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Aerobiology he main mission of the IAA is the be thorough, but commit to a review only if you promotion of aerobiology. As a can complete it in the designated time. Wouldn't it Tcommunity, we are all interested in raising be wonderful to receive replies to submissions hristine Rogers opens this issue calling on IAA’s the visibility and prominence of aerobiology within one month, and see publications within a members to support the Aerobiology and within the broader scientific community. An few months? Lastly, the desirability of publishing Aerobiology journals. Please, pay attention to the acknowledgement of the importance of in a journal increases with a wider readership. We C aerobiology and our work by scientists outside of can contribute to increasing the readership of our last page of this issue where interesting information on Aerobiologia and the Application to be member of the IAA the aerobiology community would highlight the journals in two ways: by publishing more of our are included. need for more academic positions in aerobiology, high quality work in these journals and by making facilitate the publication of our work in prominent references to quality articles in aerobiology Following on the series started in issue 56, ONG Tan Ching scholarly journals and ease the flow of money from publications when writing our papers. This of Singapore gives us, in the present issue, a chance to learn funding agencies. While these things are certainly enables the journals to apply for inclusion in something of the background and the aims of burgeoning desirable, how can we achieve a greater prominence electronic databases which open the entire world science of aerobiology in this part of the world. for aerobiology? to our work. There are many intangible benefits of There is also news of quite a few past and future electronic searches, from the single investigator, aerobiological events: the European Symposium on Clear indicators of a vibrant and important field of stumbling upon an entire discipline they knew Aerobiology, held in Worcester (United Kingdom) was very scientific inquiry include the existence of high nothing about, to funding agencies looking to well attended, and the new topics presented augur well for quality scientific journals that the broader scientific aerobiology for innovative approaches to new the future of European Aerobiology. Poznan was the venue community looks to for expertise and guidance. problems they need solved. The following th Aerobiology is fortunate to have 2 journals for the 6 ECBA, attended by a specially large group of databases already index either Aerobiologia or (Aerobiologia and Grana) that regularly publish our young aerobiologists from Eastern Europe, where Grana : Biological Abstracts; BIOSIS Previews; aerobiology is undergoing great development. Next year will work. These journals have welcomed our Elsevier BIOBASE/Current Awareness in th contributions and have often waited patiently for Biological Sciences; EMBASE/Excerpta Medica; see the 11 International Palynological Congress in Granada manuscripts to arrive. For the individual Meteorological and Geoastrophysical Abstracts; (Spain), which is scheduled to include an extensive investigator, there are a plethora of choices when it Microbiology Abstracts Section A: Industrial and programme on Aerobiology. The Nordisk Aerobiologisk comes to publishing as the list of scholarly journals Applied Microbiology; Microbiology Abstracts Förening is also preparing for the 10th NAF Symposium in increases year by year. As a result, aerobiologists are Section B: Health & Safety Science Abstracts; Turku. publishing in a wide array of journals, thereby Pollution Abstracts; Toxicology Abstracts. (inadvertently) diffusing the impact of aerobiology However, there are some that are more selective, A valuable new book has been published on Aerobiology as an independent discipline. Admittedly, one does for example ISI Current Contents, to which our and Cultural Heritage, and this issue contains an abstract of not want to publish solely in one journal (or two), journals have not yet been accepted. I would like another book on Pollen and Spores in the Canary Islands. and it is in the best interests of both the investigator to urge each member of the aerobiological As announced in the issue 56, from 2004 onwards the IAA and the field to publish in the highest profile community to make a concentrated effort to Newsletter will be available in electronic format both at the journals. However, we cannot expect to maintain submit at least one high quality scientific article to IAA website: high quality journals in our field if we do not an aerobiology journal each year in a push to get http://www.isac.cnr.it/aerobio/iaa/IAABULL.html and publish in them. In order for Aerobiology to be the journals indexed with ISI or other prominent the Galician Aerobiology Network site respected as an independent discipline, we must databases. (http://www.usc.es/aerobio). Printed