Airborne mesophilic fungal spores in various residential environments

In the present work viable fungal spore counts and flora of indoor air were compared in various residences. Total viable spore counts were lowest in the urban/suburban residences and highest in the rural residences. Moisture problems in the urban environment did not increase total viable spore count, but affected composition of fungal flora. In the rural environment, spore counts were much higher in the old houses than in the new ones. Penicillium was the most prevalent fungus in the air of all the residences studied. Airborne Aspergillus, Cladosporium spores and yeast cells were more common in the damp residences and the old rural houses than in the other residences.     

Significance of air humidity and air velocity for fungal spore release into the air

Our previous field studies have shown that the presence of molds in buildings does not necessarily mean elevated airborne spore counts. Therefore, we investigated the release of fungal spores from cultures of Aspergillus fumigatus, Penicillium sp. and Cladosporium sp. at different air velocities and air humidities. Spores of A. fumigatus and Penicillium sp. were released from conidiophores already at air velocity of 0.5 ms⁻¹, whereas Cladosporium spores required at least a velocity of 1.0 ms⁻¹. Airborne spore counts of A. fumigatus and Penicillium sp. were usually higher in dry than moist air, being minimal at relative humidities (r.h.) above 70%, while the effect of r.h. on the release of Cladosporium sp. was ambivalent. The geometric mean diameter of released spores increased when the r.h. exceeded a certain level which depends on fungal genus. Thus, spores of all three fungi were hygroscopic but the hygroscopicity of various spores appeared at different r.h.-ranges. This study indicates that spore release is controlled by external factors and depends on fungal genus which can be one reason for considerable variation of airborne spore counts in buildings with mold problems.     

城市居家环境空气真菌群落结构特征研究

居室环境质量的优劣与人类健康密切相关.成年人约80%～90%的时间是在室内度过,而且现代人们的生活越来越离不开空调,由于人体、房间和空调机在室内会形成了一个封闭的循环系统,容易使细菌、病毒、霉菌等微生物大量繁衍.因此,百货商场、学校教室、办公室和现代住宅等近年来成为了室内环境空气质量的研究热点.在北京市5个方向(东南西北中)共选取31户具有小孩的家庭于2009年11月～2010年10月进行试验,研究了城市居家环境空气真菌的群落结构特征.结果表明,从分离的225株空气真菌中共鉴定出24属,从鉴定出现的次数来看,其优势真菌属依次为青霉属(Penicillium)、枝孢属(Cladosporium)、曲霉属(Aspergillus)、链格孢属(Alternaria)和茎点霉属(Phoma),其中青霉属出现的次数占分离菌株总数的36%.居家环境中青霉属、枝孢属、曲霉属、链格孢属、丛梗孢属(Monilia)的出现频率较高,其中青霉属的出现频率在90%以上;浓度百分比较高的真菌依次为青霉属、枝孢属、曲霉属、无孢菌和链格孢属,它们浓度总和约占总浓度的65.0%及以上,其中青霉属浓度百分比为32.2%.在北京市取样的31户家庭中,空气真菌浓度范围为62～3 498 CFU.m-3,平均值为837 CFU.m-3.空气真菌总浓度与枝孢属、曲霉属、链格孢属浓度的季节变化特征基本一致,夏季明显高于春季、秋季和冬季(P<0.05*),冬季浓度最低,而青霉属浓度的季节变化则表现为春季较高,夏季、秋季和冬季没有显著差异(P>0.05*).北京市居家环境空气真菌浓度男孩家庭明显高于女孩家庭(P<0.05*),并且家庭空气真菌浓度与人均居住面积呈显著负相关.     

北京市居家空气微生物污染特征

在北京市选取31户有1岁至10岁儿童的家庭进行空气微生物取样,系统研究了室内家庭空气微生物污染特征.结果表明,北京市居家环境空气微生物总浓度变化范围为269～13066 CFU·m-3,均值为2658 CFU· m-3,空气细菌浓度变化范围为47 ～ 12341 CFU·m-3,均值为1821 CFU·m-3,空气真菌浓度变化范围为62～3498 CFU·m-3,均值为837 CFU·m-3.空气细菌和真菌浓度百分比分别为61.0％和39.0％,细菌浓度明显高于真菌浓度.居家环境优势细菌属依次为微球菌属(Micrococcus)、芽孢杆菌属(Bacillus)、葡萄球菌属(Staphylococcus)和库克菌属(Kocuria),4属细菌百分比约占63.1％ ～70.9％,优势真菌属为青霉属(Penicillium)、枝孢属(Cladosporium)、曲霉属(Aspergillus)、链格孢属(Alternaria)和茎点霉属(Phoma),分别约占总数的36.0％、17.8％、9.3％、5.3％和3.6％.文中最后针对北京市居家环境空气微生物污染的现状及其来源,从宠物饲养、空调清理、室内外优良环境的保持及垃圾处理、室内花卉种植等方面提出了治理建议.     

Health hazards related to conidia of Cladosporium—biological air pollutants in Poland, central Europe

The spores of Cladosporium Link. are often present in the air in high quantities and produce many allergenic proteins, which may lead to asthma. An aerobiological spore monitoring program can inform patients about the current spore concentration in air and help their physicians determine the spore dose that is harmful for a given individual. This makes it possible to develop optimized responses and propose personalized therapy for a particular sensitive patient. The aim of this study was to assess the extent of the human health hazard posed by the fungal genus Cladosporium. For the first time, we have determined the number of days on which air samples in Poland exceeded the concentrations linked to allergic responses of sensitive patients, according to thresholds established by three different groups(2800/3000/4000 spores per 1 m~3 of the air). The survey was conducted over three consecutive growing seasons(April–September, 2010–2012) in three cities located in different climate zones of Poland(Poznan, Lublin and Rzeszow). The average number of days exceeding 2800 spores per cubic meter(the lowest threshold) ranged from 61(2010) through 76(2011) to 93(2012), though there was significant variation between cities. In each year the highest concentration of spores in the air was detected in either Poznan or Lublin, both located on large plains with intensive agriculture. We have proposed that an effective, science-based software platform to support policy-making on air quality should incorporate biological air pollutant data,such as allergenic fungal spores and pollen grains.     

氯灭活地下水源中3种优势真菌的效能与机制

地下水源中真菌大量繁殖会产生嗅味,引发毒性反应以及产生大量肉眼可见的絮状物,严重影响供水水质.以地下水源中3种优势真菌木霉属、青霉属、枝孢属为研究对象,以氯为消毒剂,通过研究真菌孢子胞内物质泄漏,胞外三磷酸腺苷(ATP),脱氧核糖核酸(DNA)和蛋白质增加及孢子形态变化,探明了氯灭活3种真菌孢子的效能与机制.结果表明,氯灭活真菌孢子符合一级动力学,满足Chick模型,3种真菌的耐氯性为:木霉属青霉属枝孢属,真菌孢子尺寸越大,亲水性越强,灭活效果越好.氯灭活后,胞内物质泄漏,胞外特征物质(ATP、DNA、蛋白质)显著增加;氯对细胞表面破坏严重,灭活后真菌孢子凹陷,表面褶皱.综上所述,氯首先作用于孢子表面,降低孢子的可培养性,进一步作用使细胞的通透性屏障受损,导致胞内特征物质释放,以致孢子死亡.     

Fungal microcolonies on indoor surfaces — an explanation for the base-level fungal spore counts in indoor air

In the subarctic winter, fungal spores are found in indoor air even when outdoor spore levels are very low. The results of this study support an explanation that some indoor airborne fungal spores are derived from unnoticeable fungal microcolonies, which may develop on temporarily wet surfaces. Laboratory experiments on Penicillium verrucosum indicated that the fungus germinated on new wallpaper very quickly (about half an hour) under moist conditions. Hyphal growth and sporulation of the fungus on moist wallpaper occured within one day of incubation. In gravity-settling tape samples from occasionally wet surfaces in a suburban home, large spore aggregates, hyphal fragments with some spores and spores in the germination stage were found, indicating fungal growth. These experiments showed that fungal microcolonies can develop within a week on occasionally wet indoor surfaces.     

北京市室外空气真菌分布特征

通过定点取样研究北京市空气真菌的种类组成,浓度特征及其动态变化规律.监测结果表明,北京市空气真菌平均浓度为(1164.8±73.2)CFU.m^-3,浓度变异很大,变化范围为23.6～13959.5CFU.m^-3.空气中优势真菌为枝孢属(Cladosporium)、青霉属(Penicillium)、链格孢属(Alternaria)、曲霉属(Aspergillus)和无孢菌(non-sporing),其中枝孢属是绝对优势真菌,浓度约占真菌总浓度的1/3以上.文教区和公园绿地空气真菌浓度夏季和秋季较高,春季和秋季较低,而交通干线空气真菌浓度4季变化趋势不明显.文教区和公园绿地空气真菌浓度明显高于交通干线(p<0.05),文教区和公园绿地之间则没有显著差异.     

Atmospheric residence times for soluble species: Differences in numerical and analytical model results

We have compared numerically calculated soluble species residence times with several analytic residence time models. The numerical results are dependent on whether randomly or periodically distributed precipitation events are assumed. A preferred time of occurrence for rain, such as morning or afternoon, influences the computed HNO₃ residence time for precipitation cycle times (wet plus dry period) of about a day, but exerts less influence as the cycle time increases. An analytic residence time model developed by Rodhe and Grandell (1972, Tellus24, 442–454) is found to agree well with residence times computed for randomly distributed precipitation events while a model developed by Giorgi and Chameides (1985, J. geophys. Res.90, 7872–7880 is more suitable for periodic rain. The present numerical calculations resolve an apparent ambiguity in HNO₃ residence times computed in earlier numerical studies.Using mean precipitation periods and rainfall amounts characteristic of the northeastern U.S. as a guide, we find that residence times computed under the assumption of randomly distributed wet and dry events agree better with observed aerosol lifetimes than do those computed assuming periodic rain.     

Microbial and size characterization of airborne particulate matter collected on sticky tapes along US–Mexico border

Particulate matter(PM) emissions from various sources can affect significantly human health and environmental quality especially in the Chihuahuan Desert region along US–Mexico border. The objective of this study was to use the low-cost sticky tape method to collect airborne PM for size characterization and identification of fungal spores. Sticky tape samplers were placed at 1.0 and 2.0 m above the ground surface at experimental sites in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico and at 0.6, 1.2 and 1.8 m at New Mexico sites, USA. Soil samples were collected in both countries to determine fungal diversity, texture and moisture content Dust particles collected from all of the experimental sites had a dominant texture of clay( 0.002 mm). The dominant textures identified from soil samples collected from the US and Mexican sites were loam and sandy clay loam, respectively. Alternaria, Penicillium and Fusarium were frequently found funguses in the US sites while Alternaria and Aspergillus were commonly observed in the Mexican sites. The sticky tapes also showed a similar diversity of fungal microorganisms present in the airborne PM at both Mexico and US sites Alternaria, Penicillium and Aspergillus were the three groups of airborne fungal microorganisms consistently present in the US and Mexican sites. The low-cost sticky tape method has the potential to be used for characterizing different airborne microorganisms and dust particles.     

Atmospheric aluminum from human activities

The inventory of aluminum in the atmospheric air from human activities was discussed using data from the Japanese National Air Surveillance Network. The source of atmospheric Al is considered to be mainly soil-derived particles. However, an hropogenically generated Al could also be added to airborne particulates less than 10 μm in aerodynamic diameter. Scandium, which is also found in soil dust, has a value lower than unity in enrichment factor normalized by Al. The intercept, A of the AlSc regression curve, (Al) = A + B(Sc), was much larger in industrial cities such as Kawasaki, Amagasaki, etc. This could be explained by the difference of elemental composition of various emission sources and the existence of excess Al added to airborne particulate samples.     

Airborne myxomycete spores: detection using molecular techniques

Myxomycetes are organisms characterized by a life cycle that includes a fruiting body stage. Myxomycete fruiting bodies contain spores, and wind dispersal of the spores is considered important for this organism to colonize new areas. In this study, the presence of airborne myxomycetes and the temporal changes in the myxomycete composition of atmospheric particles (aerosols) were investigated with a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method for Didymiaceae and Physaraceae. Twenty-one aerosol samples were collected on the roof of a three-story building located in Sapporo, Hokkaido Island, northern Japan. PCR analysis of DNA extracts from the aerosol samples indicated the presence of airborne myxomycetes in all the samples, except for the one collected during the snowfall season. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of the PCR products showed seasonally varying banding patterns. The detected DGGE bands were subjected to sequence analyses, and four out of nine obtained sequences were identical to those of fruiting body samples collected in Hokkaido Island. It appears that the difference in the fruiting period of each species was correlated with the seasonal changes in the myxomycete composition of the aerosols. Molecular evidence shows that newly formed spores are released and dispersed in the air, suggesting that wind-driven dispersal of spores is an important process in the life history of myxomycetes. This study is the first to detect airborne myxomycetes with the use of molecular ecological analyses and to characterize their seasonal distribution.     

