No abstract

-Since 2006, disastrous colony losses have been reported in Europe and North America. The causes of the losses were not readily apparent and have been attributed to overwintering mortalities and to a new phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder. Most scientists agree that there is no single explanation for the extensive colony losses but that interactions between different stresses are involved. As the presence of Varroa in each colony places an important pressure on bee health, we here address the question of how Varroa contributes to the recent surge in honey bee colony losses.Varroa destructor / Apis mellifera / colony collapse disorder / winter losses / honey bee stressors

Raman measurements were performed on molecular beam epitaxially grown GaN before and after implantation with Ar+, Mg+, P+, C+, and Ca+ ions. With increasing ion dose, new Raman peaks arise at 300, 360, 420, and 670 cm−1, independent of the ion species. After rapid thermal annealing at temperatures between 900 and 1150 °C for 15 s, the intensities of the Raman modes decrease with increasing temperature with the exception of the 360 cm−1 mode which shows a maximum in intensity after annealing at 900 °C. The mode at 300 cm−1 is attributed to disorder-activated Raman scattering, whereas the other three modes are assigned to local vibrations of vacancy-related defects.

Endovascular repair of TAAA with fenestrated and branched stent grafts in high volume centers appears safe and effective in the mid-term in a high risk patient cohort. A considerable reintervention rate should be acknowledged, however.

Sacbrood virus (SBV) infects larvae of the honeybee (Apis mellifera), resulting in failure to pupate and death. Until now, identification of viruses in honeybee infections has been based on traditional methods such as electron microscopy, immunodiffusion, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Culture cannot be used because no honeybee cell lines are available. These techniques are low in sensitivity and specificity. However, the complete nucleotide sequence of SBV has recently been determined, and with these data, we now report a reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) test for the direct, rapid, and sensitive detection of these viruses. RT-PCR was used to target five different areas of the SBV genome using infected honeybees and larvae originating from geographically distinct regions. The RT-PCR assay proved to be a rapid, specific, and sensitive diagnostic tool for the direct detection of SBV nucleic acid in samples of infected honeybees and brood regardless of geographic origin. The amplification products were sequenced, and phylogenetic analysis suggested the existence of at least three distinct genotypes of SBV.

Objective: To present a 10 year experience with endovascular thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) repair using fenestrated and branched stent grafts.Materials and methods: Consecutive patients with TAAA treated with fenestrated and branched stent grafts within the period January 2004-December 2013. Data were collected prospectively.Results: 166 patients (125 male, 41 female, mean age 68.8 6 7.6 years) were treated. The mean TAAA diameter was 71 6 9.3 mm. Types of TAAA were: type I, n = 12 (7.2%), type II, n = 50 (30.1%), type III, n = 53 (31.9%), type IV, n = 41 (24.8%), and type V, n = 10 (6%). Fifteen (9%) patients had an acute TAAA (11 contained rupture, 4 symptomatic). One hundred and eight (65%) patients were refused for open surgery earlier.Seventy eight (47%) patients had previously undergone one or more open/ endovascular aortic procedures. Technical success was 95% (157/166). Thirty day operative mortality was 7.8% (13/166), with an in hospital mortality of 9% (15/166). Peri-operative spinal cord ischemia (SCI) was observed in 15 patients (9%), including permanent paraplegia in two (1.2%). Mean follow up was 29.2 6 21 months. During follow up 40 patients died, two of them probably from aneurysm related cause. Re-intervention, mostly by endovascular means, was needed in 40 (24%) patients. Estimated survival at 1, 2, and 5 years was 83% 6 3%, 78% 6 3.5%, and 66.6% 6 6.1%, respectively. Estimated target vessel stent patency at 1, 2, and 5 years was 98% 6 0.6%, 97% 6 0.8%, and 94.2% 6 1.5%, respectively. Estimated freedom from re-intervention at 1 and 3 years was 88.3% 6 2.7%, and 78.4% 6 4.5%, respectively.Conclusions: Endovascular repair of TAAA with fenestrated and branched stent grafts in high volume centers appears safe and effective in the mid-term in a high risk patient cohort. A considerable reintervention rate should be acknowledged, however.

-The relationship between the number of Paenibacillus larvae larvae spores fed individually to 24-28, 48-52 and 72-76 h old Apis mellifera ligustica larvae and the number of larvae dying from the P. l. larvae infection was investigated as well as the effect of sublethal infection with P. l. larvae on larval development time and adult weight. The larvae were laboratory reared, thus, excluding the influence of nurse bees. The results show that larvae 24-28 h old are most susceptible to infection with P. l. larvae with a clear dose-response relationship (LD 50 = 8.49). Older larvae become more and more resistant to infection with P. l. larvae so that no significant dose-mortality relationship exists in the 48-52 and 72-76 h age groups. Furthermore, a significant negative correlation exists between the development time and emergence weight for the adult bees in both the non-inoculated group and the inoculated group. There was no difference in development time between non-inoculated larvae and those that survived the inoculation. © Inra/DIB/AGIB/Elsevier, Paris Apis mellifera ligustica / American foulbrood / Paenibacillus larvae larvae / LD 50 / in vitro rearing

Foaming in activated sludge systems is characterized by the formation of a thick, chocolate brown-colored scum that floats on the surface of aeration basins and secondary clarifiers. These viscous foams have been associated with the presence of filamentous mycolic acid-containing actinomycetes. To aid in evaluating the microbial representation in foam, we developed and characterized group-, genus-, and species-specific oligonucleotide probes targeting the small subunit rRNA of the Mycobacterium complex, Gordona spp., and Gordona (Nocardia) amarae, respectively. The use of a universal base analog, 5-nitroindole, in oligonucleotide probe design was evaluated by comparing the characteristics of two different versions of the Mycobacterium complex probe. The temperature of dissociation of each probe was determined. Probe specificity studies with a diverse collection of 67 target and nontarget rRNAs demonstrated the specificity of the probes to the target groups. Whole-cell hybridizations with fluorescein-and rhodamine-labeled probes were performed with pure cultures of various members of the Mycobacterium complex as well as with environmental samples from a full-scale activated sludge plant which experienced foaming. Quantitative membrane hybridizations with activated sludge and anaerobic digester foam showed that 15.0 to 18.3% of the total small-subunit rRNAs could be attributed to members of the Mycobacterium complex, of which a vast majority consisted of Gordona rRNA. Several G. amarae strains made up only a very small percentage of the Gordona strains present. We demonstrated that group-specific rRNA probes are useful tools for the in situ monitoring and identification of filamentous bacteria in activated sludge systems.