The drivers of spatial variation in ragweed pollen concentrations, contributing to severe allergic rhinitis and asthma, are poorly quantified. We analysed the spatiotemporal variability in 16-year (1995–2010) annual total (66 stations) and annual total (2010) (162 stations) ragweed pollen counts and 8 independent variables (start, end and duration of the ragweed pollen season, maximum daily and calendar day of the maximum daily ragweed pollen counts, last frost day in spring, first frost day in fall and duration of the frost-free period) for Europe (16 years, 1995–2010) as a function of geographical coordinates. Then annual total pollen counts, annual daily peak pollen counts and date of this peak were regressed against frost-related variables, daily mean temperatures and daily precipitation amounts. To achieve this, we assembled the largest ragweed pollen data set to date for Europe. The dependence of the annual total ragweed pollen counts and the eight independent variables against geographical coordinates clearly distinguishes the three highly infected areas: the Pannonian Plain, Western Lombardy and the Rhône-Alpes region. All the eight variables are sensitive to longitude through its temperature dependence. They are also sensitive to altitude, due to the progressively colder climate with increasing altitude. Both annual total pollen counts and the maximum daily pollen counts depend on the start and the duration of the ragweed pollen season. However, no significant changes were detected in either the eight independent variables as a function of increasing latitude. This is probably due to a mixed climate induced by strong geomorphological inhomogeneities in Europe.

Long-distance pollen transport can substantially raise local pollen levels, but their relative contribution has not yet been quantified temporally or spatially in ragweed infested regions. Using common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) pollen accumulation at a ragweed infested area, Szeged, Hungary as a test case, this study attempted to: (1) identify, using cluster analysis, biogeographical regions that contribute to long-range transport of ragweed pollen to Szeged; (2) quantify the relative contribution of ragweed pollen from these regions; (3) determine the relative contribution of "local" and "transported" pollen for Szeged. Using the HYSPLIT model, three-dimensional backward trajectories were produced daily over a 5-year period, 2009-2013 for ragweed pollen accumulation at Szeged. A k-means clustering algorithm using the Mahalanobis distance was applied in order to develop trajectory types. Nine back-trajectory clusters were identified. Cluster 1 (direction: from the Channel area south of Great Britain) and cluster 5 (direction: from Northern Mediterranean) were found the most relevant potential long-distance sources for Ambrosia pollen transport to Szeged. Potential source contribution function (PSCF) and concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) values indicated additional potential source areas including the central and eastern part of France, the northern part of Italy and the Carpathian Basin. For Szeged on non-rainy days, medium-range transport is important, while on rainy days the two transport ranges have equal weights. Based on the Granger causality, annual pollen amount transported by the atmospheric circulation is 27.8% of the annual total pollen at Szeged. From this quantity, 7.5% is added to (due to transport), while 20.3% is subtracted from (e.g. because of wash-out by frontal rainfalls going towards Szeged) local sources. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Introduction : FP7 project ATOPICA ( Atopic diseases in changing climate, land use and air quality ) supported by EU Grant agreement NO: CP 282687 explores the combined pan-European impact of changes in climate, land use and air pollution on allergen pollen-induced diseases. Aims and objectives: To determine the prevalence and future incidence in allergy to Ambrosia in children from different exposure sites. Methods: Cohort of 3590 children, aged 4-10 years, was recruited from 3 regions of Croatia differing in Ambrosia pollen concentrations: Slavonia with the highest, Zagreb area with middle and Dalmatia with the lowest. Each participant underwent skin prick test (SPT) to the standard set of aeroallergens. Pollen concentrations and air quality data were gathered from authorized institutions. Results: A total of 369 children were sensitized to Ambrosia pollen. Prevalence of Ambrosia sensitization was 14.84 % in Zagreb area, 14.26 % in Slavonia and 1.52 % in Dalmatia. Analysis of sensitization in two age groups (4-6 and 7-10 years) reveals higher prevalence of Ambrosia, birch and D. pteronyssinus sensitization as well as double sensitization (birch and Ambrosia) in older age group for all 3 regions. Sensitization to above allergens was more prevalent in male participants. After two pollen seasons of follow-up, de novo sensitized children were recorded: 2.88% in Zagreb area, 2,73% in Slavonia and 0,00% in Dalmatia. De novo sensitization was more prevalent in older age group. Conclusions: Region of Slavonia measures highest Ambrosia pollen concentrations and also most de novo sensitized children, which leads to assumption that sensitization rates are primary correlated to exposure levels to Ambrosia pollen.

In the Republic of Croatia, according to the Air Protection Act, air pollution assessment is obligatory on the whole State territory. For individual regions and populated areas in the State a network has been established for permanent air quality monitoring. The State network consists of stations for measuring background pollution, regional and cross-border remote transfer and measurements as part of international government liabilities, then stations for measuring air quality in areas of cultural and natural heritage, and stations for measuring air pollution in towns and industrial zones. The exceeding of alert and information threshold levels of air pollutants are related to emissions from industrial plants, and accidents. Each excess represents a threat to human health in case of short-time exposure. Monitoring of alert and information threshold levels is carried out at stations from the state and local networks for permanent air quality monitoring according to the Air Quality Measurement Program in the State network for permanent monitoring of air quality and air quality measurement programs in local networks for permanent air quality monitoring. The State network for permanent air quality monitoring has a developed automatic system for reporting on alert and information threshold levels, whereas many local networks under the competence of regional and local self-governments still lack any fully installed systems of this type. In case of accidents, prompt action at all responsibility levels is necessary in order to prevent crisis and this requires developed and coordinated competent units of State Administration as well as self-government units. It is also necessary to be continuously active in improving the implementation of legislative regulations in the field of crises related to critical and alert levels of air pollutants, especially at local levels.

The aim of this study was to determine the temporal and spatial variations of pollen spectra in the City of Zagreb and Zagreb County according to frequency of inhalation allergy and rhino-conjunctivitis in the adult population by setting allergen/patient relationship. The study was carried out at three inland sites in Croatia during four years (2003-2006). A number of 2,192 patients have been tested for allergy skin prick tests over the same period. The majority of patients allergic to pollen allergens were sensitized to allergens from the plant pollen which belong to the botanical family of grass 46.91%, ambrosia 42.07%, birch 25.66%, hazel 15.19% (with symptoms of rhinoconjunctivitis (42.5%), conjunctivitis (28.3%) and rhinitis (23.9%). Increased symptoms in patients allergic to pollen allergens in the entire study period coincided with the presence of pollen in the air. Patients sensitized to dust mites have symptoms throughout the year with a slightly increased number of cases in April and June. In patients sensitized to fungi and mold spores and animal hairs, the number of cases with worsening of symptoms is equal during the same year.

Although contact dermatitis (CD) from eyeglass frames is uncommon, occasionally it may be encountered. Various substances may cause allergic CD, including metals, cosmetics, plastics, rubber, solvents, antioxidants, dyes, and waxes, some of which can be found in the average eyeglass frame. Recently, it has been determined that plasticizers, UV stabilizers and nickel are the most common allergens. Thus CD from eyeglass frames should be suspected in patients with retroauricular dermatitis or with lesions on the point of contact with the skin. Sometimes, the question is raised whether skin lesions result from allergy or just irritation. It has also been found that the varnish applied to eyeglass frames could be a source of nickel. Sometimes, although the frame looks silver or gold, it may contain nickel. Additionally, palladium or titanium eyeglass frames have also been reported to result in allergic CD. Some titanium frames contain palladium, which may cause CD. Plastic frames occasionally present the problem as they contain a combination of materials, making it difficult to determine the exact composition. Most plastic glasses are made of zyl or propionate, and may contain other materials, such as nylon, carbon, polycarbonate, optyl and polyamid. Patch (epicutaneous) test on contact allergens with analysis of softened scrapings from frames is a valuable diagnostic method for these patients. Although topical corticosteroid therapy results in transient clinical resolution, they do not preclude recurrences and changing frame material is often the only solution for these patients. Additionally, hypoallergenic eyeglass frames are also available on the market.

Three institutions: Teaching Institute of Public Health of Primorsko-Goranska County, Croatian Association "Albert Einstein" and Eye Clinic "Dr B.Vojnikovid" Rijeka agreed a five-year project to study children's health status of vision at Primorsko-Goranska County. Main task was the study of damage of vision in children due to prolonged sun exposure. Examination were conducted on a three locations, with the assumption of varying insolation: Island of Rab, Novi Vinodolski and Delnice. The study included children aged between 9 to 14 years. The study included 189 children. Except routine ophthalmologic examinations in addition were preformed biomicroscopic examination of the anterior segment of the eye, intraocular pressure and eye fundus. In a certain number of children with suspect of a specific disease (macular degeneration, glaucoma and refractive error), additional tests were performed: glaucoma treatment, field of vision, optical coherence tomography (OCT) of the eye and detailed eye refraction. This study specifically addressed of refractive error at that three different regions. It was found that the most difficult situation was at the Novi Vinodolski where as many as 40% of children have a refractive error, followed by Island of Rab with 17% and Delnice with 9%. Especially like to mention that on the island of Rab, 50-60 years ago, it was a very rare occurrence of some refractive errors in children.

We examined the atmospheric conditions favourable to the occurrence of maximum concentrations of ragweed pollen with an extremely high risk of producing allergy. Over the 2002–2009 period, daily pollen data collected in Zagreb were used to identify two periods of high pollen concentration (> 600 grains/m 3 ) for our analysis: period A (3–4 September 2002) and period B (6–7 September 2003). Synoptic conditions in both periods were very similar: Croatia was under the influence of a lower sector high pressure system moving slowly eastward over Eastern Europe. During the 2002–2009 period, this type of weather pattern (on ~ 70% of days), in conjunction with almost non-gradient surface pressure conditions in the area (on ~ 30% of days) characterised days when the daily pollen concentrations were higher than 400 grains/m 3 . Numerical experiments using a mesoscale model at fine resolution showed successful multi-day simulations reproducing the local topographic influence on wind flow and in reasonable agreement with available observations. According to the model, the relatively weak synoptic flow (predominantly from the eastern direction) allowed local thermal circulations to develop over Zagreb during both high pollen episodes. Two-hour pollen concentrations and 48-h back-trajectories indicated that regional-range transport of pollen grains from the central Pannonian Plain was the cause of the high pollen concentrations during period A. During period B, the north-westward regional-range transport in Zagreb was supplemented significantly by pronounced horizontal recirculation of pollen grains. This recirculation happened within the diurnal local circulation over the city, causing a late-evening increase in pollen concentration.

Pelud ambrozije vrlo je alegren jer uzrokuje mnoge zdravstvene probleme kao sto su rinitis, rinokonjuktivitis i bronhijalna astma. U ovoj studiji koristili smo mjerene i modelirane meteoroloske podatke kao i trajektorije za istraživanje izrazito visokih koncentracija peludi ambrozije. Odabrali smo dva 3-dnevna razdoblja u rujnu 2002. i 2003. godine. Tada su dnevne koncentracije ambrozije prelazile 600 zrnaca po m3 zraka. Fokus je bio na visokim vecernjim i nocnim koncentracijama kada je lokalna produkcija peludi niska. U usporedbi s mjerenjima, mezoskalni numericki model WRF uspjesno je rekonstruirao meteoroloske uvjete tijekom obje 3-dnevne epizode u Zagrebu i to: (i) utjecaj lokalne topografije na strujanje i (ii) formiranje urbanog toplinskog otoka nad gradom. Trajektorije su pokazale da je transport peludi na regionalnoj skali iz Mađarske najvjerojatniji uzrok visokih nocnih 2-satnih koncentracija u Zagrebu 2002. godine. Iako je regionalni transport iz Mađarske i Vojvodine mogao doprinijeti ukupnim koncentracijama u Zagrebu i 2003. godine, glavni je uzrok horizontalna recirkulacija zrnaca peludi unutar lokalne termalno-inducirane cirkulacije nad gradom.

The aim of this study was to examine the association of weight gain and life expectancy at birth in Croatia. Mean body mass index was based on the data from the Croatian Adult Health Survey 2003. Birth rate and mortality data needed for life expectancy calculation were supplied by the Central Bureau of Statistics. The results suggest that the increase in mean body mass index value (1.31 kg m(-2) for women and 1.41 kg m(-2) for men) will shorten life expectancy at birth for one year. Obesity, if unchecked, might have a negative effect on life expectancy in Croatia. Despite widespread knowledge about how to reduce the severity of the problem, observed trends in obesity in Croatia continue to worsen. These trends threaten to diminish the health and life expectancy of current and future generations.

Back-trajectories, in conjunction with measured meteorological data, were used to examine the ragweed pollen concentration maximums that occurred during the first week of September in years 2002 and 2003 in Zagreb. Based on the maximum ragweed pollen concentration occurrence, two periods of research were defined, period A (3rd and 4th September 2002) and period B (6th and 7th September 2003). According to the two-hour pollen measurements, besides very high daytime maximum concentrations that exceeded 600 grains/m3, the night-time concentrations were unusually high as well. Prognostic charts show that synoptic conditions in both periods were very similar, with a slow eastward moving high pressure system over the south-eastern Europe. The mesoscale WRF numerical model results demonstrated a successful multi-day simulation in Zagreb reproducing (i) the local topography influence on local wind flow as well as (ii) the formation of an urban heat island over the city and (iii) reasonable agreement with the available observations. The model indicated that in the first period, the moderate synoptic flow was predominantly from the east, while during period B, a weaker (than in period A) easterly synoptic wind allowed a more significant local thermal circulation development over Zagreb. Hourly back-trajectories, based on the wind field obtained by the WRF model, indicated the most probable reasons for high nightly two-hour concentration peaks recorded in Zagreb. The long-range transport of pollen grains from the Pannonian Plain was the presumable cause of the rather high pollen concentrations during period A, especially during its night-time part. During period B, the westward long-range transport, suggested by trajectories, was significantly supplemented by the horizontal recirculation of the pollen grains within diurnal local thermal circulation over the city, causing the higher late evening concentration increase.

