Viable and not viable spore concentrations in National Gallery of Umbria (Italy)

The conservation actions towards artworks holding a common patrimony for the community are of primary importance, but also those related to their "container" as museums, libraries or archives are to consider. Fungal spores and bacteria carried by air flows to the artwork surface can colonize it causing biodeterioration through physical and/or chemical alterations of the materials with the irreversible loss of their value. The quality control of the indoor air surrounding the historic building is essential, as well as for the protection and conservation of the artwork, also for the protection of the health of operators and visitors. The aim of this study was to monitor airborne fungal particles, through volumetric spore traps, for improving the knowledge about the conservation and protection of artworks in the museum environment analysing the principal relationships between indoor environmental conditions and potentially biodeteriogen fungal spore growth. The evidence of no significant relationships between spore concentrations and environmental conditions recorded inside the different expositive rooms testified the regular and correct maintenance of the air conditioning system inside the considered building (National Gallery of Umbria, central Italy). Moreover, in a specific museum room a significant spore concentration decreasing trend was recorded mainly due to a structural modification in the same building.

Fungal Contaminants in Energy Efficient Dwellings: Impact of Ventilation Type and Level of Urbanization

The presence of growing fungi in the indoor environment has been associated with the development of respiratory problems such as asthma or allergic rhinitis, as well as the worsening of respiratory pathologies. Their proliferation indoors could be a result of water leakage or inadequate ventilation. Although the factors promoting mould growth have been widely investigated in traditional dwellings, little work has been done in energy efficient dwellings. Here, the effectiveness of ventilation type, i.e., natural or mechanical, in influencing mould development was estimated in 44 recent and 105 retrofitted energy efficient dwellings. Fungi growing on surfaces were investigated in the dwellings situated in rural, peri-urban, and urban regions of Switzerland. The presence of these fungi was also investigated in bedroom settled dust. Information on building characteristics and owners’ lifestyle were collected. Significant associations were found with the level of urbanisation, the location of mouldy area in dwellings, and the diversity of fungal taxa. Dwellings in peri-urban zones showed the most frequent fungal contamination in the owners’ bedroom and the highest diversity of fungal genera among dwellings. While the urbanisation level or the ventilation type favoured no specific genus, we found marked disparities in the diversity of fungi growing on surfaces in naturally ventilated versus mechanically ventilated dwellings. Aspergillus, in particular, was a frequent surface contaminant in bedrooms with natural ventilation, but not in those mechanically ventilated. We observed a strong association between fungal growth on surfaces and the number of fungal particles counted in the settled dust of owners’ bedrooms. These results demonstrate the importance of ventilation systems in energy efficient dwellings in controlling fungal proliferation in living areas.

The Dose of Fungal Aerosol Inhaled by Workers in a Waste-Sorting Plant in Poland: A Case Study

Bioaerosol monitoring is a rapidly emerging area in the context of work environments because microbial pollution is a key element of indoor air pollution and plays an important role in certain infectious diseases and allergies. However, as yet, relatively little is known about inhaled doses of microorganisms in workplaces. Today, the important issue of social concern is due to waste management, transport, sorting, and processing of wastes and their environmental impact and effects on public health. In fact, waste management activities can have numerous adverse effects on human wellbeing. Health effects are generally linked to exposure (EX), defined as the concentration of a contaminant and the length of time a person is exposed to this concentration. Dose is an effective tool for evaluating the quantity of a contaminant that actually crosses the body’s boundaries and influences the goal tissue. This document presents an analysis of the fungal waste-sorting plant EX dose (FWSPED) inhaled by workers in a waste-sorting plant (WSP) in Poland in March 2019. The main purpose of this research was to assess FWSPED inhaled by workers in two cabins at the WSP: the preliminary manual sorting cabin (PSP) and the purification manual sorting cabin (quality control; QSP). It was found that the FWSPED inhaled by workers was 193 CFU/kg in the PSP and 185 CFU/kg in the QSP. Fungal particles were quantitatively evaluated and qualitatively identified by the GEN III Biolog system. During the research, it was found that isolates belonging to the Aspergilus flavus and Penicillum chrysogenum strains were detected most frequently in the WSP. The total elimination of many anthropogenic sources is not possible, but the important findings of this research can be used to develop realistic management policies and methods to improve the biological air quality of WSPs for effective protection of WSP workers.

