Supplementation of honey bee production colonies with a native beneficial microbe mixture.

Honey bee colonies form a complex superorganism, with individual and social immune defences that control overall colony health. Sometimes these defences are not enough to overcome infections by parasites and pathogens. For that reason, several studies have been conducted to evaluate different strategies to improve honey bee health. A novel alternative that is being studied is the use of beneficial microbes. In a previous study, we isolated and characterised bacterial strains from the native gut microbiota of honey bees. Four Apilactobacillus kunkeei strains were mixed and administered in laboratory models to evaluate their potential beneficial effect on larvae and adult bees. This beneficial microbe mixture was safe; it did not affect the expression of immune-related genes, and it was able to decrease the mortality caused by Paenibacillus larvae infection in larvae and reduced the Nosema ceranae spore number in infected adult honey bees. In the present study, we aimed to delve into the impact of the administration of this beneficial microbe mixture on honey bee colonies, under field conditions. The mixture was administered in sugar syrup using lyophilised bacterial cells or fresh cultures, by aspersion or sprayed and feeder, once a week for three consecutive weeks, in autumn or spring 2015, 2017 and 2019. Colony strength parameters were estimated before the administration, and one and three months later. Simultaneously different samples were collected to evaluate the infection levels of parasites and pathogens. The results showed that administering the beneficial microbe mixture decreased or stabilised the infection by N. ceranae or Varroa destructor in some trials but not in others. However, it failed to improve the colony's strength parameters or honey production. Therefore, field studies can be a game-changer when beneficial microbes for honey bees are tested, and meticulous studies should be performed to test their effectiveness.

Lactobacillus kunkeei strains decreased the infection by honey bee pathogens Paenibacillus larvae and Nosema ceranae.

Due to their social behaviour, honey bees can be infected by a wide range of pathogens including the microsporidia Nosema ceranae and the bacteria Paenibacillus larvae. The use of probiotics as food additives for the control or prevention of infectious diseases is a widely used approach to improve human and animal health. In this work, we generated a mixture of four Lactobacillus kunkeei strains isolated from the gut microbial community of bees, and evaluated its potential beneficial effect on larvae and adult bees. Its administration in controlled laboratory models was safe for larvae and bees; it did not affect the expression of immune-related genes and it was able to decrease the mortality associated to P. larvae infection in larvae and the counts of N. ceranae spores from adult honey bees. These promising results suggest that this beneficial microorganism's mixture may be an attractive strategy to improve bee health. Field studies are being carried out to evaluate its effect in naturally infected colonies.

Characterization of Nosema ceranae Genetic Variants from Different Geographic Origins.

In recent years, large-scale colony losses of honey bees (Apis mellifera) have been reported and the infection with the microsporidia Nosema ceranae has been involved. However, the effect of N. ceranae at the colony level and its role in colony losses vary in different geographic areas. This difference may be related to the presence of multiple N. ceranae genetic variants resulting in different biological consequences. In this study, we analyzed the genetic diversity of 75 N. ceranae samples obtained from 13 countries and Hawaii through inter-sequence single repetition (ISSR) and evaluated if two of these genetic variants triggered different immune responses when infecting Apis mellifera iberiensis. The genetic diversity analysis showed that 41% of the samples had the same DNA amplification pattern, including samples from most European countries except Spain, while the remaining samples showed high variability. Infection assays were performed to analyze the infection levels and the immune response of bees infected with N. ceranae from Spain and Uruguay. The infected bees presented similar infection levels, and both isolates downregulated the expression of abaecin, confirming the ability of the microsporidia to depress the immune response. Only N. ceranae from Uruguay downregulated the expression level of imd compared to control bees. On the other hand, both genetic variants triggered different expression levels of lysozyme. As imd and lysozyme play important roles in the response to pathogens, these results could reflect differences in the biological consequences of N. ceranae variants in A. mellifera infection.

Affective comorbidity in children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Recent research examining comorbidity associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has raised the possibility of the existence of subtypes of the disorder. If this is the case, delineating subgroups is clinically imperative. Two hundred seventy nonrepetitive, consecutively admitted children and adolescent inpatients received structured diagnostic interviews (Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia in School Aged Children). Twenty-eight percent of these children met the criteria for ADHD. Of those children with an ADHD diagnosis, 68% also met the criteria for an affective disorder. Thirty-six percent met the full criteria for major depression disorder. Eight percent met the criteria for an affective psychosis and 22% were diagnosed with bipolar disorder. There was a significant overlap between ADHD and bipolar disorder, suggesting the possibility of a lack of specificity in the diagnostic instruments used in this population. The results support the clinical necessity of carefully assessing for occult affective illness in all children and adolescents with attention deficit disorder.

Intracranial pressure reserve testing. A study in experimental animals.

Quantitating cerebral "elastance" or "ICP reserve" has added considerably to the value of continuous monitoring of intracranial pressure (ICP). Intracranial pressure reserve is a measure of the capacity of the brain's natural compensatory mechanisms for countering increases in ICP secondary to increases in intracranial volume. Intracranial pressure reserve testing was studied in dogs with known volumes of extracerebral intracranial mass, both in normal and in edematous brains and at various ICPs. Ten thousand measurements were made with five different methods of measuring ICP reserve. Testing when multiple increments of subdural saline infusion were used over a five-minute period to quantitate ICP reactivity to volumetric stress seemed most reliable and most adaptable to clinical application. Methods of measuring cerebral "elastance" using only a single subdural infusion proved to be variable and difficult to read.