Neonicotinoids and honeybee health

Sub-lethal doses of neonicotinoids have been shown to negatively impact the health of honeybees. However, most studies to date have exposed bees only artificially to these pesticides under laboratory conditions. There have been just a few well designed and replicated studies of the impacts of realistic neonicotinoid exposure on honeybees foraging under field conditions. In order to close this knowledge gap, and to test the influence of the neonicotinoid clothianidin on honeybees, we used a study system of 16 paired, spatially separated (>4 km) spring oilseed rape fields in the south of Sweden. The fields were paired according to land use, the surrounding landscape and geographical proximity, using GIS. Eight of the fields were randomly assigned to be sown with clothianidin dressed Brassica napus (oilseed rape) seeds and their corresponding pairs with undressed B. napus seeds, as controls. Six equally sized Apis mellifera colonies, with known queen origin, were placed at each field resulting in a total of 96 colonies. Samples of bees, pollen and nectar taken from the colonies showed that the honeybee colonies at the treated fields were exposed to several orders of magnitude higher clothianidin concentrations than the colonies at the control sites. To determine the effect of this neonicotinoid on pathogen and parasite prevalence and quantities in honeybee colonies samples of adult bees were taken from each colony both before and after the flowering period in the paired fields. The parasites studied included the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor and the microsporidian gut parasite Nosema. The pathogens studied included eight different honeybee viruses (BQCV, SBV, DWV, KBV, SBPV, CBPV, ABPV, and IAPV). Both the prevalence (proportion of positive colonies) and the amount of parasites/pathogens in each colony (infestation rate/titres) were analysed. The infestation with V. destructor was relatively low and the exposure to clothianidin had no significant impact on the V. destructor prevalence and infestation rate of the colonies. A seasonal effect was found where more mites were detected and more colonies were infested after the experiment than before. The exposure to clothianidin had no significant influence on the Nosema spp. prevalence or the amount of Nosema spores in infested colonies. However, the Nosema spp. infestation rate was significantly higher before than after the rape flowering season. Furthermore the proportion of the two Nosema species changed over time. Before the experiment, 33 % of the samples were not infested with Nosema spp., 6 % were infested with pure N. apis, 25 % with pure N. ceranae and 36 % with mixed infestation. In the mixed infestations, on average, one third of the DNA originated from N. apis and the rest from N. ceranae. After the experiment only N. ceranae was present in the colonies. Three out of the eight viruses studied were detected: DWV, SBV and BQCV. Both BQCV and SBV were detected in practically all colonies, both before and after the experiment, with consequently no difference in prevalence due to clothianidin exposure or season. There was also no difference in BQCV and SBV titres due to clothianidin exposure, although for BQCV there was a significant reduction in titre as the season went along. SBV titres remained constant throughout the season. The DWV prevalence was relatively low; 4% and 36% of colonies infected, before and after the experiment respectively, resulting in a significant seasonal difference in DWV prevalence in contrast to the DWV titres in positive samples which showed no seasonal effect. The clothianidin exposure had no effect on the DWV prevalence or on the titres in DWV positive samples. The higher prevalence of DWV in the control group compared to the treated group can be explained by the different initial conditions. It can be concluded that in this experiment, clothianidin exposure had no effect on the prevalence or the amount of the studied pathogens and parasites in honeybee colonies.Subletala doser av neonikotinoider har visat sig ha en negativ inverkan på honungsbinas hälsa i laboratorieförsök. De flesta studier som hittills genomförts har emellertid exponerat bin på ett artificiellt sätt för dessa bekämpningsmedel, genom direkt fodring av preparaten. Det finns få, eller inga, väl utformade och replikerade studier med realistiska nivåer av neonikotinoid exponering av honungsbin under fältmässiga förhållanden. För att råda bot på denna kunskapsbrist, och för att testa effekten av neonikotinoiden clothianidin på honungsbin, använde vi i en studie 16, rumsligt separerade (> 4 km), vårrapsfält i södra Sverige. Fälten parades med avseende på markanvändning, läge och geografisk närhet till varandra, med hjälp av GIS. Hälften av fälten slumpades för sådd med clothianidin-betade Brassica napus (raps) frön och det andra fältet i paret fungerade som kontroll och såddes med obehandlade frön. Bredvid varje fält placerades sex jämnstarka Apis mellifera samhällen, varje par med syster-drottningar, med totalt 96 samhällen i experimentet. Prover av bin, pollen och nektar från dessa samhällen visade att bisamhällen vid de clothianidin-behandlade fälten exponerades med flera tiopotenser högre mängder av clothianidin än samhällen vid kontrollfälten. Prover av vuxna bin togs från varje samhälle både före och efter blomningsperioden, för att bestämma effekten av exponering till neonikotinoiden på förekomst och mängder av patogener och parasiter i bisamhällen. De parasiter som undersöktes inkluderade det ektoparasitiska kvalstret Varroa destructor och de intracellulära tarmparasiterna Nosema apis och Nosema ceranae. De patogener som undersöktes inkluderade också åtta olika honungsbivirus (BQCV, SBV, DWV, KBV, SBPV, CBPV, ABPV och IAPV). Både prevalensen (andelen positiva samhällen) och mängden av parasiter/patogener i varje samhälle analyserades. Angreppen av V. destructor var relativt låg under hela experimentet och det fanns ingen signifikant effekt av exponering av clothianidin på vare sig förekomsten eller angreppsnivån av V. destructor i samhällen En säsongseffekt påvisades, där fler kvalster påvisades när experimentet avslutades än när det påbörjades. Prevalensen av Nosema spp.skilde sig inte signifikant mellan behandlingarna, men visade en säsongseffekt: angreppen var högre före än efter rapsblomningen. När experimentet påbörjades var 33% av proverna inte infekterade av Nosema spp., Sex % var infekterade med N. apis, 25% var infekterade med N. ceranae och 36 % var infekterade med blandinfektioner. I angrepp med båda parasiterna kom i genomsnitt en tredjedel DNA kom från N. apis och resten från N. ceranae. När experimentet avslutades kunde endast N. ceranae påvisas i angripna samhällen. Tre av de åtta virus som undersöktes för kunde påvisas: DWV, SBV och BQCV. Både BQCV och SBV påvisades i praktiskt taget alla samhällen, både före och efter försöket. Således kunde ingen skillnad i prevalens påvisas mot bakgrund av clothianidin exponering eller av säsong. Det fanns inte heller någon skillnad i BQCV- och SBV-titer på grund clothianidin exponering För BQCV fanns en signifikant säsongseffekt med en minskning av titer senare på säsongen. Titern av SBV förblev konstant under hela säsongen. Prevalensen av DWV var relativt låg; 4 % och 36 % av samhällen smittade, före respektive efter experimentet, vilket innebär i en betydande säsongsskillnad i DWV prevalens. Det fanns dock ingen signifikant skillnad i DWVprevalens på grund clothianidin exponering, eller inte. Det kunde inte heller påvisas någon signifikant interaktion mellan säsong och clothianidin exponering på DWV-prevalens. Samhällen infekterade med DWV visade ingen signifikant skillnad i DWV-titer på grund av clothianidin exponering. Man kan därför dra slutsatsen att i det genomförda experimentet, hade clothianidin exponeringen ingen påvisbar effekt på förekomsten eller mängden av studerade patogener och parasiter i friflygande bisamhällen.Unter Laborbedingungen wurde nachgewiesen, dass sub-letale Dosen von Neonikotinoiden sich negativ auf die Gesundheit von Honigbienen auswirken können. Feldstudien mit genügend Wiederholungen fehlen allerdings. Aus diesem Grund wurde im Süden von Schweden eine Studie durchgeführt, um den Einfluss des Pestizids Clothianidin auf die Prävalenz und die Quantität von Krankheitserregern und Parasiten zu untersuchen. Auf 16 räumlich voneinander getrennten (> 4km) Sommerraps Feldern wurden jeweils 6 gleich große Honigbienenvölker (Apis mellifera) platziert, wobei 8 Felder mit Clothianidin gebeizt wurden und 8 Felder als Kontrolle nicht mit Neonikotinoiden behandelt wurden. Die Bienenvölker neben den behandelten Feldern waren nachweislich höheren Konzentrationen von Clothianidin ausgesetzt als neben den Kontrollfeldern. Es wurden Proben von 100 adulten Bienen aus jeder Kolonie vor und nach der Rapsblüte genommen und anschließend der Befall von der Milbe Varroa destructor, dem Pilz Nosema und acht Viren (BQCV, SBV, DWV, KBV, SBPV, CBPV, ABPV, und IAPV) im Labor untersucht. Die Befallsrate und die Prävalenz von V. destructor war durchweg sehr gering. Allerdings wurden nach der Rapsblüte signifikant mehr Milben gefunden als zuvor. Es konnte kein signifikanter Einfluss von Clothianidin auf die Befallsraten oder die Prävalenz von V. destructor nachgewiesen werden. Das Vorkommen und die Infektionsraten von Nosema spp. wurde durch Clothianidin nicht signifikant beeinflusst. Im Sommer wurde eine niedrigere Prävalenz nachgewiesen als im Frühjahr, wobei die Infektionsrate keinen saisonalen Unterschied aufwies. Die dominierende Nosema Art in beiden Proben war N. ceranae wobei im Sommer kein N. apis nachgewiesen wurde. Zu Beginn des Experiments waren 25% der Proben rein mit N. ceranae infiziert, 6% rein mit N. apis, 36% hatten eine gemischte Infektion. Der Rest, 33 % war nicht infiziert. Es wurden drei von 8 Viren in den Kolonien nachgewiesen: DWV, SBV und BQCV. BQCV und SBV wurden in nahezu allen Kolonien gefunden, sowohl vor als auch nach der Rapsblüte und folglich wurde auch kein Unterschied in der Prävalenz für diese beiden Viren im Hinblick auf Clothianidin Behandlung oder Zeit gefunden. Aber im Gegensatz zu SBV zeigt BQCV eine signifikante Reduktion der Befallsrate vom Frühling zum Sommer. Clothianidin hatte keinen Effekt auf die Infektionsrate von SBV und BQCV. Das Vorkommen von DWV war relativ niedrig; 4% und 36% der Kolonien waren infiziert, vor und nach dem Experiment jeweils, was zu einem signifikanten Unterschied in der saisonalen Verbreitung führt. Jedoch hatte Clothianidin keinen Einfluss auf die Prävalenz von DWV. Kolonien, die mit DWV infiziert waren, unterschieden sich nicht im zeitlichen Verlauf und auch Clothianidin hatte keinen Effekt auf die Infektionsrate. Daraus kann geschlossen werden, dass das Neonikotinoid, Clothianidin, keine Auswirkungen auf das Vorkommen und die Befallsraten der untersuchten Pathogene und Parasiten in dieser Studie hatte