Preventive Conservation of Cultural Heritage: Biodeteriogens Control by Aerobiological Monitoring

Artefact conditions need to be continuously monitored to avoid degradation effects naturally caused by time and public exploitation in order to increase the value of cultural assets. In this way, the atmospheric analysis of both biological and chemical pollutants potentially present inside conservation environments represents valid support for the adoption of preventive conservation actions by evaluating periodically the presence of risk for the same artefacts. The aim of the present study was to analyze the fungal particles, potentially biodeteriogen, through aerobiological volumetric monitoring, particularly inside valuable historical, artistic, and cultural sites. Different exposition and conservation typologies of the artefacts with different flows of visitors were considered. The applied methodologies have furnished a reliable description of biological air pollution due to the presence of fungal spores—moreover, they have allowed for the prevention of risk situations and the measurement of their evolution in order to limit degradation processes. Through aerobiological monitoring, it was possible to provide important indications for interventions of prevention, conservation and restoration of cultural heritage in indoor environments.

Morphology, mixing state, and hygroscopicity of primary biological aerosol particles from a Chinese boreal forest

Biological aerosols play an important role in atmospheric chemistry, clouds, climate, and public health. Here, we studied the morphology and composition of primary biological aerosol particles (PBAPs) collected in the Lesser Khingan Mountain boreal forest of China in summertime using transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Of all detected particles > 100 nm in diameter, 13 % by number were identified as PBAPs. In addition, 57 % of the PBAPs were identified as bacteria, followed by brochosomes (24 %) and fungi (19 %). The dominant size of bacteria was 1–4 μm, fungi was 2–4 μm, and brochosomes was 300–500 nm. The number size distribution of PBAPs coupled with the mass concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 were used to estimate the total mass concentration of PBAPs, which is approximately 1.9 μg m−3 and accounts for 47 % of the in situ PM2.5–10 mass. C, N, O, P, K, and Si are detected in all PBAP particles, and P represented a major marker to identify PBAPs. Moreover, there is a higher frequency and concentration of PBAPs at night compared with day. Bacterial and fungal particles displayed weak hygroscopicity with a growth factor of ~ 1.09 at RH = 94 %. Electron microscopy shows that approximately 20 % of the bacterial particles were internally mixed with metal, mineral dust, and inorganic salts in the boreal forest air. This work provides a database for both further understanding physicochemical state of individual PBAP particles from natural sources and expanding the scope of atmospheric implications.

Concentration and size distribution of biological particles in school classrooms

Fungal and bacterial aerosol particles concentrations are measured in a school classrooms at two different floors using the 6-stage Andersen impactor as a bioaersol sampler. The average bacterial concentration is higher than the average fungal concentration. The concentrations were 957 and 955 cfu/m3 for bacterial particles at first and second floors, respectively while the fungal particles concentrations were 146 and 235 cfu/m3 at first and second floors, respectively. Most of the biological particles were concentrated at the size range of respirable particles (< 5 µm ) that can penetrate into the alveoli and may cause lung diseases. The human activity is a main factor for the production of microbiological particles. Environmental factors play also a role on the fungal growth. Bacterial concentration is almost twice the guide value of WHO while the fungal concentration is underestimation.

A PILOT INVESTIGATION INTO ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN VARIOUS INDOOR AIRBORNE FUNGAL PARTICLES IN TRIPLICANE PUBLIC TOILET OF CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU

Objective: To study and to explore the fungal species present in indoor toilet environment.Methods: Lactophenol cotton blue staining.Results: 5 fungi isolates belonging to 5 genus were identified namely Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigates, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus terreus and Rhizopus oryzae.Conclusion: In order to improve the quality of indoor toilet environment regular cleaning and disinfection should be done daily.