copies will only be contribute our highest quality work to the sent to IAA members on request, so please let me know if aerobiology journals. Finally, the survival of scientific journals relies on you are interested. If your e-mail address is not yet in the subscriptions. We must support the journals by IAA members' database, please send it to both Christine There are a number of factors that make it subscribing each and every year even though we Rogers ( ) and myself [email protected] desirable for an author to submit an article to a may be able to access electronic versions through (). [email protected] specific journal. First, is the perception of the library subscriptions. There are special quality of the journal. This comes from quality subscription prices available to IAA members for The IAA Newsletter has great potential as an ongoing tool work that has been previously published after each of the journals. Please take advantage of for providing information and for keeping members in rigorous and thorough reviews of that work. We them. touch. I would like to call on all IAA members to send must be compelled to do thorough and critical information on the aerobiological activities of members and reviews of manuscripts when asked by our Through these easy steps of focusing our groups everywhere, together with new ideas for improving journals. We can help fellow aerobiologists submissions to the aerobiology journals, the Newsletter. The Newsletter can only function with your improve the quality of their work by spending time completing thorough reviews in a timely manner, active input. Once again, my thanks to everyone who has on reviews and providing useful feedback on how increasing the quality of our work, and contributed to this issue. to improve a paper or scientific study. We must also maintaining paid subscriptions to the journals, we raise our standards and be willing to reject work can do our part to promote the entire field of Finally, I would like to wish all IAA members a very peaceful that is not scientifically sound. Second, the speed aerobiology through which we will all reap the and happy 2004. of publication is very important to an author. My benefits. understanding is that the rate-limiting step in the Victoria Jato process of publication is the timely receipt of For comments or feedback contact Newsletter Editor reviews. The message is clear: [email protected] e-mail [email protected] fax +34 988 387001 1 he Republic of Singapore is an National University Hospital, One of the major airspora pollen types We are currently working hard to island-city state. It is located on Singapore. The project was done in discovered was oil palm, Elaeis guineensis, develop an automated system for Tthe Southern tip of Peninsular collaboration With Associate Professor which is frequently cultivated as a crop identifying airspora. We aim to automate Malaysia, just north of the equator Hugh Tan, a botanist, and Associate in Peninsular Malaysia to the north and the airspora counting process too. An near latitude 1.5 deg N and longitude Professor Tan Teck Koon, a Indonesia (Sumatra) to the West and automated counting process will 2 104 deg E. It is only 685.4 km in size. mycologist, both of the then Southwest. This is also the pollen that eliminate the constant need for trained Because of its geographical location Department of Botany (now Biological elicits the most positive skin prick personnel to do the counting as well as and maritime exposure, Singapore's Sciences), National University of reactions when tested on atopic patients inter-counter variation and result in climate is characterised by uniform Singapore. The trap was set on the in Singapore clinics. The levels of oil faster airspora counts. All these savings temperatures and pressure, high rooftop of Block S3 of the National palm pollen in highly correlated to wind will, in turn, allow more sampling humidity and abundant rainfall University of Singapore Kent Ridge direction. However, this plant is rarely stations to be set up together with the throughout the year. Diurnal campus together with an onsite cultivated in Singapore. existing national weather stations to temperatures range from 23 to 34C meteorological station. In less than a ensure airspora counts are more with the relative humidity averaging year, two more sampling sites were Currently, airspora calendars for all the representative for the whole country. 84%. During the Northeast monsoon added in the Southwest and Northeast major airspora species are available. Our final aim is to provide current and season especially in December, of Singapore, both of which were in Forecasting work is still ongoing. In the accurate airspora counts to the public. prolonged heavy rain can result in mainly residential areas. year 2000, we added a cyclone sampler relative humidity values reaching to the rooftop of block S3 to study the 100%. Setting up of the sampling stations relationship between airspora and facilitated discovery of the rich allergen load.