Abstract Background Over half of the world’s population lives in urban areas with, according to the United Nations, nearly 70% expected to live in cities by 2050. Our cities are built by and for humans, but are also complex, adaptive biological systems involving a diversity of other living species. The majority of these species are invisible and constitute the city’s microbiome. Our design decisions for the built environment shape these invisible populations, and as inhabitants we interact with them on a constant basis. A growing body of evidence shows us that human health and well-being are dependent on these interactions. Indeed, multicellular organisms owe meaningful aspects of their development and phenotype to interactions with the microorganisms—bacteria or fungi—with which they live in continual exchange and symbiosis. Therefore, it is meaningful to establish microbial maps of the cities we inhabit. While the processing and sequencing of environmental microbiome samples can be high-throughput, gathering samples is still labor and time intensive, and can require mobilizing large numbers of volunteers to get a snapshot of the microbial landscape of a city. Results Here we postulate that honeybees may be effective collaborators in gathering samples of urban microbiota, as they forage daily within a 2-mile radius of their hive. We describe the results of a pilot study conducted with three rooftop beehives in Brooklyn, NY, where we evaluated the potential of various hive materials (honey, debris, hive swabs, bee bodies) to reveal information as to the surrounding metagenomic landscape, and where we conclude that the bee debris are the richest substrate. Based on these results, we profiled 4 additional cities through collected hive debris: Sydney, Melbourne, Venice and Tokyo. We show that each city displays a unique metagenomic profile as seen by honeybees. These profiles yield information relevant to hive health such as known bee symbionts and pathogens. Additionally, we show that this method can be used for human pathogen surveillance, with a proof-of-concept example in which we recover the majority of virulence factor genes for Rickettsia felis, a pathogen known to be responsible for “cat scratch fever”. Conclusions We show that this method yields information relevant to hive health and human health, providing a strategy to monitor environmental microbiomes on a city scale. Here we present the results of this study, and discuss them in terms of architectural implications, as well as the potential of this method for epidemic surveillance.

Poster para presentar en el APIMONDIA : 48th Congreso Internacional de Apicultura ( 2023: setiembre 4-8 : Santiago, Chile) | The Tropical Beekeeping Research Center (CINAT) of Universidad Nacional, Costa Ricareceives approximately 15 training requests on bees each year from mainly educationalcenters. Additionally, CINAT visits rural areas throughout the country where it is necessaryto raise awareness among children about the importance and preservation of bees.The Design Thinking (DT) methodology was used for thedevelopment of the application: empathize, define, ideate,prototype, and test.The thematic axes of the app were dividedinto: Bee Morphology, MainContributions of Bees, Bees FaceDangers: Let's Learn About the MainThreats, and Hive Derivatives | El Centro de Investigación en Apicultura Tropical (CINAT) de la Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica recibe aproximadamente 15 solicitudes de capacitación sobre abejas al año, provenientes principalmente de centros educativos. Adicionalmente, el CINAT visita zonas rurales de todo el país donde es necesario concientizar a los niños sobre la importancia y preservación de las abejas. Para el desarrollo de la aplicación se utilizó la metodología de Design Thinking (DT): empatizar, definir, idear, prototipar y probar. Los ejes temáticos de la aplicación se dividieron en: Morfología de las abejas, Principales contribuciones de las abejas, Las abejas se enfrentan a peligros: Conozcamos las principales amenazas y Derivados de la colmena. | Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica | Centro de Investigaciones Apícolas Tropicales (CINAT)

