Ayşe Kaplan

A one-year aeropalynological study at Ankara, Turkey

Atmospheric pollen was collected with a Burkard sporetrap in Ankara, Turkey from January 1993 to January1994. The sum of the annual totals of the dailyconcentration of pollen, belonging to 44 taxa, was57,735. A relatively high pollen concentration wasrecorded in June which could be caused by higher windspeed and lower rainfall. Pinaceae,Cupressaceae/Taxaceae, Gramineae, Platanus, Populus,Moraceae, Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae, Acer, Quercus,Betula, Salix, Rumex and Plantago are found tobe the dominant pollen types in the atmosphere inAnkara.

Is it important to perform pollen skin prick tests in the season

BACKGROUND Seasonal exposure to pollens causes the characteristic symptoms of respiratory allergy as well as an increase in specific IgE levels and inflammatory mediator release. However, little is known about the effect of natural allergen exposure on the skin test reactivity of patients with seasonal allergy. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the monthly variation in skin test reactions with pollen allergens during pollen season and its relation to pollen counts. METHODS Fifteen subjects with seasonal allergic rhinitis and/or asthma (4 male, 11 female) between the ages of 13 and 52 (mean 33.9 +/- 2.9) who lived in Ankara, Turkey were selected for this study. Patients were monitored from the beginning of March to the end of September 1997, and skin prick tests were performed using 5 grass, 12 tree, and 5 weed pollen allergen extracts every month. Atmospheric pollen grains were counted in the Ankara area between January and December, 1997. RESULTS There were small but statistically significant increases in tree pollen-induced wheal sizes in May when compared with other months (P < 0.05). Skin test reactivity was correlated with tree pollen counts (r = 0.978, P < 0.05). There was not a significant difference in skin test reactivity to grass and weed pollens between months. CONCLUSIONS Although skin test reactivity may be slightly greater to tree pollen during the tree pollen season, the timing of skin testing is not a critical determinant in patients with pollen allergy.

The evaluation of the effect of air pollution on the health status of children in Zonguldak City, Turkey

Air pollution affects human health, particularly sensitive groups such as children, pregnant women, elderly people and patients with chronic respiratory diseases in many ways, including reduced lung function, increased morbidity and infant mortality. Many epidemiological studies have shown positive association between respiratory health and ambient air pollution. This study tries to assess the associations between Occurrence of Respiratory Symptoms and Diseases (ORSD) and those parameters: Particulate Matter (PM), sulphur dioxide (SO2), pollen and meteorological variables in the mining city of Zonguldak, Turkey. The finding of the study shows significant association between ORSD, and ambient level of PM, SO2 and pollen.

Leaf anatomy and morphology of 14 species belonging to the Turkish Rhinantheae (Scrophulariaceae) tribe

In this study, leaf anatomy and morphology of 14 species (Bellardia trixago (L.) All., Bungea trifida (Vahl) Meyer, Euphrasia pectinata Ten., Lathraea squamaria L., Lesquereuxia syriaca Boiss. & Reuter, Melampyrum arvense var. arvense L., Odontites aucheri Boiss., O. glutinosa (Bieb.) Bentham, O. verna subsp. serotina (Dumort.) Corb., Parentucellia latifolia subsp. latifolia (L.) Carvel, P. viscosa (L.) Carvel, Pedicularis comosa var. sibthorpii (Boiss.) Boiss., Rhinanthus angustifolius subsp. grandiflorus (Wallr.), and Rhynchocorys elephas subsp. elephas (L.) Griseb., belonging to 11 genera of the Turkish Rhinantheae (Scrophulariaceae) tribe, have been investigated using a light microscope. The common and distinct features of these species have been determined by comparison of leaf anatomical characters (stoma, mesophyll, and trichomes) and morphological characters (leaf shape, length, and width). Our results show that the Rhinantheae tribe is a heterogeneous group of the Scrophulariaceae family and thei...

A new method to quantify atmospheric Poaceae pollen DNA based on the trnT-F cpDNA region

Abstract Background Pollen, mold spores, bacteria and viruses are the main biological substances in the atmosphere causing allergic symptoms and disease. Distinguishing pollen and spores is quite time consuming and requires a trained expert. There is a different approach to identification of these substances such as microscopic analysis. However, DNA based identification of these is becoming popular recently. Objective We evaluated the correlation between the quantity of DNA, which was amplified using trnT-F cpDNA specific primers in samples obtained from a high volume air sampler (HVAS), and concentration of Poaceae pollen collected with a Burkard trap. Materials and methods Here, we present a method for identifying and quantifying airborne Poaceae pollen using a single step polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. Forty daily air samples were collected by HVAS. The method was optimised using two different methods (M1 and M2) and the trnT-F cpDNA region was amplified using a Poaceae specific primer pair. The correlation between the quantity of DNA and pollen concentration was tested using R statistical programming language. Results Although a significant correlation was obtained between the M1 and M2 methods (R2=0.655, p<0.01), the M2 method was more correlated with pollen concentration. The correlation between pollen and DNA content changed due to episodes that were observed during the pollen season. DNA concentrations from the PCR data were significantly correlated with pollen concentrations determined by light microscopy (R2=0.767, p<0.01) in episode II using the M2 method and during the entire season (R2=0.469, p<0.01) using M2. Conclusions The M2 method correctly identified Poaceae pollen in mixed air samples from Zonguldak Province. The non-coding trnT-F cpDNA region was used for the first time in aerobiological samples to identify Poaceae pollen. Use of this method that does not require DNA extraction may be a crucial step for real-time pollen monitoring devices to be developed in the future. The correlation strength between pollen and amplified DNA content could be improved using a sampler that has a lower absorption rate, and a more sensitive technique, such as qPCR.