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Atmosphere
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Biological Particles in Atmosphere
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Biological Particles in Atmosphere

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Air Quality".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2017) | Viewed by 27755

Special Issue Editors

Assoc. Prof. Józef S. Pastuszka

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Guest Editor
Department of Air Protection, Silesian University of Technology, 22B Konarskiego St., 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Prof. Dr. Ewa Brągoszewska

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Department of Technologies and Installations for Waste Management, Silesian University of Technology, 18 Konarskiego St., 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Interests: indoor and outdoor air quality; bioaerosol; bacteria; fungi; epidemiology; public health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Anna Mainka

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Department of Air Protection, Silesian University of Technology, 22B Konarskiego St., 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Interests: ambient and indoor air quality, air pollution caused by PM, VOCs, bioaerosols and CO2, atmospheric chemistry especially S(IV) kinetics as well as the determination of gaseous pollutants by spectrophotometric methods.

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The aim of this Special Issue of Atmosphere is to communicate a selection of papers on the nature and effects of biological particles in the atmosphere, their health effects, and on methodologies and techniques associated with their assessment and characterization. Biological particles suspended in the air are called bioaerosols. They are a composition of various particles of biological origin. These may comprise microorganisms, such as the cells of bacteria and yeasts and the spores of actinomycetes and fungi, as well as insects and mites, fragments of organisms and their products. Biological particles possess many special physical, chemical and, of course, biological properties. They have been found to be very important in diverse fields, including air contamination, emission control, health effects, instrumentation, and fundamental transfer processes. Studies of biological particles in the atmosphere would, therefore, involve multidisciplinary approaches. We assume that the scope of this Special Issue will contains all the problems mentioned above, especially the characteristics of various airborne biological particles, their interactions with other air pollutants, mainly with solid particles, their transport in the atmosphere, deposition and resusupension, sampling and identification techniques, as well as their influence on human health. We believe that the timely publication of the results and implication of biological particles studies will stimulate cross-fertilization of knowledge among scientists and engineers in many different fields/branches, and will provide a platform for future exploration.

Assoc. Prof. Józef S. Pastuszka
Guest Editor
Dr. Eng. Anna Mainka
Dr. Ewa Brągoszewska
Co-Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

References

  1. Nevalainen, A.; Pastuszka, J.; Liebhaber, F.; Willeke, K. Performance of bioaerosol samplers: Collection characteristics and sampler design consideration. Environ. 1992, 26, 531–540.
  2. Nevalainen, A.; Willeke, K.; Liebhaber, F.; Pastuszka, J.; Burge, H.; Henningson, E. Bioaerosol sampling. In Aerosol Measurement: Principles, Techniques and Applications; Kulkarni, P., Baron, P.A., Willeke, K.; John Wiley and Sons: New York, NY, USA, 1993; pp. 471–492.
  3. Pastuszka, J.S. Exposure of the General Population Living in Upper Silesia Industrial Zone to the Particulate, Fibrous and Biological (Bacteria and Fungi) Aerosols; Wroclaw Technical University: Wroclaw, Poland, 2001. (In Polish)
  4. Lis, D.O.; Ulfig, K.; Wlazło, A.; Pastuszka, J.S. Microbial air quality in offices at municipal landfills. Occup. Environ. Hyg. 2004, 1, 62–68.
  5. Pastuszka, J.S.; Marchwińska-Wyrwał, E.; Wlazło, A. Bacterial aerosol in the Silesian hospitals: preliminary results. Polish J. Environ. 2005, 14, 883–890.
  6. Pastuszka, J.S.; Talik ,E.; Hacura, A.; Słoka, J.; Wlazło, A. Chemical characterization of airborne bacteria using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Aerobiologia 2005, 21, 181–192.
  7. Płoszaj, J.; Talik, E.; Piotrowska-Seget, Z.; Pastuszka, J.S. Physical and chemical studies of bacterial bioaerosols at wastewater treatment plant using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Solid State Phenom. 2012, 186, 32–36.
  8. Brągoszewska, E.; Mainka, A.; Pastuszka, J.S. Bacterial aerosols in an urban nursery school in Gliwice, Poland: A case study. Aerobiologia 2016, 32, 469–480.
  9. Pastuszka, J.S. Biological aerosols. In Fine Particles in the Atmosphere; . Juda-Rezler, K., Toczko, B., Biblioteka Monitoringu Środowiska, Główny Inspektorat Ochrony Środowiska: Warsaw, Poland, 2016; pp. 43-49. (in Polish)
  10. Pastuszka, J.S. Synergic Influence of Gaseous, Particulate, and Biological Pollutants on Human Health; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, USA, 2016.

Keywords

  • Bioaerosol
  • Bacteria
  • Fungi
  • Pollen
  • Viruses
  • Bioaerosol Sampling

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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1618 KiB  
Article
Concentration and Size Distribution of Culturable Bacteria in Ambient Air during Spring and Winter in Gliwice: A Typical Urban Area
by Ewa Brągoszewska, Anna Mainka and Jozef S. Pastuszka
Atmosphere 2017, 8(12), 239; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8120239 - 1 Dec 2017
Cited by 54 | Viewed by 6757
Abstract
The concentrations and size distributions of culturable bacterial aerosols were measured during spring and winter in outdoor air in Gliwice, Upper Silesia, Poland. This research on culturable bacteria was carried over a period of two years. The samples were collected using a six-stage [...] Read more.
The concentrations and size distributions of culturable bacterial aerosols were measured during spring and winter in outdoor air in Gliwice, Upper Silesia, Poland. This research on culturable bacteria was carried over a period of two years. The samples were collected using a six-stage Andersen cascade impactor (with aerodynamic cut-off diameters of 7.0, 4.7, 3.3, 2.1, 1.1, and 0.65 μm). The results showed that the average concentration of culturable bacterial aerosol was 355 CFU m−3 in spring, which was four times higher than during winter (65 CFU m−3). Bacterial aerosol concentrations showed the unimodal size distribution with the highest range of 3.3–4.7 μm particles. The seasonal distributions of bacterial aerosol grain clearly indicate that, in winter, the size distribution of particles <7 μm is more “flattened” and is characterized by an increased share of fine fractions and a decreased share of coarse ones. Environmental parameters, such as temperature, UV radiation, relative humidity, wind velocity, as well as PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations, were measured in order to analyse whether environmental factors had any effect on bacterial aerosols. Statistically, the most important meteorological factors in the viability of airborne bacteria were temperature and UV radiation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biological Particles in Atmosphere)
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1353 KiB  
Article
Onshore Wind Speed Modulates Microbial Aerosols along an Urban Waterfront
by M. Elias Dueker, Gregory D. O’Mullan, Joaquín Martínez Martínez, Andrew R. Juhl and Kathleen C. Weathers
Atmosphere 2017, 8(11), 215; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8110215 - 9 Nov 2017
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 5581
Abstract
Wind blowing over aquatic and terrestrial surfaces produces aerosols, which include microbial aerosols. We studied the effect of onshore wind speeds on aerosol concentrations as well as total and culturable microbial aerosols (bacterial and viral) at an urban waterfront (New York, NY, United [...] Read more.
Wind blowing over aquatic and terrestrial surfaces produces aerosols, which include microbial aerosols. We studied the effect of onshore wind speeds on aerosol concentrations as well as total and culturable microbial aerosols (bacterial and viral) at an urban waterfront (New York, NY, United States of America). We used two distinct methods to characterize microbial aerosol responses to wind speed: A culture-based exposure-plate method measuring viable bacterial deposition near-shore (CFU accumulation rate); and a culture-independent aerosol sampler-based method measuring total bacterial and viral aerosols (cells m−3 air). While ambient coarse (>2 µm) and fine (0.3–2 µm) aerosol particle number concentrations (regulated indicators of air quality) decreased with increasing onshore wind speeds, total and depositing culturable bacterial aerosols and total viral aerosols increased. Taxonomic identification of the 16S rDNA of bacterial aerosol isolates suggested both terrestrial and aquatic sources. Wind appears to increase microbial aerosol number concentrations in the near-shore environment by onshore transport at low wind speeds (<4 m s−1), and increased local production and transport of new microbial aerosols from adjacent water surfaces at higher wind speeds (>4 m s−1). This study demonstrates a wind-modulated microbial connection between water and air in the coastal urban environment, with implications for public health management and urban microbial ecology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biological Particles in Atmosphere)
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1260 KiB  
Article
Concentrations and Size Distributions of Bacteria-Containing Particles over Oceans from China to the Arctic Ocean
by Ming Li, Xiawei Yu, Hui Kang, Zhouqing Xie and Pengfei Zhang
Atmosphere 2017, 8(5), 82; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8050082 - 2 May 2017
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 5453
Abstract
During the third China Arctic Research Expedition (July–September 2008), size-resolved measurements of bacteria-containing particles (BCPs) in the marine boundary layer (MBL) air were conducted during a cruise through the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea, the Japan Sea, the Okhotsk Sea, the Bering [...] Read more.
During the third China Arctic Research Expedition (July–September 2008), size-resolved measurements of bacteria-containing particles (BCPs) in the marine boundary layer (MBL) air were conducted during a cruise through the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea, the Japan Sea, the Okhotsk Sea, the Bering Sea, the Chukchi Sea, and the Arctic Ocean. The concentrations of total airborne BCPs (TBCPs), non-salt tolerant airborne BCPs (NSBCPs), and salt tolerant airborne BCPs (SBCPs) varied from 29 to 955 CFU m−3 (CFU = Colony Forming Unit), 16 to 919 CFU m−3, and 4 to 276 CFU m−3, with an average value of 275, 182, and 92 CFU m−3, respectively. Although the SBCP concentrations were less than the NSBCP concentrations when averaged over all measurements, there are several cases where the reverse is true (e.g., in the high Arctic Ocean). During the cruise, the TBCP sizes were dominated by the diameter >4.7 μm fraction (accounted for 46.3% on average), while the fine fraction (diameter <2.1 μm) accounted for 27.8%. For NSBCPs and SBCPs, the coarse fraction also was the dominant fraction over most regions. The influence of local meteorological conditions on the abundance, size distributions, and species of airborne bacteria is discussed. Notably, in the atmosphere over the Arctic Ocean the abundance of airborne bacteria was apparently related to the distribution of sea ice. As cultivation based methodologies may underestimate the environmental bacterial communities, it is expected that the abundance of bacteria in the ambient air would be higher than that observed in this study. In order to distinguish different species of bacteria, molecular biological techniques (e.g., 16S rDNA analysis) are required for identification in future investigations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biological Particles in Atmosphere)
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Review

