A PILOT STUDY OF SENSITIZATION TO PLANE TREE POLLEN IN SOFIA, BULGARIA

Purpose: Platanus pollen is a serious cause of asthma, allergic rhinitis and conjunctivitis in many European countries. The aim of the present pilot study is to investigate the sensitization to 3 different plane tree species in a group of patients with pollinosis. Materials and methods: 21 patients were surveyed - 11 men and 10 women. A skin prick test was performed with a set of allergens: Grass pollen mix; Betulaceae pollen mix; Platanusorientalis; Platanusacerifolia; Platanusoccidentalis. Results: 95% of patients are sensitized to grass pollen, with moderate positive skin reactions predominating. 86% have a co-sensitization to tree pollens also, particularly to the birch tree family. Only 3 (14%) of the studied patients showed slight positive skin tests to the studied plane tree allergens, with no significant difference in sensitization to studied Platanus species (p>0,05). Conclusion: At present, the sensitization to different Platanus species is not comparable to that of grass or birch pollen. However, it will be necessary to conduct new long-term, large-scale studies to prove whether Platanus pose a real threat to people in urban areas. The results of this interdisciplinary study are important both for clinical allergologists and for landscape architects and ecologists involved in the planning and management of urban green infrastructure.

Allergenic potential of Platanus L. species in urban environment

The species of the genus Platanus L. are widely used in urban green infrastructure in Bulgaria and abroad, but are proven to be a serious source of allergen pollen emissions. The number of people, affected by pollinosis, is increasing every year and this affects the world economy and health of the population in a high level. The pollen of the plane tree is light, very small and spreads anemophilically. This is one of the genera that produce the largest amount of pollen per inflorescence. This makes Platanus a tree of a high allergy potential that has the tendence to get higher in time, because of its increasing use in urban green spaces. The aim of this study is to collect data for allergy potential of the three species of plane tree in some of the European countries, where the allergy is a significant problem, and to compare the sensitization of patients to its pollen in Bulgaria.

The Bernardi Formula for Nontransitive Deformations of the Braid Arrangement

Bernardi has given a general formula for the number of regions of a deformation of the braid arrangement as a signed sum over boxed trees. We prove that each set of boxed trees which share an underlying (rooted labeled plane) tree contributes 0 or $\pm 1$ to this sum, and we give an algorithm for computing this value. For Ish-type arrangements, we further construct a sign-reversing involution which reduces Bernardi's signed sum to the enumeration of a set of (rooted labeled plane) trees. We conclude by explicitly enumerating the trees corresponding to the regions of Ish-type arrangements which are nested, recovering their known counting formula.

Safety and Effectiveness of a Single Multiallergen Subcutaneous Immunotherapy in Polyallergic Patients

<b><i>Background:</i></b> As the number of allergic sensitizations increases the severity of allergic respiratory diseases worsens. Multiple monoallergen immunotherapy can be accompanied by poor treatment adherence and high costs, single multiallergen immunotherapy needs to prove efficacy whilst maintaining a good safety profile. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Observational, retrospective, multicenter study using a 2-pollen single undiluted multiallergen subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) in routine clinical practice in Spain. Patients with rhinoconjunctivitis, with/without controlled asthma, sensitized to grass, olive, Parietaria, Cupressus, plane tree and/or Salsola pollen were included. Primary and secondary clinical efficacy endpoints were quality of life (mini Rhinitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (miniRQLQ)) and visual analogue scale (VAS) respectively. All adverse events were documented. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Ten centers included 97 patients, median age 32 years. SCIT treatment included combinations of grass mix with olive, Parietaria, Cupressus, plane tree or Salsola or olive with Parietaria, Cupressus or Salsola. The mean duration of SCIT was 1.8 years with a high treatment adherence (73%). Significant improvement in quality of life, nasal and ocular symptoms, activity limitations and practical problems (<i>p</i>&#x3c; 0.0001) and other symptoms (<i>p</i>= 0.024) was observed. Most patients did not develop asthma-like symptoms and a significant improvement of all allergic symptom severity was perceived. VAS showed a significant improvement in rhinoconjunctivitis and asthma by patients and physicians. Twenty-nine patients experienced adverse reactions, 25 had local and 6 had systemic reactions. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Single undiluted multiallergen SCIT treatment of two different pollens is efficacious and safe in both children and adults, showing that it is a suitable option for the treatment of polyallergic patients.

Corythucha ciliata (sycamore lace bug).

C. ciliata, the sycamore lace bug, is a highly invasive pest insect of plane (sycamore) trees (Platanus sp.). It is likely that its spread is facilitated by human activity, particularly vehicles along major transport routes. Maceljski (1986) states that these insects are "good fliers", but most authors (e.g. Wade, 1917) suggest that their delicate wings make them weak fliers and that human activity is more likely to lead to the spread of this species. The occurrence of plane tree hosts will limit the distribution of C. ciliata, but as these trees are widely planted throughout the world in streets and parks as ornamental shade trees, there is considerable scope for their further advance.

Activated Porous Carbon Derived from Tea and Plane Tree Leaves Biomass for the Removal of Pharmaceutical Compounds from Wastewaters

The aim of the present study is the synthesis of activated carbon (AC) from different agricultural wastes such as tea and plane tree leaves in order to use them for the removal of pramipexole dihydrochloride (PRM) from aqueous solutions. Two different carbonization and synthetic activation protocols were followed, with the herein-proposed ultrasound-assisted two-step protocol leading to better-performing carbon, especially for the tea-leaf-derived material (TEA(char)-AC). Physicochemical characterizations were performed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), N2 physisorption, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). TEA(char)-AC presented the highest surface area (1151 m2/g) and volume of micro and small mesopores. Maximum capacity was found at 112 mg/g for TEA(char)-AC at an optimum pH equal to 3, with the Langmuir isotherm model presenting a better fitting. The removal efficiency of TEA(char)-AC is higher than other biomass-derived carbons and closer to benchmark commercial carbons.