Cerebral small vessel disease burden is associated with decreased abundance of gut Barnesiella intestinihominis bacterium in the Framingham Heart Study

A bidirectional communication exists between the brain and the gut, in which the gut microbiota influences cognitive function and vice-versa. Gut dysbiosis has been linked to several diseases, including Alzheimer\u27s disease and related dementias (ADRD). However, the relationship between gut dysbiosis and markers of cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD), a major contributor to ADRD, is unknown. In this cross-sectional study, we examined the connection between the gut microbiome, cognitive, and neuroimaging markers of cSVD in the Framingham Heart Study (FHS). Markers of cSVD included white matter hyperintensities (WMH), peak width of skeletonized mean diffusivity (PSMD), and executive function (EF), estimated as the difference between the trail-making tests B and A. We included 972 FHS participants with MRI scans, neurocognitive measures, and stool samples and quantified the gut microbiota composition using 16S rRNA sequencing. We used multivariable association and differential abundance analyses adjusting for age, sex, BMI, and education level to estimate the association between gut microbiota and WMH, PSMD, and EF measures. Our results suggest an increased abundance of Pseudobutyrivibrio and Ruminococcus genera was associated with lower WMH and PSMD (p values \u3c 0.001), as well as better executive function (p values \u3c 0.01). In addition, in both differential and multivariable analyses, we found that the gram-negative bacterium Barnesiella intestinihominis was strongly associated with markers indicating a higher cSVD burden. Finally, functional analyses using PICRUSt implicated various KEGG pathways, including microbial quorum sensing, AMP/GMP-activated protein kinase, phenylpyruvate, and β-hydroxybutyrate production previously associated with cognitive performance and dementia. Our study provides important insights into the association between the gut microbiome and cSVD, but further studies are needed to replicate the findings

Influência de fertilizantes químicos e dejeto líquido de suínos na fauna do solo

Este estudo foi conduzido com o objetivo de avaliar o efeito de diferentes formas de adubação, utilizando dejeto líquido de suínos (DLS), adubação organo-mineral e adubação mineral sobre a abundância e diversidade da fauna do solo. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi de blocos ao acaso, com um fatorial de 6x6 (tratamento x repetição). Os tratamentos estudados foram: testemunha, sem adubação; adubação mineral, adubação organo-mineral, adubação orgânica nas doses de 50 m3 ha-1, 100 m3 ha-1 e, 200 m3 ha-1 de DLS. A fauna edáfica foi avaliada utilizando-se um amostrador cilíndrico com 17 cm de diâmetro, na profundidade de 0-5 cm, com extração em funil de Berllese. A diversidade da fauna nos diferentes tratamentos foi avaliada por meio dos índices de diversidade de Shannon, dominância de Simpson e uniformidade de Pielou. A abundância e distribuição da fauna foram analisadas por meio da análise de agrupamento e de componentes principais. A abundância e a diversidade da fauna edáfica foram influenciadas pelas diferentes doses de DLS e de adubação mineral. A maior diversidade foi encontrada no tratamento adubação organo-mineral e a menor no tratamento adubação orgânica 200 m3 ha-1. A análise de componentes principais apontou a separação dos tratamentos, demonstrando quais foram os grupos que mais se associaram a cada tratamento e em cada época de amostragens

Effects of variable magma supply on mid-ocean ridge eruptions : constraints from mapped lava flow fields along the Galápagos Spreading Center

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 13 (2012): Q08014, doi:10.1029/2012GC004163.Mapping and sampling of 18 eruptive units in two study areas along the Galápagos Spreading Center (GSC) provide insight into how magma supply affects mid-ocean ridge (MOR) volcanic eruptions. The two study areas have similar spreading rates (53 versus 55 mm/yr), but differ by 30% in the time-averaged rate of magma supply (0.3 × 106 versus 0.4 × 106 m3/yr/km). Detailed geologic maps of each study area incorporate observations of flow contacts and sediment thickness, in addition to sample petrology, geomagnetic paleointensity, and inferences from high-resolution bathymetry data. At the lower-magma-supply study area, eruptions typically produce irregularly shaped clusters of pillow mounds with total eruptive volumes ranging from 0.09 to 1.3 km3. At the higher-magma-supply study area, lava morphologies characteristic of higher effusion rates are more common, eruptions typically occur along elongated fissures, and eruptive volumes are an order of magnitude smaller (0.002–0.13 km3). At this site, glass MgO contents (2.7–8.4 wt. %) and corresponding liquidus temperatures are lower on average, and more variable, than those at the lower-magma-supply study area (6.2–9.1 wt. % MgO). The differences in eruptive volume, lava temperature, morphology, and inferred eruption rates observed between the two areas along the GSC are similar to those that have previously been related to variable spreading rates on the global MOR system. Importantly, the documentation of multiple sequences of eruptions at each study area, representing hundreds to thousands of years, provides constraints on the variability in eruptive style at a given magma supply and spreading rate.This work was supported by the National Science Foundation grants OCE08–49813, OCE08–50052, and OCE08– 49711.2013-02-2

