| 1. |
- Baloch, Ramen Munir, et al.
(författare)
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Indoor air pollution, physical and comfort parameters related to schoolchildren's health : Data from the European SINPHONIE study
- 2020
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : ELSEVIER. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 739
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Substantial knowledge is available on the association of the indoor school environment and its effect among schoolchildren. In the same context, the SINPHONIE (School indoor pollution and health: Observatory network in Europe) conducted a study to collect data and determine the distribution of several indoor air pollutants (IAPs), physical and thermal parameters and their association with eye, skin, upper-, lower respiratory and systemic disorder symptoms during the previous three months. Finally, data from 115 schools in 54 European cities from 23 countries were collected and included 5175 schoolchildren using a harmonized and standardized protocol. The association between exposures and the health outcomes were examined using logistic regression models on the environmental stressors assessed in classroom while adjusting for several confounding factors; a VOC (volatile organic compound) score defined as the sum of the number of pollutants to which the children were highly exposed (concentration > median of the distribution) in classroom was also introduced to evaluate the mul tiexposu re - outcome association. Schoolchildren while adjusting for several confounding factors. Schoolchildren exposed to above or equal median concentration of PM2.5, benzene, limonene, ozone and radon were at significantly higher odds of suffering from upper, lower airways, eye and systemic disorders. Increased odds were also observed for any symptom (sick school syndrome) among schoolchildren exposed to concentrations of limonene and ozone above median values. Furthermore, the risks for upper and lower airways and systemic disorders significantly increased with the VOCs score. Results also showed that increased ventilation rate was significantly associated with decreased odds of suffering from eye and skin disorders whereas similar association was observed between temperature and upper airways symptoms. The present study provides evidence that exposure to IAPs in schools is associated with various health problems in children. Further investigations are needed to confirm our findings. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 2. |
- Magyar, Donat, et al.
(författare)
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Dendrotelmata (water-filled tree holes) as fungal hotspots - a long term study
- 2017
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Ingår i: Cryptogamie Mycologie. - : ADAC-CRYPTOGAMIE. - 0181-1584 .- 1776-100X. ; 38:1, s. 55-66
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Water-filled tree holes (dendrotelmata) are mostly ephemeral micro-ecosystems characterized by high level of heterotrophic microbial activity sustained by allochthonous organic matter. In this paper, description of a five-year long observation of fungal consortia in a Norway maple tree-hole is presented. Overall, 139 fungal taxa were detected. Among them, Excipularia fusispora, Ellisembia leptospora, Rebentischia unicaudata, Tricladium castaneicola, Thielavia terricola and Alternaria spp. occurred most frequently. Our observations suggest that even an individual dendrotelma represents an exceptional microhabitat, forming a hot-spot for microfungi due to its role as a natural spore trap and its (temporarily) aquatic environment. Our results show that this aquatic micro-ecosystem supports highly diverse mycobiota with continuous temporal dynamics, with an important fraction of sporadic taxa.
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| 3. |
- Magyar, Donat, et al.
(författare)
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Dispersal Strategies of Microfungi
- 2016
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Ingår i: Biology of Microfungi. - Cham : Springer Publishing Company. - 9783319291376 - 9783319291352 ; , s. 315-371
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Successful and efficient dispersal of fungi is crucial to the survival of the fungi, balance of ecosystems, and stability of biodiversities. Dispersal strategies of microfungi and other fungi are reviewed in detail based on the literature published in the last four decades. It covers the latest development of research on the dispersal process: liberation, transporation, deposition, resuspension, and survival of fungal spores and other propagules from microscale to macroscale. The characters of dispersal strategies of fungi from different habitats are elucidated. The fungal habitats include litter, soil, plants, insects, other animals, aquatic and marine environments, etc. For each strategy, the associated mechanisms are discussed for their ecological significance. The significance of the new technology used in the recent studies on dispersal strategies is presented. At the same time, current and future applications of dispersal strategies of microfungi are discussed in the chapter.
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| 4. |
- Prank, Marje, et al.
(författare)
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An operational model for forecasting ragweed pollen release and dispersion in Europe.
- 2013
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Ingår i: Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0168-1923. ; 182-183, s. 43-53
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The paper considers the possibilities of modelling the release and dispersion of the pollen of common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.), a highly allergenic invasive weed, which is spreading through southern and central Europe. In order to provide timely warnings for the allergy sufferers, a model was developed for forecasting ragweed pollen concentrations in the air. The development was based on the system for integrated modelling of atmospheric composition (SILAM) and concentrated on spatio-temporal modelling of ragweed flowering season and pollen release, which constitutes the emission term. Evaluation of the new model against multi-annual ragweed pollen observations demonstrated that the model reproduces well the main ragweed pollen season in the areas with major plant presence, such as the Pannonian Plain, the Lyon area in France, the Milan region in Italy, Ukraine and southern Russia. The predicted start of the season is mostly within 3 days of the observed for the majority of stations in these areas. The temporal correlation between modelled and observed concentrations exceeds 0.6 for the bulk of the stations. Model application to the seasons of 2005–2011 indicated the regions with high ragweed pollen concentrations, in particular the areas where allergenic thresholds are exceeded. It is demonstrated that, due to long-range transport of pollen, high-concentration areas are substantially more extensive than the heavily infested territories.
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