Precision Beekeeping Systems: State of the Art, Pros and Cons, and Their Application as Tools for Advancing the Beekeeping Sector.

The present review aims to summarize the more recent scientific literature and updated state of the art on the research effort spent in adapting hardware-software tools to understand the true needs of honeybee colonies as a prerequisite for any sustainable management practice. A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis was also performed with the aim of identifying the key factors that could support or impair the diffusion of precision beekeeping (PB) systems. Honeybee husbandry, or beekeeping, is starting to approach precision livestock farming (PLF), as has already happened in other animal husbandry sectors. A transition from the current paradigm of rational beekeeping to that of precision beekeeping (PB) is thus expected. However, due to the peculiarities of this species and the related farming practices, the PB technological systems (PB systems) are still undergoing a development process that, to some extent, limits their large-scale practical application. Several physical-chemical (weight, temperature, humidity, sound, gases) and behavioral traits (flight activity, swarming) of the hive are reviewed in light of the evolution of sensors, communication systems, and data management approaches. These advanced sensors are equipped with a microprocessor that records data and sends it to a remote server for processing. In this way, through a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) system, the beekeeper, using specific applications on a personal computer, tablet, or smartphone, can have all the above-mentioned parameters under remote control. In general, weight, temperature, and humidity are the main hive traits monitored by commercial sensors. Surprisingly, flight activity sensors are rarely available as an option in modular PB systems marketed via the web. The SWOT analysis highlights that PB systems have promising strength points and represent great opportunities for the development of beekeeping; however, they have some weaknesses, represented especially by the high purchasing costs and the low preparedness of the addressed operators, and imply some possible threats for beekeeping in terms of unrealistic perception of the apiary status if they applied to some hives only and a possible adverse impact on the honeybees' colony itself. Even if more research is expected to take place in the next few years, indubitably, the success of commercial PB systems will be measured in terms of return on investment, conditioned especially by the benefits (higher yields, better colonies' health) that the beekeeper will appraise as a consequence of their use.

A multi-marker integrative analysis reveals benefits and risks of bariatric surgery.

Bariatric surgery (BS) is an effective intervention for severe obesity and associated comorbidities. Although several studies have addressed the clinical and metabolic effects of BS, an integrative analysis of the complex body response to surgery is still lacking. We conducted a longitudinal data study with 36 patients with severe obesity who were tested before, 6 and 12 months after restrictive BS for more than one hundred blood biomarkers, including clinical, oxidative stress and metabolic markers, peptide mediators and red blood cell membrane lipids. By using a synthetic data-driven modeling based on principal component and correlation analyses, we provided evidence that, besides the early, well-known glucose metabolism- and weight loss-associated beneficial effects of BS, a tardive, weight-independent increase of the hepatic cholesterol metabolism occurs that is associated with potentially detrimental inflammatory and metabolic effects. Canonical correlation analysis indicated that oxidative stress is the most predictive feature of the BS-induced changes of both glucose and lipids metabolism. Our results show the power of multi-level correlation analysis to uncover the network of biological pathways affected by BS. This approach highlighted potential health risks of restrictive BS that are disregarded with the current practice to use weight loss as surrogate of BS success.

Modulation of chromatin conformation by the histone deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A promotes the removal of radiation-induced lesions in ataxia telangiectasia cell lines.

Ataxia telangiectasia is a rare autosomal recessive genome instability syndrome caused by mutations in the Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated gene and characterized by a very high sensitivity to agents inducing double strand breaks such as ionizing radiation. In cells derived from ataxia telangiectasia patients a prominent enhancement of chromosomal aberrations is revealed as a consequence of this radiosensitivity characteristic, arising from defective DNA repair for a small fraction of breaks localized in the less accessible heterochromatin. Moreover, the signaling mediated by ataxia telangiectasia protein kinase also modifies chromatin structure. Even if there is a lot of knowledge concerning biochemical aspects of repair of double strand breaks, no conclusive results on radiosensitivity of structurally- and functionally-different chromatin are available, particularly in ataxia telangiectasia cells. Thus, a wild-type cell line and two ataxia telangiectasia patient derived ones could represent a suitable model to study the possible relationship between chromatin conformation and sensitivity to ionizing radiation. In this context, the effects of both cytosine arabinoside, an inhibitor of DNA repair synthesis, and trichostatin A, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, were tested in normal and ataxia telangiectasia lymphoblastoid cell lines carrying different mutation in the Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated gene. The response to both inhibitors was investigated analyzing two endpoints, namely, chromosomal aberrations and the removal of DNA lesions by Comet assay, after exposure to X-rays. Results obtained suggest that the modulation of chromatin structure by trichostatin A leading to a more open conformation, decreases radiation-induced chromosomal aberrations in ataxia telangiectasia cells. The reduction in chromosomal instability can be attributed to an enhancement in DNA repair occurring in the presence of the histone deacetylase inhibitor, as its abolishment by the known inhibitor of DNA repair synthesis cytosine arabinoside clearly demonstrates. Data obtained could indicate a pivotal role of chromatin conformation in the radiosensitivity of ataxia telangiectasia cells.