The number of individuals allergic to plant pollen has recently been on a constant increase. The knowledge of diurnal distribution and abundance of allergenic pollen types, their patterns and response to source position and weather is useful to correlate hay fever symptoms with the presence of allergenic pollen in the atmosphere. The aim of this study was to determine diurnal distribution of total airborne pollen, pollen of particular allergenic taxa, possible variation in diurnal pollen distribution at measuring sites placed at different heights, and effect of some meteorological parameters on airborne pollen concentrations. A 7-day Hirst-type volumetric pollen trap was used for pollen sampling. Qualitative and quantitative pollen analysis was performed under a light microscope (magnification x400). Total pollen of all plant taxa (Ambrosia sp., Betula sp., Cupressaceae, Urticaceae, Poaceae, Quercus sp., Fraxinus sp., Alnus sp., Corylus sp., Populus sp., Pinus sp., Picea sp.) observed showed a regular diurnal distribution at both sampling sites in both study years, with a rise in the pollen concentration recorded after 4.00 a.m. and 6.00 a.m., respectively. The peak pollen concentration occurred between 12.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m., and the lowest diurnal pollen concentrations were recorded overnight. About 50% of the 24-h pollen concentration were released to the atmosphere between 10.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. The timing and size of diurnal peaks were closely related to high temperature, low humidity and south-west maximum wind direction.

Depending on the geographic and climatic region and vegetation, allergenic plants are characteristic for certain areas and the pollen concentrations of various plant species depend on the fenophase of each single species and most of all on the climatic and meteorological conditions of a certain area. It is precisely because of these specific characteristics that the hypersensitivity of patients to various types of pollen allergens differs according to the geographic regions. The aim of this paper is to determine the frequency of inhalation allergies in adult population (> 19 years of age) caused by single types of allergens according to the defined space units (micro-regions) with special emphasis on the rural and urban areas. A number of 2,192 patients have been tested for allergy skin prick tests over a period of four years. Every patient was asked to fill in the questionnaire which contained 29 questions. The results of skin prick testing show that out of a total of 2,192 patients 86.72% were sensitized to pollen, 36.45% to mites, 2.46% to spores of fungi and mould and 5.1% of patients to other allergens which include the allergens of cockroaches, feathers and animal hair (p < 0.001). The largest number of poly-sensitized persons allergic to pollen allergens was sensitized to allergens from the pollen of plants that belong to the botanical family of grass. There were 25.36% patients mono-sensitized to individual allergens. In the northern and western parts of the city and the county, the majority of persons were sensitized to the birch pollen allergens, and this is statistically much more than the share of patients with the place of residence in the southern and eastern parts of the city and the county. In the southern and eastern locations prevails the share of sensitized persons to ambrosia which is statistically much more than the share of patients with the place of residence in the northern and western part of the city and the county.

Pollutants such as particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, carbon oxides, ground-level ozone, etc. are harmful to human health. Study of pollutant variation and its relationship with both dynamic and thermodynamic atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) structures is of importance not only for environmental protection but also for the public at large. The aim of this study was to analyze seasonal, daily and intradiurnal variation of PM10, NO2, NO and O-3 in a residential part of an urban area, and the effect of some meteorological parameters. The study was conducted from January 1 till December 31, 2004 in the City of Zagreb using following methods: beta radiation absorption, chemiluminescence and UV photometry. The results presented in this article, show the dependence of air pollution levels upon traffic density, seasons and meteorological conditions. Considering the level of air pollution relative to the regulated limit and tolerated values, the measured 24-hour concentrations of all study pollutants exceeded the borderline values and/or tolerated values, however; the number of days with such pollutant concentrations did not exceed the allowed frequency. This is a preliminary study with the main objectives to point to the possible identification of the source of pollution and to assess the level of air contamination according to the new national legislation coordinated with European regulations. Future measurements and studies should evaluate in detail the causes of the concentration levels detected.