Hands-On Training Emphasized in the Oregon Master Beekeeper Program

Honey bee colony declines have garnered immense public interest, and consequently there is a significant demand for the dissemination of apicultural information. The Oregon Master Beekeeper Program was developed in response to this increased interest in bees and beekeeping and a demand for a credible educational program for new beekeepers. The program focuses on hands-on training by matching students with volunteer mentors. Upon completion of the beginning (Apprentice) level, trained students may enroll in the advanced (Journey) level. This program has gained popularity and strives to educate beekeepers to promote sustainable beekeeping in the Pacific Northwest

Bacterial flora of conjunctiva after death

<b>AIM:</b>To evaluate the frequency of bacterial flora of conjunctiva after death (cadaver eyes) which will give information about the bacterial contamination of donor eyes, and the <i>in-vitro</i> sensitivity of isolated bacteria to the commonly used antibiotics in ophthalmic practice.<b>METHODS:</b> Conjunctival swabs were taken from the cadavers (motor vehicle accident deaths and patients who died in the hospital), within 6h after death, and sent for culture and sensitivity test. Conjunctival swabs, taken from the healthy conjunctiva of patients admitted for cataract surgery, were sent for culture and sensitivity as controls (eyes in those of living status). The bacterial isolates were tested against the commonly used antibiotics (chloramphenicol, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin) in ophthalmology practice.<b>RESULTS:</b> Bacteria were isolated in 41 out of 100 conjunctival swabs (41%), taken from 50 cadavers (study group). Coagulase negative <i>staphylococcus</i> was the most common bacteria isolated (15%), followed by <i>pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> (5%). Gentamicin was effective against majority of the bacterial isolates (82%). Bacteria were isolated from 7 out of 100 conjunctival swabs taken as control group (eyes in living state). Coagulase negative <i>staphylococcus</i> was the most common organism (5%) isolated in control group; the others were <i>staphylococcus aureus</i> (1%) and beta hemolyticus <i>streptococci</i> (1%).<b>CONCLUSION:</b> Bacteria were isolated from 41% of the cadaver eyes. High percentage sensitivity of the bacterial isolates to gentamicin (82%) supports the practice of thorough irrigation of the eyes with gentamicin solution before starting the procedure of enucleation followed by immersion of the enucleated eyeballs in gentamycin solution, to prevent the bacterial contamination

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Oregon Master Beekeeper Program

The Oregon Master Beekeeper Program has been educating beekeepers since 2012. We surveyed program participants to evaluate the effectiveness of the training on beekeeping knowledge, confidence, and community involvement. The survey results showed positive changes in beekeepers, especially due to hands-on training by volunteer mentors, an integral component of the program. We also found areas for program improvement, such as providing more local contact with volunteers and addressing mentor-mentee scheduling issues. The insights gleaned from our survey could be used by those involved with other master beekeeper programs or similar Extension programs to strengthen educational offerings

The temerloh hospital cataract complications study: factors associated with, types and outcomes of cataract surgery complications

AIM: To study the prevalence of complications of cataract surgery and any association between the occurrence of complications and experience of surgeon, type of surgery, type of anaesthesia and visual outcome.<p>METHODS: This was a retrospective study of patients who underwent cataract surgery over a period of two years in a district hospital in Malaysia. The demographic details of patients, type of surgery done, as well as type of anaesthesia used and experience of the surgeon were noted. The types of intraoperative and postoperative complications were recorded. The final best corrected visual outcome was recorded.<p>RESULTS: Complications occurred in 11.1% of the total 1007 patients operated. Posterior capsule rupture(3.6%)was the most common complication. The experience of the surgeon and the type of anaesthesia used did not affect complications during surgery. Intracapsular cataract extraction(ICCE)and phacoemulsification converted to extracapsular cataract extraction(ECCE)were significantly associated with more complications(<i>P</i><0.001). The visual outcome was significantly poor in patients with complications(<i>P</i><0.001). <p>CONCLUSION: The occurrence of complications during cataract surgery significantly affected the visual outcome. The type of surgery done was associated by the occurrence of complications. However, the experience of the surgeon and the type of anaesthesia used did not affect the occurrence of complications. We recommend that particular attention be given to ICCE and phacoemulsification converted to ECCE to minimise the complications and thereby reducing the chances of poor vision postoperatively

Pelvic congestion syndrome: a potentially treatable cause of intractable dysmenorrhoea

Pelvic congestion syndrome (PCS) comprises a constellation of symptoms such as noncyclical pelvic pain, pelvic varicosities, dysmenorrhea and dyspareunia in multiparous women of reproductive age. It occurs due to pelvic venous insufficiency. The condition is a challenging entity and diagnosed after excluding other pelvic pathologies. Although venography has been considered gold standard for imaging diagnosis, Doppler ultrasonography, cross sectional imaging of pelvic veins at CT and MRI have been shown to provide adequate and accurate diagnosis. Here we report a case of intractable dysmenorrhoea in a 42-year multiparous woman and its successful management with embolization of pelvic varicose veins.

Intraocular Pressure and Refractive Changes Following Orbital Decompression with Intraconal Fat Excision

The purpose of this study was to measure the changes in intraocular pressure (IOP) and refraction following orbital decompression for thyroid orbitopathy

Evaluation of physiological and pheromonal factors regulating honey bee, apis mellifera l. (hymenoptera: apidae) foraging and colony growth

This dissertation examines some important physiological and pheromonal factors regulating foraging and colony growth in honey bee colonies. The first study analyzed effects of soybean trypsin inhibitor (SBTI) on the development of hypopharyngeal gland, midgut enzyme activity and survival of the honey bee. In this study newly emerged caged bees were fed pollen diets containing three different concentrations of SBTI. Bees fed 1% SBTI had significantly reduced hypopharyngeal gland protein content. This study indicated that nurse bees fed a pollen diet containing at least 1% SBTI would be poor producers of larval food. In the second study nurse bee biosynthesis of brood food was manipulated using SBTI, and the resulting effects on pollen foraging were measured. Experimental colonies were given equal amounts of SBTI treated and untreated pollen. SBTI treatments had significantly lower hypopharyngeal gland protein content than controls. There was no significant difference in the ratio of pollen to non-pollen foragers and pollen load weights collected between the treatments. These results supported the pollen foraging effort predictions generated from the direct independent effects hypothesis. In the third study we tested whether brood pheromone (BP) regulated queen egg laying via modulation of worker-queen interactions and nurse bee rearing behaviors. This experiment had BP and control treatments. Queens in the BP treatment laid greater number of eggs, were fed for a greater amount of time and were less idle. Significantly more time was spent in cell cleaning by the bees in BP treatments. The results suggest that brood pheromone regulated queen egg-laying rate by modulating worker-queen interactions and nurse bee rearing behavior. The final study of this dissertation focused on how dose-dependent BP-mediated division of labor affected the partitioning of non-foraging and foraging work forces and the amount of brood reared. Triple cohort colonies were used and there were three treatments, Low BP, High BP and Control. Low BP treatments had significantly higher ratio of pollen to non-pollen foragers and greater pollen load weights. Low BP treatment bees foraged at a significantly younger age. This study has shown that BP elicits dose-dependent modulation of foraging and brood rearing behaviors

The trends of isolation and antimicrobial susceptibility of group B Streptococcus in urine culture: a 7-years cross sectional study

Background: Group B Streptococcus (GBS)/Streptococcus agalactiae (S. agalactiae) is a common rectovaginal colonizer, thereby a potential agent of neonatal and maternal infection. This study estimates the trends of isolation of GBS, its antimicrobial profile in urine culture and the demographic characteristics of these patients over a 7-year period. Methods: A record-based study was conducted, which included all the urine culture reports of GBS/S. agalactiae from January 2014 to December 2020. The trend of occurrence of GBS bacteriuria, demographic characteristics and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern were analyzed. Results: Out of 137 urine samples which grew GBS/S. agalactiae, 55(40.15%) were from antenatal women. Most of the isolates were from females (72.26%), with a male preponderance noted among the elderly population (age&gt;60 years). The predominant age group affected were adults between 20 to 59 years. The majority of the isolates (60.58%) were susceptible to all the four tested antibiotics, namely, ciprofloxacin, nitrofurantoin, ampicillin and vancomycin. Ciprofloxacin resistance was observed in 32.85% (45/137) isolates, 5.84% (8/137) isolates were resistant to ampicillin and 2.92% (4/137) were resistant to nitrofurantoin. Conclusions: All the isolates were susceptible to vancomycin. GBS/S. agalactiae is an important agent of bacteriuria in antenatal women as well as in non-pregnant population, especially the elderly males. Emerging resistance to various group of antibiotics warrants routine susceptibility testing

Acromegaly incidentally diagnosed at term in a pregnant woman presenting with ventricular premature complexes

Pituitary adenomas lead to increased growth hormone production and acromegaly. Pregnancy in acromegaly is rare as spontaneous conception is affected. We presented a case of 31 year old lady conceived by ovulation induction and presented at term gestation with ventricular premature complexes and was subsequently diagnosed with pituitary micro adenoma causing acromegaly. There has been no reported case of pregnancy with acromegaly presenting with premature ventricular complexes. Moreover, diagnosis of acromegaly in pregnancy is difficult and limited literature is available on its effects as well as management