Background: Nosemosis is an infection of ventricular epithelial cells of adult European honey bees (Apis mellifera), caused by Nosema species. Until recently, it was thought to be caused only by Nosema apis. Nosema ceranae, originally found in Apis ceranae, has now been recognized also in Europe, and considered a more common infection agent than Nosema apis. This disease is present in bee colonies worldwide and it was recently proposed to be a key factor in colony collapse disorder. As the parasite can be present in honey bee colonies without causing disease symptoms, a sensitive and rapid technique for a proper diagnosis is necessary. Findings: Adult honey samples without signs of disease were collected, observed at stereomicroscopy, necropsied, and then processed for histological examination. The examined organs didn't reveal any pathology; on the contrary, the histological examination revealed the presence of infected cells all along the ventriculus epithelium.
Conclusions:In this paper we demonstrate that histopathology is a sensitive and specific method for the detection of nosemosis and has the additional advantage of being able to provide a diagnosis in colonies without signs of disease. Possible relation with bee colony collapse is also discussed.
Ventricina is a traditional sausage made from pork meat produced in the Abruzzi and Molise regions. The aim of this study was to detect the content of nitrates and nitrites in local cultivars of chilli pepper, and their concentration in ventricina samples spiced with the same chilli pepper. Furthermore, it was examined whether, in the samples of ventricina with nitrate addition, the spicing with chilli pepper could exceed the maximum added dose. The concentration of nitrates and nitrites in the organic chilli pepper was 531.0±94.6 mg/kg and less than 5.0 mg, respectively, in the traditional chilli pepper it was 394.0±39.6 and less than 5.0 mg, while in the commercial it was 325.0±115.0 and less than 5.0 mg. The determination of nitrites and nitrates was carried out by high performance ion chromatography. In ventricina samples produced without added sodium nitrate, nitrates and nitrites were below 5.0 mg/kg at the case-filling time (t0) and after 50 days of aging (t50). In the samples of ventricina with added sodium nitrate, nitrate concentration values were 134.0±20.9 mg/kg at t0 and 129.0±15.4 mg/kg at t50, while the nitrites were below 5.0 mg/kg at t0 and 28.8±15.8 mg/kg at t50. Although in ventricina the amount of chilli pepper is quite relevant, it did not lead to a detectable concentration of nitrates. The maximum allowed amount was never exceeded.
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