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1690 KiB  
Review
Review: The Use of Real-Time Fluorescence Instrumentation to Monitor Ambient Primary Biological Aerosol Particles (PBAP)
by Mehael J. Fennelly, Gavin Sewell, Michael B. Prentice, David J. O’Connor and John R. Sodeau
Atmosphere 2018, 9(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9010001 - 21 Dec 2017
Cited by 60 | Viewed by 8384
Abstract
Primary biological aerosol particles (PBAP) encompass many particle types that are derived from several biological kingdoms. These aerosol particles can be composed of both whole living units such as pollen, bacteria, and fungi, as well as from mechanically formed particles, such as plant [...] Read more.
Primary biological aerosol particles (PBAP) encompass many particle types that are derived from several biological kingdoms. These aerosol particles can be composed of both whole living units such as pollen, bacteria, and fungi, as well as from mechanically formed particles, such as plant debris. They constitute a significant proportion of the overall atmospheric particle load and have been linked with adverse health issues and climatic effects on the environment. Traditional methods for their analysis have focused on the direct capture of PBAP before subsequent laboratory analysis. These analysis types have generally relied on direct optical microscopy or incubation on agar plates, followed by time-consuming microbiological investigation. In an effort to address some of these deficits, real-time fluorescence monitors have come to prominence in the analysis of PBAP. These instruments offer significant advantages over traditional methods, including the measurement of concentrations, as well as the potential to simultaneously identify individual analyte particles in real-time. Due to the automated nature of these measurements, large data sets can be collected and analyzed with relative ease. This review seeks to highlight and discuss the extensive literature pertaining to the most commonly used commercially available real-time fluorescence monitors (WIBS, UV-APS and BioScout). It discusses the instruments operating principles, their limitations and advantages, and the various environments in which they have been deployed. The review provides a detailed examination of the ambient fluorescent aerosol particle concentration profiles that are obtained by these studies, along with the various strategies adopted by researchers to analyze the substantial data sets the instruments generate. Finally, a brief reflection is presented on the role that future instrumentation may provide in revolutionizing this area of atmospheric research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biological Particles in Atmosphere)
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