Individuals spend 90% of their time indoors, primarily at home or at work. Indoor environmental factors have a significant impact on human well-being. It was a longitudinal study that assessed the major factors that r...Individuals spend 90% of their time indoors, primarily at home or at work. Indoor environmental factors have a significant impact on human well-being. It was a longitudinal study that assessed the major factors that reduce indoor air quality, namely particulate matter, and bio-aerosols, using low-cost sensors and the settle plate method, respectively also to determine the effect of atmospheric parameters and land use patterns in households of commercial, industrial, residential, slum, and rural areas of the city. PM2.5 concentration levels were similar in most parts of the day across all sites. PM10.0 concentration levels increased indoors in a commercial area. PM2.5 concentration showed a negative correlation with temperature and a positive correlation with relative humidity in some areas. Very high values of PM2.5 concentration and PM10.0 concentration have been observed in this study, inside households of selected rural and urban areas. Pathogenic gram-positive cocci, gram-positive rods, Aspergillus, and Mucor species were the most common bacterial and fungal species respectively found inside households. This study examined particulate matter concentration along with bio-aerosols, as very less studies have been conducted in Jaipur the capital of Rajasthan, a state in the western part of India which assessed both of these factors together to determine the indoor air quality. Rural households surrounding the periphery of the city were found to have similar pollution levels as urban households. So, this study may form the basis for reducing pollution inside households and also for taking suitable measures for the reduction of pollution in the indoor environment.展开更多
Larvae of the processionary moths of the Palaearctic region bear urticating setae that are released against vertebrate predators,especially insectivorous birds.A few species are pests of forest and urban trees a...Larvae of the processionary moths of the Palaearctic region bear urticating setae that are released against vertebrate predators,especially insectivorous birds.A few species are pests of forest and urban trees and,consequently,may threaten human and animal health during outbreaks,causing dermatitis,conjunctivitis and respiratory distress.Although some studies provide detailed information about the setae,particularly those of the pine processionary moth Thaumetopoea pityocampa,there is little knowledge on the morphological traits of the setae and their release by the larvae.In the present study we identify major traits of the setae of 3 species of processionary moth,T.pityocampa,T.pinivora and T.processionea,which are potentially helpful in the understanding of setae dynamics in the environment:(i)diameter and length of setae and(ii)analysis of dynamical properties of the setae in the airborne state.Setae are highly variable in size,with bimodal distribution in T.pityocampa and T.pinivora;in these 2 species,short and long setae are interspersed within the integument fields where they occur.The difference in the seta size has important consequences in dispersion,as smaller setae can spread 5 times further than their bigger counterparts.This information is relevant for a full understanding of the defensive importance of larval setae against natural enemies of the processionary moths,as well for elucidating the importance of the processionary setae as air pollutants,both close to the infested trees and at longer distances.展开更多
文摘Individuals spend 90% of their time indoors, primarily at home or at work. Indoor environmental factors have a significant impact on human well-being. It was a longitudinal study that assessed the major factors that reduce indoor air quality, namely particulate matter, and bio-aerosols, using low-cost sensors and the settle plate method, respectively also to determine the effect of atmospheric parameters and land use patterns in households of commercial, industrial, residential, slum, and rural areas of the city. PM2.5 concentration levels were similar in most parts of the day across all sites. PM10.0 concentration levels increased indoors in a commercial area. PM2.5 concentration showed a negative correlation with temperature and a positive correlation with relative humidity in some areas. Very high values of PM2.5 concentration and PM10.0 concentration have been observed in this study, inside households of selected rural and urban areas. Pathogenic gram-positive cocci, gram-positive rods, Aspergillus, and Mucor species were the most common bacterial and fungal species respectively found inside households. This study examined particulate matter concentration along with bio-aerosols, as very less studies have been conducted in Jaipur the capital of Rajasthan, a state in the western part of India which assessed both of these factors together to determine the indoor air quality. Rural households surrounding the periphery of the city were found to have similar pollution levels as urban households. So, this study may form the basis for reducing pollution inside households and also for taking suitable measures for the reduction of pollution in the indoor environment.
基金This work was funded by the French National Research Agency in the framework of project ANR No.07BDIV 013‘URTICLIM’by the University of Padova grant 2010-C91J10000320001.
文摘Larvae of the processionary moths of the Palaearctic region bear urticating setae that are released against vertebrate predators,especially insectivorous birds.A few species are pests of forest and urban trees and,consequently,may threaten human and animal health during outbreaks,causing dermatitis,conjunctivitis and respiratory distress.Although some studies provide detailed information about the setae,particularly those of the pine processionary moth Thaumetopoea pityocampa,there is little knowledge on the morphological traits of the setae and their release by the larvae.In the present study we identify major traits of the setae of 3 species of processionary moth,T.pityocampa,T.pinivora and T.processionea,which are potentially helpful in the understanding of setae dynamics in the environment:(i)diameter and length of setae and(ii)analysis of dynamical properties of the setae in the airborne state.Setae are highly variable in size,with bimodal distribution in T.pityocampa and T.pinivora;in these 2 species,short and long setae are interspersed within the integument fields where they occur.The difference in the seta size has important consequences in dispersion,as smaller setae can spread 5 times further than their bigger counterparts.This information is relevant for a full understanding of the defensive importance of larval setae against natural enemies of the processionary moths,as well for elucidating the importance of the processionary setae as air pollutants,both close to the infested trees and at longer distances.