Mexico is a major honey producer, but not much information exists about the health status of honey bees (<i>Apis mellifera</i> L.) in the country. This study was conducted to determine the sanitary status of adult honey bees in Mexico’s five beekeeping regions. Samples from 369 apiaries were diagnosed to identify pathogens such as <i>Varroa destructor</i>, which was quantified, <i>Acarapis woodi</i>, <i>Nosema</i> spp., and five viruses. Colonies were also inspected for the presence of the small hive beetle (SHB), <i>Aethina tumida</i>. <i>Varroa destructor</i> was found in 83.5% of the apiaries, with the Pacific Coast region having the highest prevalence (>95%) and rates (4.5% ± 0.6). <i>Acarapis woodi</i> was detected in only one apiary from the Pacific Coast, whereas <i>Nosema</i> spp. were prevalent in 48.5% of the apiaries, with the highest and lowest frequencies in the Yucatan Peninsula and North regions (64.6% and 10.2%, respectively). For viruses, deformed wing virus (DWV) was detected in 26.1% of the apiaries, with the highest frequency in the Pacific Coast region (44.7%). Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV) was diagnosed in 3.2% of the samples and sacbrood bee virus (SBV) in 23.3% of them, with the highest frequency in the High Plateau region (36.4%). Chronic bee paralysis and Kashmir bee viruses were not detected. SHB prevalence was 25.2% nationwide, with the highest frequency in the Yucatan Peninsula (39.2%). This study shows that the most common parasites of adult honey bees in Mexico are <i>V. destructor</i> and <i>Nosema</i> spp., and that the most prevalent virus is DWV, whereas SHB is highly prevalent in the Yucatan Peninsula. This information could be useful to design disease control strategies for honey bee colonies in different regions of Mexico.

Background: The main problem of beekeeping activity in Mexico is parasitosis by Varroa destructor, due to its wide distribution and the damage it produces in apiaries, causing mortality in bees and reduction in honey production levels. Therefore, it is essential to develop sanitary control strategies for varroasis, avoiding causing the presence of resistant vectors, harmful damage to bees, beekeepers, consumers or any type of surrounding contamination or in the main products of the hive. Objective: To evaluate the acaricidal activity of Pachyrhizus erosus (jicama) on the mite V. destructor in colonies of Apis mellifera. Methodology: For the obtain of the extract from mature jicama seed, the hot maceration/extraction method (bain-marie) was used, using ethanol 95° G.L (95%) as solvent. A completely random design was developed. randomized with two dilutions of P. erosus (5 and 10%), a negative control (distilled water) and a positive control (Cumavar®), with three repetitions, respectively. The treatments were applied by means of two plastic strips (between frames 6 and 10) impregnated with the corresponding concentrations. Results: The highest count of accumulated mites was presented in the positive control with 386 (128.67±22.74). During the sampling, an initial infestation rate of 4.54±1.64 was determined. On the other hand, the final infestation rate was 2.66±2.69. The effectiveness of the treatments was statistically significant among themselves. The 5 and 10% dilutions of the P. erosus seed extract presented an acaricidal effect with percentages greater than 45% (48.99±15.1 and 59.44±13.57% of effectiveness, respectively). Likewise, the positive control presented the highest percentage, 84.41±14.47. Implications: Trials should be developed with a greater number of experimental units and records with a longer post-application time, with the aim of evaluating their residual and harmful effect that these may have on non-target individuals such as bees. Conclusion: Exploratory data on the acaricidal effect of P. erosus seed on V. destructor and its application as a means of controlling varroa infestation were presented, as a feasible alternative for the development of strategies for the sanitary control of varroa.

Fully coupled integrated load analyses (ILAs) to evaluate not only the load response but also the structural integrity are required to design a floating offshore wind turbine, since there has been no firmly established approach for obtaining the structural responses of a FOWT substructure in the time domain. This study aimed to explore if a direct strength analysis (DSA) technique that has been widely used for ships and offshore structures can adequately evaluate the FOWT substructure. In this study, acceleration and nacelle thrust were used for the dominant load parameters for DSA. The turbine thrust corresponding to the 50-year return period was taken from the literature. The acceleration response amplitude operator (RAO) was obtained through frequency response hydrodynamic analysis. The short-term sea states defined by the wave scatter diagram (WSD) of the expected installation area was represented by the JONSWAP wave spectrum. To account for the multi-directionality of the short-crested waves, the 0th order moments of the wave spectrum were corrected. The probabilities of each short-term sea state and each wave incidence angle were applied to derive the long-term acceleration for each return period. DSA cases were generated by combining the long-term acceleration and nacelle thrust to maximize the forces in the surge, sway, and heave directions. Linear spring elements were placed under the three outer columns of the substructure to provide soft constraints for hive, roll, and pitch motions. Nonlinear spring elements with initial tension were placed on the three fairlead chain stoppers (FCSs) to simulate the station-keeping ability of the mooring lines; they provided initial tension in the slacked position and an increased tension in the taut position. The structural strength evaluation of the coarse mesh finite element model with an element size same as the stiffener spacing showed that high stresses exceeding the permissible stresses occurred in the unstable members of the substructure. The high stress areas were re-evaluated using a fine mesh finite element model with an element size of 50 mm × 50 mm. The scope of structural reinforcement was identified from the fine mesh analyses. It was found that the DSA can be properly utilized for the substructure strength assessment of a FOWT.