Laboratory experiments on membrane filter sampling of airborne mycotoxins produced by Stachybotrys atra corda

A membrane filter method for sampling of airborne stachybotrystoxins was studied in the laboratory. Toxigenic strains of Stachybotrys atra on wallpaper, grain, hay and straw were used as toxin sources in the experiments. Air samples were collected on cellulose nitrate and polycarbonate membrane filters at air flow rates of 10–20 ℓ min⁻¹. After the filter sampling, the air was passed through methanol. The results showed that stachybotrystoxins (trichothecenes) were concentrated in airborne fungal propagules, and thus can be collected on filters. Polycarbonate filters with a pore size of 0.2 μm collected the highest percentage of toxic samples. The laboratory experiments indicated that polycarbonate filter sampling for the collection of airborne mycotoxins is a promising method for extension to field measurements.     

基于16S rRNA基因测序法分析北京霾污染过程中PM2.5和PM10细菌群落特征

2013年1月8~14日,北京出现了严重的霾污染.霾污染时高浓度的大气颗粒物增加了暴露人群的健康风险,而大气中的微生物也可能带来一些风险,但目前对霾污染时大气中微生物组成了解较少.本研究选取了2013年1月8~14日北京7d的PM2.5和PM10采样样本,通过对细菌16S rRNA基因V3区扩增和Mi Seq测序,得到PM2.5和PM10中的细菌群落结构特征,并将结果与相同采样样本的宏基因组测序结果及三项国外基于16S rRNA基因测序方法的大气中细菌研究结果进行了比较.研究发现7 d连续采样条件下,PM2.5中细菌群落结构在门和属的水平上均差别不大.在属级别上,节杆菌属(Arthrobacter)和弗兰克氏菌属(Frankia)是北京冬季大气中细菌群落的主要类群.16S rRNA基因测序与宏基因组测序结果对比分析发现,在属级别上,两种分析方法中有39个相同的属类群(两种分析方法丰度前50的细菌类群合并所得),弗兰克氏菌属(Frankia)和副球菌属(Paracoccus)在16S rRNA基因测序分析结果中相对含量较多,而考克氏菌属(Kocuria)和地嗜皮菌属(Geodermatophilus)在宏基因组测序结果中相对含量较高.在门和属的水平上,PM2.5和PM10中细菌群落结构特征呈现出相似的规律.在门水平上,放线菌门(Actinobacteria)在PM2.5中的相对百分比较大,而厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)在PM10中的相对百分比较大.在属水平上,梭菌属(Clostridium)在PM10中的相对百分比较大.与三项国外基于16S rRNA基因测序研究结果对比发现,尽管在采样地点和采样时间上有较大差异,大气中普遍存在一些相同的细菌类群,且近地面大气细菌群落结构特征相似度较高,区别于高空对流层中细菌群落结构特征.     

Photochemical formation of particulate dicarboxylic acids under long-range transport in central Japan

Long-range transport (LRT) of photochemical air pollution from the coastal area with large emission sources to the inland mountainous region occurs very frequently in the central Japan region on clear summer days. It is caused by local winds and the transport route is almost-fixed geographically. Along this route, behavior of dicarboxylic acids in the airborne aerosols was investigated in the cooperative field observation of meteorology and chemistry. Measurements were made every 3-h at inland sites.The concentrations of dicarboxylic acids as well as NO₃⁻ and total organic C increased in the daytime and decreased at night. The maximum are attained when the transported air mass was arrived at the sampling sites. These diurnal variations were similar to that of O₃.In the daytime, although the phthalates (di-n-butyl and dioctyl), n-alkanes (C₂₁C₃₂) and pinon aldehyde were abundant in the airborne aerosols, the dicarboxylic acids (C₂C₁₀) were the most abundant species and the total concentrations attained from 30 to 50% of the total organic particulate matter. In addition, of the dicarboxylic acids, more than 70% were estimated to be produced by photochemical reactions in the daytime. Thus, it was concluded that most of the dicarboxylic acids were produced by the photochemical oxidation of anthropogenic compounds during LRT.     

人工湿地空气微生物群落碳源代谢特征

采用BIOLOG-GN微平板分析自由表面流人工湿地空气微生物群落碳源代谢特征,阐明空气微生物群落代谢功能与环境因子相关性.结果表明,不同季节人工湿地空气微生物AWCD值、优势群落及Mc Intosh指数均存在差异,春季和夏季空气微生物碳源代谢强度明显高于秋季和冬季(P0.01);4个季节人工湿地空气微生物优势群落依次为羧酸类代谢群落、糖类代谢群落、聚合物类代谢群落和羧酸类代谢群落,夏季空气微生物对6类化合物的利用水平高于其他季节(P0.05).主成分分析显示,秋季和冬季空气微生物碳源代谢特征相似,但与春季和夏季差别较大,胺类是区分人工湿地夏季与春季、秋季和冬季的主要碳源类型,羧酸类是区分春季与秋季和冬季空气微生物代谢差异的主要碳源类型.不同季节人工湿地空气微生物群落结构主导影响因子存在差异.     

