Hay Fever Pollen Counts and Some Weather Effects

1957 ◽  
Vol 38 (8) ◽  
pp. 465-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Nelson Dingle

The standard gravity slide method of obtaining hay fever pollen counts is examined in relation to the volumetric method. Scrutiny of calibration data in the light of weather information reveals three interesting weather-related sequences of pollen concentrations. The gravity slide counts appear to represent the pollen concentrations quite poorly.

Author(s):  
Janelle Viera O'Brien ◽  
Christopher D. Wickens

In any Free Flight system, pilots must have displays which effectively depict traffic and weather information as more and more responsibility for separation from such hazards transfers from air traffic controllers to pilots. This research effort seeks to address the issues of dimensionality (3D versus 2D coplanar displays) and data base integration (separation or integration of traffic and weather information within displays). Seventeen general aviation flight instructors flew a series of en route trials with four display types in which dimensionality, data base integration, and hazard geometries were manipulated. Analysis of the data revealed that the 2D displays resulted in a smaller percentage of conflicts with traffic and weather hazards. The results also suggested that displays in which traffic and weather were integrated resulted in fewer hazard conflicts for trials in which both hazard types were critical to maneuver selection. Maneuver strategy was also found to vary by scenario geometry.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 4105-4127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew C. Wozniak ◽  
Allison L. Steiner

Abstract. We develop a prognostic model called Pollen Emissions for Climate Models (PECM) for use within regional and global climate models to simulate pollen counts over the seasonal cycle based on geography, vegetation type, and meteorological parameters. Using modern surface pollen count data, empirical relationships between prior-year annual average temperature and pollen season start dates and end dates are developed for deciduous broadleaf trees (Acer, Alnus, Betula, Fraxinus, Morus, Platanus, Populus, Quercus, Ulmus), evergreen needleleaf trees (Cupressaceae, Pinaceae), grasses (Poaceae; C3, C4), and ragweed (Ambrosia). This regression model explains as much as 57 % of the variance in pollen phenological dates, and it is used to create a climate-flexible phenology that can be used to study the response of wind-driven pollen emissions to climate change. The emissions model is evaluated in the Regional Climate Model version 4 (RegCM4) over the continental United States by prescribing an emission potential from PECM and transporting pollen as aerosol tracers. We evaluate two different pollen emissions scenarios in the model using (1) a taxa-specific land cover database, phenology, and emission potential, and (2) a plant functional type (PFT) land cover, phenology, and emission potential. The simulated surface pollen concentrations for both simulations are evaluated against observed surface pollen counts in five climatic subregions. Given prescribed pollen emissions, the RegCM4 simulates observed concentrations within an order of magnitude, although the performance of the simulations in any subregion is strongly related to the land cover representation and the number of observation sites used to create the empirical phenological relationship. The taxa-based model provides a better representation of the phenology of tree-based pollen counts than the PFT-based model; however, we note that the PFT-based version provides a useful and climate-flexible emissions model for the general representation of the pollen phenology over the United States.


Alergoprofil ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 15-20
Author(s):  
Anna Rapiejko ◽  
Małgorzata Malkiewicz ◽  
Monika Ziemianin ◽  
Aneta Sulborska ◽  
Kazimiera Chłopek ◽  
...  

The study aims to compare the oak pollen season in selected Polish cities; Bialystok, Bydgoszcz, Cracow, Katowice, Piotrkow Trybunalski, Lublin, Olsztyn, Opole, Szczecin, Warsaw, and Wroclaw in 2020. Measurements were made using the volumetric method, with a Hirst-type sampler. Oak pollen season, defined as the period with 98% of the annual total catch, started between 14 (in Opole) and 25 April (in Lublin). The season ended on 1 June at the latest;  in Sosnowiec, Bydgoszcz, Olsztyn, and Bialystok. It lasted from 30 to 47 days  (37 days on average). The maximum daily oak pollen concentrations were observed between 24 April and 11 May. The highest annual sum of oak pollen grains (SPI) was recorded in Lublin, while the lowest in Bialystok. The highest concentrations of 596 oak pollen grains/m3 were noted in Lublin on 28 April. The longest exposure to high concentrations of oak pollen (>91 grains/m3), lasting 12-13 days, was recorded in Lublin, Opole, and Wroclaw.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Letty A. de Weger ◽  
Peter Th. W. van Hal ◽  
Bernadette Bos ◽  
Frank Molster ◽  
Marijke Mostert ◽  
...  

Background: Pollen is a major trigger for allergic symptoms in sensitized individuals. Airborne pollen is usually monitored by Hirst type pollen samplers located at rooftop level, providing a general overview of the pollen distribution in the larger surroundings. In this feasibility study, grass pollen-sensitized subjects monitored the pollen in their direct environment using a portable pollen sampler (Pollensniffer) and scored their symptoms, to study the relation between symptom severity and personal grass pollen exposure. For comparison the symptoms were also correlated with pollen collected by the rooftop sampler.Methods: After recruitment 18 participants were screened for grass pollen specific (GP-sIgE) of which 12 were eligible. Nine participants completed the study (May, 2018). They were asked to monitor personal pollen exposure using a Pollensniffer on their way to school, work or other destination, and to score their symptoms via a mobile app on a scale from 0 to 10. Daily pollen concentrations were collected by a Hirst type sampler at rooftop level. Pollen grains were analyzed using a microscope.Results: Three of the four participants with high GP-sIgE (≥9.6 kU/l) reported high symptom scores (>4) and an analysis showed a significant correlation (CC) between eye, nose, and lung symptoms and the grass pollen counts collected by the Pollensniffer, as well as the daily grass pollen concentrations monitored by the rooftop sampler (CC≥0.54). In contrast, the participants with low GP-sIgE levels (<9.6 kU/l) reported low symptom scores (≤4) and often other sensitizations were present. For these subjects, no significant positive correlations (CC<0.3) of symptoms with either grass pollen collected by the personal or the rooftop sampler were found.Conclusion: The results of this feasibility study suggest that correlations between the severity of clinical symptoms of grass pollen allergic patients, and grass pollen counts as determined by the Pollensniffer or a rooftop sampler, is restricted to patients with high GP-sIgE levels, high symptom scores, and no relevant other sensitizations. Based on the low numbers of subjects with severe symptoms included in this feasibility study, no conclusions can be drawn on the performance of the Pollensniffer in relating symptoms and pollen exposure in comparison with the rooftop sampler.Trial Registration: The study was approved by the Committee Medical Ethics of the LUMC (approval numbers: NL63953.058.17/ P17.304).


Alergoprofil ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 34-40
Author(s):  
Krystyna Piotrowska-Weryszko ◽  
Elżbieta Weryszko-Chmielewska ◽  
Aneta Sulborska ◽  
Małgorzata Puc ◽  
Małgorzata Malkiewicz ◽  
...  

Various concentrations of Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae pollen are detected in the air of many regions of Europe. The highest content of pollen produced by the taxon is reported in southern Europe and in other countries with a warm climate and low precipitation sums. The study was focused on characterization of the Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae pollen season in 11 Polish cities: Bialystok, Bydgoszcz, Cracow, Lublin, Olsztyn, Piotrkow Trybunalski, Sosnowiec, Szczecin, Warsaw, Wroclaw, and Zielona Gora in 2020. The volumetric method based on the use of the Lanzoni or Burkard pollen sampler was employed in the study. In 2020, the pollen season in the analyzed plant family began in the second half of June and ended during the first ten days of October. The earliest pollen season onset was recorded in Lublin (13.06) and Szczecin (14.06), whereas the latest beginning was noted in Wroclaw (5.07). The earliest and latest end of the pollen season was recorded in Bialystok (6.09) and in Olszyn (5.10), respectively. In terms of length, the season was characterized by the shortest duration in Wroclaw (70 days) and the longest duration in Olsztyn (106 days). In most of the analyzed cities, maximum pollen concentrations were detected in the second half of August, and the highest values were recorded in Zielona Gora and Sosnowiec. Compared to 2019 and 2018, relatively low sums of the annual concentrations of Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae pollen grains, i.e. in the range of 35-231, were recorded in Poland in 2020. The highest values of this parameter were reported in Olsztyn (231) and Lublin (230), whereas the lowest value was noted in Bialystok (35). The relatively low maximum concentrations of Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae pollen recorded during the study year indicate a low risk of development of allergy symptoms induced by the presence of pollen of this taxon in the air.


2012 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Nadih ◽  
Zvonimira Knežević ◽  
Renata Josipović ◽  
Ivanka Grgić ◽  
Ante Cvitković

Pollen Counts in Slavonski Brod, Croatia During the Pollination Period 2008 to 2010Hay fever or pollinosis is the allergic reaction of the human body to allergic pollen grains and is a seasonal phenomenon. Pollen concentrations depend on the climate, geographic features, and vegetation. Trees, grass, and weed pollinosis is frequent in Croatia, common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisifolia L.) pollinosis in particular. Continuous monitoring of pollen air concentrations can provide timely information to the general public and can help sensitised patients and their physicians to prevent or alleviate allergic reactions. This is the task of health ecology services such as our Public Health Institute of the Brod-Posavina County. This article reports pollen concentrations in Slavonski Brod measured in March 2008 to November 2008, March 2009 to October 2009, and April 2010 to October 2010 and discusses the increasing exposure to ragweed and ways to control it.


Alergoprofil ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Rapiejko ◽  
Małgorzata Malkiewicz ◽  
Tomasz Wolski ◽  
Agata Konarska ◽  
Monika Ziemianin ◽  
...  

The study aims to monitor the alder pollen season in selected Polish cities: Bialystok, Cracow, Lublin, Olsztyn, Opole, Piotrkow Trybunalski, Sosnowiec, Szczecin, Warsaw, Wroclaw and Zielona Gora in 2021. Pollen concentrations were recorded by volumetric method using a Burkard-type sampler operating in a continuous volumetric mode. Alder pollen season, defined as the period with 98% of the annual total catch, started in 3rd decade of February in all monitoring sites. There was a marked variation in duration of the season between the sites. It lasted from 31 in Cracow to 54 days in Bialystok (38 days on average). The highest peak daily alder pollen concentrations were observed in Wroclaw (1879 grains/m3) on February 26th). The longest exposure to high concentrations of alder pollen, lasting 22–24 days, was detected in Zielona Gora, Piotrkow Trybunalski and Olsztyn. The alder pollen season in 2021, compared to the previous year, was longer, with higher average sum of daily concentrations over the season, higher maximum daily concentrations and longer exposure to high pollen concentrations at most monitoring sites.


2012 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krystyna Piotrowska

This paper analyses pollen deposition in Lublin (Poland) and Skien (Norway). The studies were conducted in the years 1999 and 2000 using the gravimetric method and a Durham sampler. The study results varied both between years and cities. 10 more plant taxa were identified in Lublin than in Skien. In Lublin the highest airborne pollen concentrations were recorded in April, whereas in Skien in May and July. <i>Betula</i>, <i>Pinaceae</i> and <i>Poaceae</i> were the dominant taxa at the sampling site in Poland, while in Norway these were <i>Pinaceae</i>, <i>Betula</i> and <i>Urtica</i>. During the period of two years, annual pollen sums for most taxa were higher in the conditions of Poland, and the maximum pollen concentrations of <i>Betula</i> and <i>Poaceae</i> were higher in Poland, while for <i>Pinaceae</i> the pollen counts were higher in Norway.


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