The aim of the study is to evaluate the productivity of honey bees when using a vitamin-mineral feed additive prepared in different ways (conventional and with reference to the compatibility of vitamins and mineral components). The research was carried out on honey bees according to traditional methods approved by the Research Institute of Beekeeping. 4 experimental groups with 10 bee families in each group were selected in a stationary apiary (Udmurt Republic, Zavyalovsky district) in the spring- summer period of 2022. When forming groups the strength of families, the number of brood, the queen bee age and the hive design were taken into account. Feeding was carried out after the bees wintering in the second half of April. The additive in all experiment variants were introduced in sugar syrup. The first group of bees received the additive prepared conventionally. The second and third groups received an additive consisting of chelated compounds, but the third group received it in a higher dosage. In these variants, fat-soluble vitamins were dissolved in fats and used in liquid form, the remaining vitamins and mineral components were a dry mixture. The fourth group was control one. According to the research results, the gross and commercial honey performance in the third experimental group exceeded the indicators of the control group by 19.1% and 32.2%, respectively. The maximum brood amount on the 36th day after feeding was recorded in the third experimental group, which was more by 24.75% than in the control group (191.5 hundred cells), and than in the second experimental group – by 20.5% (31.5 hundred cells). On the 36th day of the study the indicators of oviparity of queen bees in the third experimental group were higher by 24.7% than in the control group. It is concluded that it is advisable to use 2-component additive containing chelated compounds in a higher dosage (0.5 ml of liquid fraction per 0.5 L of syrup and 1 g of dry fraction per 0.5 L of syrup). | Цель исследования - оценка продуктивности медоносных пчел при использовании витаминно-минеральной кормовой добавки, приготовленной разными способами (традиционным и с учетом совместимости витаминов и минеральных компонентов). Исследования проводили на медоносных пчелах согласно традиционным методикам, утвержденным НИИ пчеловодства. В весенне-летний период 2022 г. в условиях стационарной пасеки (Удмуртская Республика, Завьяловский район) были подобраны 4 опытные группы, по 10 пчелиных семей в каждой. При формировании групп учитывалась сила семей, количество расплода, возраст пчелиной матки и конструкция улья. Подкормка проводилась после зимовки пчел, во второй половине апреля. Добавку во всех вариантах опыта вводили в сахарный сироп. Первая группа пчел получала добавку, приготовленную по общепринятой схеме. Вторая и третья группы получали добавку, состоящую из хелатных соединений, но третья – с более высокой дозировкой. В этих вариантах жирорастворимые витамины растворяли в жирах и использовали в жидком виде, остальные витамины и минеральные компоненты представляли собой сухую смесь. Четвертая группа являлась контролем. По результатам исследования валовая и товарная медовая продуктивность в третьей опытной группе превышала показатели контрольной группы на 19,1% и 32,2% соответственно. Максимальное количество расплода на 36-е сутки после проведения подкормки зафиксировано в третьей опытной группе, что больше, чем в контрольной, на 24,75% (191,5 сотен ячеек), и чем во второй опытной группе – на 20,5% (31,5 сотен ячеек). Показатели яйценоскости маток на 36-е сутки исследования в третьей опытной группе были выше, чем в контрольной, на 24,7%. Сделан вывод о целесообразности использования 2-компонентной добавки, содержащей хелатные соединения, в бОльшей дозировке (0,5 мл жидкой фракции на 0,5 л сиропа и 1 г сухой фракции на 0,5 л сиропа).