Modified Equations to Calculate Water Content and Refractive Index of Honey Based on Its Total Soluble Solids

The capacity of honey to break light is used for refractometric determination of humidity. In the present work, a manual refractometer was used to measure honey total soluble solids (73% - 86%) which are the corresponding values of refractive indices stated in Chataway’s Table. The relationship between values of total soluble solids, water content and refractive index in the obtained graphics gave equations that could be used directly to calculate both refractive index and water content of honey from its total soluble solids. This simple, fast and easy way could be applied without utilizing expensive refractometers due to their high cost or lack of their usage training. Furthermore, the suggested equation is more accurate than that of the current reference table (i.e. Chataway’s Table) and could be rapidly utilized for calculating water content in honey samples

Pollination ecology of Acacia gerrardii Benth. (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) under extremely hot-dry conditions

Talh trees (Acacia gerrardii Benth.) are acacias that are native to the arid and semiarid Africa and west Asia. We investigated the flowering biology, pod set and flower visitors of Talh and discussed the role of these visitors in pollen transfer. The Talh trees blossomed laterally on the nodes of one-year-old twigs. Each node produced 21 flower buds seasonally. Each flower bud opened to a flower head (FH) of 60 florets. The bagged FHs podded significantly (p ⩽ 0.05) less than did the unbagged FHs. The FHs were visited by 31 insect species (25 genera, 16 families and 5 orders). The major taxa were honeybees, megachilids, butterflies, ants, beetles and thrips. Each of honeybees, megachilids and beetles showed a significant (p ⩽ 0.05) hourly pattern, while each of butterflies, ants and thrips had no hourly pattern (p > 0.05). Furthermore, some birds and mammals touched the Talh FHs. Talh trees evolved a mass flowering behavior to face pre- and post-flowering obstacles. Megachilids seemed to play the major effort of zoophily because of their relatively high numbers of individuals and species and their effective movement behavior on the FH surface. Nevertheless, honeybees and other insects and vertebrate taxa also contributed to the pollen transfer. These results greatly contribute to our understanding of the pollination ecology of acacias, especially Arabian acacias

Effect of season and behavioral activity on the hypopharyngeal glands of three honey bee Apis mellifera L. races under stressful climatic conditions of central Saudi Arabia

Honey production gains are needed to deal with high demand in Saudi Arabia. The honey bee races are facing stressful hot-arid weather conditions that can affect different aspects of physiology and behavior. The hypopharyngeal glands (HPGs) of honey bees have prominent roles in various social behaviors through their secretions. The measurement of acini size and lipofuscin accumulation indicates the changes in HPGs in response to different factors including weather and behavioral castes. This research aimed to reveal how natural harsh environment of summer and winter can shape the HPGs in foragers and nurses of an indigenous bee race (Apis mellifera jemenitica Ruttner) in comparison with two exotic bee races (Apis mellifera carnica Pollmann and Apis mellifera ligustica Spinola). This study presents new information of significant differences in the HPGs of two behavioral castes (nurses and foragers) of indigenous and exotic bee races under harsh natural environmental conditions. HPGs of foragers have significantly higher lipofuscin accumulation and smaller acini size than nurse bees in all tested races during summer and winter seasons. A strong inverse correlation was found between acini size and lipofuscin accumulation in each race in both seasons. Smaller acini size and lipofuscin accumulation were detected in the HPGs of indigenous bees (foragers and nurses) than exotic bee races during both seasons. The acini size and lipofuscin accumulation were similar between exotic bee races but higher than that of the indigenous bee race

Thoracic stent graft sizing for frozen elephant trunk repair in acute type A dissection

ObjectiveAlthough stenting of the descending aorta simultaneously with proximal aortic repair has become an accepted part of the therapy for acute type A dissection, no general recommendations have been accepted regarding the choice of diameter and length of the stent grafts. The present study explored the safety and effectiveness of sizing the stent graft of the hybrid prosthesis in relation to the total aortic diameter and extending the landing zone to the level of the T10–T12 vertebrae.MethodsThe frozen elephant trunk procedure was performed on 32 patients with acute type A aortic dissection. The stent graft size was chosen according to the total aortic diameter measured on contrast-enhanced computed tomography scans. The stent graft was inserted with the distal landing zone at the level of vertebrae T10–T12. All patients underwent computed tomography or magnetic resonance angiography before discharge; 8 patients underwent subsequent endovascular stent extension.ResultsThe 30-day survival was 100%, with 3.1% (1/32) overall mortality at 17 ± 4 months (range, 1–33) of follow-up. The postoperative complications included pneumonia in 5, pulmonary embolism in 3, sepsis in 1, and permanent recurrent laryngeal nerve damage in 1 patient. No ischemic brain or spinal cord injury occurred. During follow-up, no endoleaks or false lumen patency developed.ConclusionsSizing the stent graft of the hybrid prosthesis according to the total aortic diameter and choosing a distal landing zone between vertebrae T10 and T12 is safe, with low midterm mortality and morbidity. It allows an extensive repair of the dissected aorta with early definite occlusion of the false lumen and prepares for potential endovascular extension of the graft

Olfactory associative behavioral differences in three honey bee Apis mellifera L. races under the arid zone ecosystem of central Saudi Arabia

Apis mellifera jemenitica is the indigenous race of honey bees in the Arabian Peninsula and is tolerant to local drought conditions. Experiments were undertaken to determine the differences in associative learning and memory of honey bee workers living in the arid zone of Saudi Arabia, utilizing the proboscis extension response (PER). These experiments were conducted on the indigenous race (A. m. jemenitica) along with two introduced European races (A. m. carnica and A. m. ligustica). The data revealed that A. m. jemenitica is amenable to PER conditioning and may be used in conditioning experiments within the olfactory behavioral paradigm. The results also demonstrated that the three races learn and retain information with different capacities relative to each other during the experimental time periods. Native Arabian bees (A. m. jemenitica) exhibited significantly lower PER percentage during second and third conditioning trials when compared to exotic races. Apis mellifera jemenitica also exhibited reduced memory retention at 2 h and 24 h when compared to A. m. carnica and A. m. ligustica. Therefore, the native Arabian bees were relatively slow learners with reduced memory retention compared to the other two races that showed similar learning and memory retention. Three or five conditioning trials and monthly weather conditions (October and December) had no significant effects on learning and memory in A. m. jemenitica. These results emphasized a novel line of research to explore the mechanism and differences in associative learning as well as other forms of learning throughout the year among bee races in the harsh arid conditions of Saudi Arabia. This is the first study in Saudi Arabia to demonstrate inter-race differences regarding olfactory associative learning between native Arabian bees and two introduced European honey bee races. Keywords: Associative learning, Memory formation, Olfaction, Proboscis extension response, Honey bee races, Saudi Arabi

Nectar secretion dynamics of Ziziphus nummularia: A melliferous species of dry land ecosystems

Nectar is used as raw material for the production of honey and as significant reward in the relationship between bees and plants during pollination. Therefore, it is important to investigate its abundance, dynamics and associated governing factors. Weather conditions are known to influence nectar production, and predicted climate changes may be responsible for future declining in total yield from beekeeping activities. We investigated nectar production as total soluble solids (TSS) of well-known species for honey production, Ziziphus nummularia in a hot-arid environment of Saudi Arabia. Data on nectar samples from bagged flowers of different stages during two blooming seasons, 2013 and 2015 were collected on weekly bases, and the data were correlated with weather conditions (temperature, relative humidity, and wind). A significant difference in TSS amount has been obtained, with 1-day old flowers displaying the higher content. TSS production was varied along the different day intervals, for both years, with a peak of production in the afternoon. In our results, nectar production was not correlated to temperature and wind, but was significantly negatively correlated with relative humidity. According to the current and future weather forecasting conditions, understanding of the relationship between weather conditions and nectar availability turned out to be important predictive information that may be interpreted into an economic projection of incomes from beekeeping activities

Ternary diagram showing the compound compositions from petroleum residues, altered products and natural plant wax.

<p>Ternary diagram showing the compound compositions from petroleum residues, altered products and natural plant wax.</p

TIC trace showing the major organic tracers in the asphalt sample (a) and typical key ion plots for (b) n-alkanes and (c) hopanes.

<p>TIC trace showing the major organic tracers in the asphalt sample (a) and typical key ion plots for (b) <u>n</u>-alkanes and (c) hopanes.</p