixture of contaminants. The proven adverse effects on species with commercial value may be used to witness the environmental quality of the estuarine ecosystem. This method argues in favor of expert judgment and qualitative assessment as a decision support tool to the integrative management of estuaries. Namely it allows communicating environmental risk and proposing mitigation measures to local authorities and population under a holistic perspective as an alternative to narrow single line of evidence approaches, which is mandatory to understand cause and effect relationships in complex areas like estuaries.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio