Last Mile Transfer: enabling local data transfers on the global WLCG infrastructure

The computing challenge at CERN is of a global nature. To make real world-wide distributed computing possible, more than 150 computer centers must be seamlessly integrated. This means integrating CPU, storage and network. The File Transfer Service (FTS) is a tool that emerges to solve the data movement problem. It is used to schedule data transfers between different storage resources. Its optimizer takes care of increasing the parallelism to improve throughput, without exhausting the storage resources. It also has a web interface (WebFTS) which makes it quite easy for users to invoke reliable, managed data transfers on distributed infrastructure. However, FTS only solves part of the problem, as an increasing number of grid users run simulations on their personal laptops, generating files that can amount to several gigabytes. Normally, users would want to move these files from their personal computers to a remote Grid storage for long-term archiving, sharing, or running further processing on them. The issue here is that these users might be sitting behind a firewall, which means that their computer will not be able to listen to inbound connections. Last Mile Transfer is a solution that was developed to enable local file uploads on the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) infrastructure

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

Antibacterial activities of bee venom, propolis, and royal jelly produced by three honey bee, Apis mellifera L., hybrids reared in the same environmental conditions

Abstract The potent antibacterial activities of three bee products; bee venom, propolis and royal jelly were investigated. These products were obtained from three honey bee hybrids; Carniolan, Apis mellifera carnica; Italian; A. the tested products exhibited antibacterial activity against tested microorganisms. Bee venom seemed to be the most active followed by propolis then royal jelly. The products of Caucasian hybrid, especially propolis, were relatively more effective than those of the other hybrids. Ethanolic extract of propolis was more effective than petroleum one. Gram (+) bacteria was more sensitive to these products than Gram (-) ones. The use of these, natural, cheap and safe bee products as alternative food preservatives and in some pharmaceutical application is promising, but more research should bee carried out to standardize their minute composition and quality

The large carpenter bees of central Saudi Arabia, with notes on the biology of Xylocopa sulcatipes Maa (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Xylocopinae)

The large carpenter bees (Xylocopinae, Xylocopa Latreille) occurring in central Saudi Arabia are reviewed. Two species are recognized in the fauna, Xylocopa (Koptortosoma) aestuans (Linnaeus) and X. (Ctenoxylocopa) sulcatipes Maa. Diagnoses for and keys to the species of these prominent components of the central Saudi Arabian bee fauna are provided to aid their identification by pollination researchers active in the region. Females and males of both species are figured and biological notes provided for X. sulcatipes. Notes on the nesting biology and ecology of X. sulcatipes are appended. As in studies for this species from elsewhere, nests were found in dried stems of Calotropis procera (Aiton) (Asclepiadaceae) and Phoenix dactylifera L. (Arecaceae)

A MODIFIED METHOD TO DETERMINE HYDROGEN PEROXIDE ACTIVITY AS A CRITERION FOR BEE HONEY QUALITY

Summary Honey contains glucose oxidase which converts glucose to gluconic acid and H 2 O 2 . This enzyme is active in unripe or dilute honey. Produced H 2 O 2 is unstable and is decomposed to oxygen and water. Adding a chromogen, in the presence of peroxidase, oxygen oxidizes this chromogen and changes it from colorless to colored state. In the present study, accumulation of H 2 O 2 (as an activity of glucose oxidase) in honey was monitored in the presence of leucocrystal violet. Three common Egyptian honeys from different floral sources; citrus, clover, and cotton produced during three successive seasons were tested. The obtained results showed that fresh honeys exhibited higher enzyme activity than those stored for two or one year, respectively. Cotton honey had the higher enzyme and H 2 O 2 activities followed by clover honey, while citrus honey was the least active one. It was observed that dilution of honey increased enzyme activity gradually with increase in dilution rate, simultaneously the time needed for reaching a maximum concentration of H 2 O 2 was extended. From these results it could be concluded that this method could be used to evaluate honey quality and distinguish those stored or adulterated honeys

The indigenous honey bees of Saudi Arabia (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Apis mellifera jemenitica Ruttner): Their natural history and role in beekeeping

Volume: 134Start Page: 83End Page: 9

Performance of two honey bee subspecies during harsh weather and Acacia gerrardii nectar-rich flow

Both climatic factors and bee forage characteristics affect the population size and productivity of honey bee colonies. To our knowledge, no scientific investigation has as yet considered the potential effect of nectar-rich bee forage exposed to drastic subtropical weather conditions on the performance of honey bee colonies. This study investigated the performance of the honey bee subspecies Apis mellifera jemenitica Ruttner (Yemeni) and Apis mellifera carnica Pollmann (Carniolan) in weather that was hot and dry and in an environment of nectar-rich flora. The brood production, food storage, bee population and honey yield of Yemeni (native) and Carniolan (imported) colonies on Talh trees (Acacia gerrardii Benth.), a nectar-rich, subtropical, and summer bee forage source in Central Arabia were evaluated. Owing to their structural and behavioral adaptations, the Yemeni bees constructed stronger (high population size) colonies than the Carniolan bees. Although both groups yielded similar amounts of Talh honey, the Yemeni bees consumed their stored honey rapidly if not timely harvested. A. m. jemenitica has a higher performance than A. m. carnica during extremely hot-dry conditions and A. gerrardii nectar-rich flow

Physicochemical characteristics, total phenols and pigments of national and international honeys in Saudi Arabia

In 23 types of honey from Saudi Arabia and six other countries, the levels of some minor components and floral pigments as well as physicochemical characteristics were investigated. Most tested Saudi honeys, e.g. Acacia and Seder showed high values of density and total soluble solids and low water content compared to exotic ones. Some Acacia and Manuka samples had higher HMF contents than permitted levels. All the tested honeys were acidic; however Acacia honey had total acidity values over those of permitted levels, while most of the remainding types were comparable or acceptable. Also, Saudi Acacia and Egyptian honeys contained more content of total nitrogen, free amino acids and proline than those of the other tested types. Dark-colored honeys e.g. Acacia contained more phenolic content than those of the light-colored ones. Carotenoids were the predominant floral pigments in all the tested honeys, while xanthophylls and anthocyanins were the least predominant ones. Seder honeys showed moderate values of the tested characteristics compared to other types. The tested parameters are useful to determine the botanical origin of Saudi or exotic honeys and their quality. Further research on specific physicochemical properties of Saudi Acacia honey especially acidity is very much recommended. New criteria based on the regional characteristics of Saudi honeys including antioxidants, micro-constituents are suggested

Performance of two honey bee subspecies during harsh weather and Acacia gerrardii nectar-rich flow

ABSTRACT Both climatic factors and bee forage characteristics affect the population size and productivity of honey bee colonies. To our knowledge, no scientific investigation has as yet considered the potential effect of nectar-rich bee forage exposed to drastic subtropical weather conditions on the performance of honey bee colonies. This study investigated the performance of the honey bee subspecies Apis mellifera jemenitica Ruttner (Yemeni) and Apis mellifera carnica Pollmann (Carniolan) in weather that was hot and dry and in an environment of nectar-rich flora. The brood production, food storage, bee population and honey yield of Yemeni (native) and Carniolan (imported) colonies on Talh trees (Acacia gerrardii Benth.), a nectar-rich, subtropical, and summer bee forage source in Central Arabia were evaluated. Owing to their structural and behavioral adaptations, the Yemeni bees constructed stronger (high population size) colonies than the Carniolan bees. Although both groups yielded similar amounts of Talh honey, the Yemeni bees consumed their stored honey rapidly if not timely harvested. A. m. jemenitica has a higher performance than A. m. carnica during extremely hot-dry conditions and A. gerrardii nectar-rich flow

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