Coadministration of the Three Antigenic Leishmania infantum Poly (A) Binding Proteins as a DNA Vaccine Induces Protection against Leishmania major Infection in BALB/c Mice

Highly conserved intracellular proteins from Leishmania have been described as antigens in natural and experimental infected mammals. The present study aimed to evaluate the antigenicity and prophylactic properties of the Leishmania infantum Poly (A) binding proteins (LiPABPs). Three different members of the LiPABP family have been described. Recombinant tools based on these proteins were constructed: recombinant proteins and DNA vaccines. The three recombinant proteins were employed for coating ELISA plates. Sera from human and canine patients of visceral leishmaniasis and human patients of mucosal leishmaniasis recognized the three LiPABPs. In addition, the protective efficacy of a DNA vaccine based on the combination of the three Leishmania PABPs has been tested in a model of progressive murine leishmaniasis: BALB/c mice infected with Leishmania major. The induction of a Th1-like response against the LiPABP family by genetic vaccination was able to down-regulate the IL-10 predominant responses elicited by parasite LiPABPs after infection in this murine model. This modulation resulted in a partial protection against L. major infection. LiPABP vaccinated mice showed a reduction on the pathology that was accompanied by a decrease in parasite burdens, in antibody titers against Leishmania antigens and in the IL-4 and IL-10 parasite-specific mediated responses in comparison to control mice groups immunized with saline or with the non-recombinant plasmid. The results presented here demonstrate for the first time the prophylactic properties of a new family of Leishmania antigenic intracellular proteins, the LiPABPs. The redirection of the immune response elicited against the LiPABP family (from IL-10 towards IFN-γ mediated responses) by genetic vaccination was able to induce a partial protection against the development of the disease in a highly susceptible murine model of leishmaniasisThe study was supported in Spain by grants from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación FIS PI11/00095 and FISPI14/00366 from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III within the Network of TropicalDiseases Research (VI P I+D+I 2008-2011, ISCIII -Subdirección General de Redes y Centros de Investigación Cooperativa (RD12/0018/0009)). This work was also supported in Brazil by a grant from CNPq (Ciencia sem Fronteiras-PVE 300174/2014-4). A CBMSO institutional grant from Fundación Ramón Areces is also acknowledged. EAFC is a grant recipient of CNPq. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscrip

Health, education, and social care provision after diagnosis of childhood visual disability

Aim: To investigate the health, education, and social care provision for children newly diagnosed with visual disability.Method: This was a national prospective study, the British Childhood Visual Impairment and Blindness Study 2 (BCVIS2), ascertaining new diagnoses of visual impairment or severe visual impairment and blindness (SVIBL), or equivalent vi-sion. Data collection was performed by managing clinicians up to 1-year follow-up, and included health and developmental needs, and health, education, and social care provision.Results: BCVIS2 identified 784 children newly diagnosed with visual impairment/SVIBL (313 with visual impairment, 471 with SVIBL). Most children had associated systemic disorders (559 [71%], 167 [54%] with visual impairment, and 392 [84%] with SVIBL). Care from multidisciplinary teams was provided for 549 children (70%). Two-thirds (515) had not received an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP). Fewer children with visual impairment had seen a specialist teacher (SVIBL 35%, visual impairment 28%, χ2p < 0.001), or had an EHCP (11% vs 7%, χ2p < 0 . 01).Interpretation: Families need additional support from managing clinicians to access recommended complex interventions such as the use of multidisciplinary teams and educational support. This need is pressing, as the population of children with visual impairment/SVIBL is expected to grow in size and complexity.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited