Reproduction of Varroa destructor in sealed worker bee brood cells of Apis mellifera carnica and Apis mellifera syriaca in Jordan

The reproduction of the honey bee mite, Varroa destructor in sealed worker bee brood cells represents an important factor for the population development of this parasite in honey bee colonies. In this study, the relative infestation levels of worker brood cells, mite fertility (mites that lay at least one egg) and reproductive rate (number of viable adult daughters per mother mite) of Varroa mite in worker brood cells of Apis m. carnica and Apis m. syriaca were compared in fall 2003 and summer 2004 at two locations in Jordan. The relative infestation levels in sealed worker brood cells ranged from 23 – 32 % in fall and 19 – 28 % in summer. The average fertility of Varroa mite ranged between 90 - 98% in colonies of A. m. carnica and between 88 - 96 % in A. m. syriaca with minor differences between colonies and locations. The number of total progeny of fertile mites in worker brood cells was 4.0 in both bee races. The reproductive rate was high with 2.7 and 2.6 in both honey bee races. The post-capping period of the worker brood cells differs only slightly between both bee races and between locations (284.4 h on average, n = 4,000). Our data reveal surprisingly high mite fertility and reproductive rates in both honeybee races under Mediterranean conditions of Jordan. The possible physiological background of Varroa reproduction and the impact of mite fertility on the development of Varroa tolerance are discussed

Infestation levels of Varroa destructor in local honey bees of Jordan

To determine Varroa mite infestation levels in Jordan, a survey covering 180 colonies of two bee types (Apis m. syriaca and Apis m. syriaca hybrids) from six locations of 4 climatic zones was conducted during August, 8 month after the last treatment. Sampled colonies had 8-10 frames covered with bees and 3-4 brood frames. Levels of infestation were determined on both adult worker bees and in sealed worker brood cells. Two-way ANOVA showed no significant differences due to bee type with average adult bee infestation of 10.9 % and 13.1 % on hybrid and local bee types, respectively. Average infestation levels in sealed brood worker cells were 37.6 % and 32.5 % in hybrid and local bee types, respectively. Differences in infestation levels on adult bees were significant due to location and ranged between 6.9 - 18.6 % in Daba’a (Desert climate) and Jerash (Dry Mediterranean), respectively. In sealed worker brood cells infestation levels ranged between 15.7 - 84.7 % in Baqa (Dry Mediterranean) and Jerash, respectively. This indicates clearly that the usual scheduled Varroa control practice by a single chemical treatment in autumn could be insufficient. Therefore, to prevent damages or even losses of colonies, including diagnosis of infestation rates as part of integrated Varroa management is highly recommended

Diagnosing the barriers for integrating Educational Technology in Physics courses in Lebanese secondary schools

This paper investigates the barriers affecting the success implementation of ICT in the Lebanese secondary physics classes. It is realistic based study adopted the descriptive quantitative method to collect data by attitude test survey from 94 Lebanese secondary schools from different Lebanese districts. The results indicated that the ICT implementation in physics courses was not attained. Physics teachers must improve their ICT skills. Moreover, the low technology periods per week and revealing curriculum content, inflexibility of the curriculum to ICT implementation, insufficient existence of computer labs, lack financial support, insufficient training, inadequate technical support, unavailability of internet connectivity and the crowded class rooms were main barriers that prevent the implementation of ICT

What did CRISPR-Cas9 accomplish in its first 10 years?

It’s been 10 years now from the debut of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) era in which gene engineering has never been so accessible, precise and efficient. This technology, like a refined surgical procedure, has offered the ability of removing different types of disease causing mutations and restoring key proteins activity with ease of outperforming the previous resembling methods: zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) and transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs). Additionally, CRISPR-Cas9 systems can systematically introduce genetic sequences to the specific sites in the human genome allowing to stimulate desired functions such as anti-tumoral and anti-infectious faculties. The present brief review provides an updated resume of CRISPR-Cas9’s top achievements from its first appearance to the current date focusing on the breakthrough research including in vitro, in vivo and human studies. This enables the evaluation of the previous phase ‘the proof-of-concept phase’ and marks the beginning of the next phase which will probably bring a spate of clinical trials

The clinical outcome of lateral mass fixation after decompressive laminectomy in cervical spondylotic myelopathy

Lateral mass cervical fixation is the technique of choice for posterior cervical stabilization of the lower cervical spine in the cases of cervical spondylotic myelopathy. It is used for patients who had extensive, multiple-level laminectomies with reversed cervical lordosis.Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of decompressive laminectomy of cervical spondylotic myelopathy with lateral mass fixation compared with decompressive laminectomy only without fixation.Patients and methods: The study was conducted on 32 patients operated for cervical decompressive laminectomy with lateral mass fixation using polyaxial screws and rods at different levels of the subaxial cervical spine named group I, compared with 30 patients operated for cervical decompressive laminectomy only without lateral mass fixation named group II.Results: Group I comprised 22 males (68.8%) and 10 females (31.2%), the age ranged from 36 to 63 years. Group II comprised 18 males (60%) and 12 females (40%), the age ranged from 40 to 66 years with a mean of 51± 7.73. In group I, the mean operative time was 110 ±14.16 min, the mean hospital stay was 4± 1.76 days and the mean blood loss was 480 ± 193.04 ml. In group II, the mean operative time was 75± 24.38 min, the mean hospital stay was 3±1.57 days, and the mean blood loss was 220 ± 111.22 ml. There was a clinically significant difference as regards neck pain and brachialgia. In group I, neck pain improved in 68.8% and brachialgia improved in 83.3% but in group II, neck pain improved in 46.7% and brachialgia improved in 61.5%. Myelopathy and sphincteric disturbance showed clinical improvement but without clinically significant difference of both groups.Conclusions: Lateral mass fixation of the cervical spine after cervical laminectomy is safe and reliable with few complications. It also improves neck pain and brachialgia

Going Hybrid: How Hybrid Choice of Law Clauses Can Save the CISG

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Removal of Hazardous Oxyanion Pollutants by Lanthanum (Iii) Hydroxide and Lanthanum (III) - Loaded Ion Exchangers

La(III) loaded poly(hydroxamic acid) chelating resin (LaPHA), lanthanum hydroxideloaded poly(hydroxamic acid) chelating resin (LaOHPHA) and lanthanum hydroxide (La(OH)3) were prepared and evaluated as sorbents for removal of As(V), As(III) and Cr(VI) from aqueous solution. LaPHA was prepared by loading lanthanum(III) onto PHA resin which was prepared by the reaction of PMA with hydroxyl amine hydrochloride in alkaline medium. LaOHPHA was prepared by treating LaPHA with ammonia solution and La(OH)3 was prepared by neutralizing LaCl3 solution with ammonia solution. In order to understand the sorption characteristics of As(V), As(III) and Cr(VI) by the sorbents, batch and column studied were performed under various experimental conditions. The parameters studied were pH, contact time, isotherm study, iv temperature, sorbent dosage, presence of competitive anions, flow rate, sorptiondesorption study and industrial wastewater treatment. The results of batch study indicated that the sorption process was pH dependent and endothermic. Kinetic study showed that uptake of As(V) ion by all of the sorbents reached equilibrium after about 15 hours and about 10 hours for Cr(VI) by La(OH)3. The maximum sorption capacity of LaPHA for As(V) at room temperature determined from the Langmuir isotherm was 14.8 mg-As/g-sorbent compared to that of LaOHPHA for As(V) which was 17.7 mg-As/g-sorbent, while the maximum sorption capacity of La(OH)3 for As(V) was 133.3 mg-As/g-sorbent and for Cr(VI) was 33.1 mg-Cr/g-sorbent. The results also showed that the La(OH)3 in the PHA resin (LaOHPHA) was more stable in acidic medium compared to the La(OH)3. The uptake increased with increasing sorbent dosage and also increased by increasing in temperature. In the presence of competitive ions, metal uptake decreased and it was found that phosphate ion is the most effective one. In desorption study, As(V) could be removed almost quantitatively from LaPHA and LaOHPHA by eluting with 0.4M and 0.2M NaOH solutions, respectively. The column with LaPHA could be used for not more than 3 cycles and 2 cycles for LaOHPHA. Both LaPHA and LaOHPHA resins were found effective to remove arsenic from wastewater samples from wood treatment industry. The percentages of arsenic removal from wastewater by the sorbents were higher for lower v concentrations samples. More than 90% removal was obtained from the sample with the lowest arsenic concentration