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Dear Colleagues,

We are continuously witnessing the effects of air quality on human health as the greatest threat that can compromise the quality of life of generations to come. We are continuously being exposed to a range of pollutants and contaminants, e.g., nanoparticulate matter, volatile organic compounds, microorganisms, which pose serious acute and/or chronic risks to living matter. With this Special Issue, we aim to publish a number of interesting contributions addressing the diagnostic and/or monitoring tools that are becoming available to assess the quality of air and its effects on human, animal, and plant health. Both original and review articles discussing the impact of surrounding indoor and outdoor air quality, which concerns not only dispersion and invasion of microorganisms and aeroallergenes (e.g., molds, pollen), particulate matter (e.g., dust, airborne sand, wildfire smoke, debris), and climate and weather changes, but also globalization, and how these elements can be traced and monitored, are most welcome. Ethics issues and risk assessment are also expected to be covered.

Prof. Dr. Eliana B. Souto
Prof. Dr. Patricia Severino
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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.

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Keywords

Diagnostic tools
Monitoring tools
Risk assessment
Air quality
Microorganisms
Particulate matter

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 3591 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of a Manometric Monitoring Method for Early Detection of Air Microbiological Contamination in the Bloodstream

by Agenor G. dos Santos-Neto, Malone S. Pinheiro, Monica C. dos Santos, Lumar L. Alves, Renata R. S. Poderoso, Juliana C. Cardoso, Patricia Severino, Eliana B. Souto and Ricardo L. C. de Albuquerque-Junior

Atmosphere 2021, 12(6), 702; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos12060702 - 30 May 2021

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Abstract

Atmospheric air is a microbial habitat of pathogenic bioaerosols that may pose serious risks to humans. A commonly laboratory-based approach for the diagnosis of such infections in the bloodstream is the blood culture analysis. Its clinical relevance is attributed to the fact that these infections are characterized by high rates of morbidity and mortality, requiring the need for efficient methods for rapid diagnosis. For this reason, our study aimed to develop a method of manometric monitoring for the rapid detection of viable microorganisms in blood culture vials. A methodology was developed to detect pressure variation in intra-vials through a manometric instrument that was coupled to vials of blood culture containing culture broth that allowed microbial growth. This device allowed the early detection of microbial activity based on the production or use of intra-flask gases as a result of microbial metabolic activity. The analyzed variables were the pressure as a function of time, microbial species, and culture medium. The highest pressure found in the flasks without microorganisms was 40 mmHg between 2 and 6 h, and the lowest pressure was −42 mmHg between 21 and 24 h. The variation of the internal pressure in blood culture flasks according to different groups of microorganisms as a function of time demonstrated that the fermentative gram-negative bacilli and gram-positive cocci exhibited a significant increase in relation to their respective control groups (p < 0.001). The non-fermenting gram-negative bacilli showed expected results in relation to the pressure variation in which the production of negative pressures was noticed during the period of analysis, with a significant difference with respect to their control groups (p < 0.001). The developed methodology for the early detection of microorganisms responsible for bloodstream infection was demonstrated to be effective. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnostic/Monitoring Tools for the Screening of Air/Environment Quality Effects on Human, Animal, and Plant Health)

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Other

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10 pages, 1922 KiB

Open AccessBrief Report

SARS-CoV-2 RNA Recovery from Air Sampled on Quartz Fiber Filters: A Matter of Sample Preservation?

by Sabina Licen, Luisa Zupin, Lorenzo Martello, Valentina Torboli, Sabrina Semeraro, Anna Lilian Gardossi, Enrico Greco, Francesco Fontana, Sergio Crovella, Maurizio Ruscio, Jolanda Palmisani, Alessia Di Gilio, Prisco Piscitelli, Alberto Pallavicini and Pierluigi Barbieri

Atmosphere 2022, 13(2), 340; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos13020340 - 17 Feb 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2198

Abstract

The airborne route of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 was confirmed by the World Health Organization in April 2021. There is an urge to establish standardized protocols for assessing the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in air samples to support risk assessment, especially in indoor environments. Debates on the airborne transmission route of SARS-CoV-2 have been complicated because, among the studies testing the presence of the virus in the air, the percentage of positive samples has often been very low. In the present study, we report preliminary results on a study for the evaluation of parameters that can influence SARS-CoV-2 RNA recovery from quartz fiber filters spotted either by standard single-stranded SARS-CoV-2 RNA or by inactivated SARS-CoV-2 virions. The analytes were spiked on filters and underwent an active or passive sampling; then, they were preserved at −80 °C for different numbers of days (0 to 54) before extraction and analysis. We found a mean recovery of 2.43%, except for the sample not preserved (0 days) that showed a recovery of 13.51%. We found a relationship between the number of days and the recovery percentage. The results presented show a possible issue that relates to the quartz matrix and SARS-CoV-2 RNA recovery. The results are in accordance with the already published studies that described similar methods for SARS-CoV-2 RNA field sampling and that reported non-detectable concentrations of RNA. These outcomes could be false negatives due to sample preservation conditions. Thus, until further investigation, we suggest, as possible alternatives, to keep the filters: (i) in a sealed container for preservation at 4 °C; and (ii) in a viral transport medium for preservation at a temperature below 0 °C. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnostic/Monitoring Tools for the Screening of Air/Environment Quality Effects on Human, Animal, and Plant Health)

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