城市污泥厌氧消化和脱水工艺对肠道病原菌的杀灭效应

运用最大或然数(MPN)培养法和定量PCR(qPCR)技术对不同城市污水处理厂污泥厌氧消化处理和脱水处理前后,污泥中埃希氏大肠杆菌(E.coli)、沙门氏菌(Salmonellaspp.)和志贺氏菌(Shigellaspp.)含量的变化进行了研究.MPN检测结果表明,污泥中大肠杆菌、沙门氏菌和志贺氏菌数量经厌氧消化处理后明显下降,平均下降2～5个数量级,但qPCR检测结果显示,种病原菌平均下降1～2个数量级.脱水处理3后,污泥中的肠道病原菌含量基本没有变化,没有发生脱水后再生长现象.大肠杆菌、沙门氏菌和志贺氏菌含量分别在104～107、104～105和103～105MPN·g-1(以污泥干重计)之间.MPN和qPCR检测结果之间的差异性显示厌氧消化会造成肠道病原菌的有活性但不可培养状态(VBNC),同时也提示应用传统的培养检测方法检测病原菌含量和评定污泥排放的生物安全性时需慎重.     

Verification of flux measurement using relaxed eddy accumulation

Businger and Oncley (1990; Flux measurement with conditional sampling, J. Atmos. Ocean Technol.7, 349–352) proposed a method to measure fluxes of scalar quantities by determining the mean concentration difference between air samples collected selectively during updrafts. This method has been tested for carbon dioxide over a growing cotton field where the fluxes were large. Simultaneous direct flux measurements were made using the eddy-correlation technique. These two techniques gave fluxes which were mostly within 20% on one of the two experiment days; however, the other day had cases with large differences. These differences are suspected to have been caused by a failure of the infra-red absorption sensor used to make the fast carbon dioxide measurements for the eddy-correlation technique.     

Diurnal variation of OH radical and hydrocarbons in a polluted air mass during long-range transport in central Japan

Long-range transport (LRT) of photochemical air pollution from the coastal area, with large emission sources to the inland mountainous region, occurs frequently in central Japan on clear summer days. Hydrocarbons and other pollutants were measured together with meteorological parameters along this route, and the diurnal variations of OH radical and hydrocarbons in the polluted air mass were investigated in relation with these photochemical reactions.At inland sampling sites, hydrocarbon concentrations in a polluted air mass decreased during LRT in the daytime. In particular, olefins were destroyed significantly because of more active photochemical reactions. From these destruction rates and/or O₃ formation rates the OH radical concentration was estimated and found to increase from 0.5 × 10⁻⁷ in the morning to a maximum of 8.0 × 10⁻⁷ ppm at midday. These values, as well as the diurnal variation, compared well with the numerical result of the comprehensive transport/reaction/removal model (Chang et al., 1989, Atmospheric Environment23, 363–393, 1749–1773). The contribution of each hydrocarbon component to the total hydrocarbon destruction was also discussed.     

纳米氧化铜对酿酒酵母的细胞毒性机制研究

以模式生物酿酒酵母BY4741为研究对象,测定了不同粒径的纳米CuO(CuO-NPs)及常规CuO在SD-Ura培养基中的水合粒径和溶出的可溶性铜含量,研究了CuO-NPs、常规CuO和Cu2+对酿酒酵母的细胞毒性效应及胞内活性氧(Reactive Oxide Species,ROS)的产生.结果发现,CuO-NPs对酵母的细胞毒性远大于常规CuO,而Cu2的细胞毒性最强,不同粒径的CuO-NPs对酵母的细胞毒性无显著性差异.酵母受试不同形态的铜4h后,常规CuO有30.75％～51.25％的可溶性铜溶出,而CuO-NPs溶出的可溶性铜高达77.32％～ 100％,且溶出的可溶性铜受pH的影响.Cu2产生的ROS最多,CuO-NPs产生的ROS的平均荧光强度(Mean fluorescence intensity,MFI)在1265～2329之间,但两者之间无显著性差异,常规CuO产生的ROS的平均荧光强度最低,约1000.上述试验表明,CuO-NPs对酵母的细胞毒性主要是由可溶性铜和ROS引起的,团聚作用和尺寸效应对CuO-NPs的毒性影响不明显.该结果可为纳米金属氧化物的安全性评价提供科学依据.