(1→3)-β–d-Glucan and Galactomannan for Differentiating Chemical “Black Particles” and Fungal Particles Inside Peritoneal Dialysis Tubing

BackgroundAseptic, sheet-like foreign bodies observed inside Tenckhoff (TK) catheter lumens (referred to as “black particles”) are, on gross morphology, hardly distinguishable from fungal colonization because these contaminants adhere tightly to the catheter. Detection of fungal cell wall components using (1→3)-β–d-glucan (BG) and galactomannan index (GMI) might be an alternative method for differentiating the particles.MethodsForeign particles retrieved from TK catheters in 19 peritoneal dialysis patients were examined microscopically and cultured for fungi and bacteria. Simultaneously, a Fungitell test (Associates of Cape Cod, Falmouth, MA, USA) and a Platelia Aspergillus ELISA assay (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Marnes-La-Coquette, France) were used to test the spent dialysate for BG and GMI respectively.ResultsOf the 19 patients, 9 had aseptic black particles and 10 had fungal particles in their tubing. The fungal particles looked grainy, were tightly bound to the catheter, and appeared more “colorful” than the black particles, which looked sheet-like and could easily be removed by milking the tubing. Compared with effluent from patients having aseptic particles, effluent from patients with fungal particles had significantly higher levels of BG (501 ± 70 pg/mL vs. 46 ± 10 pg/mL) and GMI (10.98 ± 2.17 vs. 0.25 ± 0.05). Most of the fungi that formed colonies inside the catheter lumen were molds not usually found in clinical practice, but likely from water or soil, suggesting environmental contamination. Interestingly, in all 10 patients with fungal colonization, visualization of black particles preceded a peritonitis episode and TK catheter removal by approximately 1–3 weeks; in patients with aseptic particles, a 17-week onset to peritonitis was observed.ConclusionsIn all patients with particle-coated peritoneal dialysis tubing, spent dialysate should be screened for BG and GMI. Manipulation of the TK catheter by squeezing, hard flushing, or even brushing to dislodge black particles should be avoided. Replacement of the TK catheter should be suspended until a cause for the particles is determined.

Submicronic Fungal Bioaerosols: High-Resolution Microscopic Characterization and Quantification

ABSTRACTSubmicronic particles released from fungal cultures have been suggested to be additional sources of personal exposure in mold-contaminated buildings.In vitrogeneration of these particles has been studied with particle counters, eventually supplemented by autofluorescence, that recognize fragments by size and discriminate biotic from abiotic particles. However, the fungal origin of submicronic particles remains unclear. In this study, submicronic fungal particles derived fromAspergillus fumigatus,A. versicolor, andPenicillium chrysogenumcultures grown on agar and gypsum board were aerosolized and enumerated using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). A novel bioaerosol generator and a fungal spores source strength tester were compared at 12 and 20 liters min−1airflow. The overall median numbers of aerosolized submicronic particles were 2 × 105cm−2, 2.6 × 103cm−2, and 0.9 × 103cm−2forA. fumigatus,A. versicolor, andP. chrysogenum, respectively.A. fumigatusreleased significantly (P< 0.001) more particles thanA. versicolorandP. chrysogenum. The ratios of submicronic fragments to larger particles, regardless of media type, were 1:3, 5:1, and 1:2 forA. fumigatus,A. versicolor, andP. chrysogenum, respectively. Spore fragments identified by the presence of rodlets amounted to 13%, 2%, and 0% of the submicronic particles released fromA. fumigatus,A. versicolor, andP. chrysogenum, respectively. Submicronic particles with and without rodlets were also aerosolized from cultures grown on cellophane-covered media, indirectly confirming their fungal origin. Both hyphae and conidia could fragment into submicronic particles and aerosolizein vitro. These findings further highlight the potential contribution of fungal fragments to personal fungal exposure.