When the guard honey bees, Apis mellifera L., form a clump at the hive entrance or on the flight board, the oriental hornet, Vespa orientails L., either creeps toward the clump or hovers over it in order to take a bee. Once the hornet creeps, only few bees facing the hornet become alert, rock their heads and antennae, open their wings, and take a posture of defense. The rest of the clump stays listless without any signal of concern. However, the clump stays dense and the defending bees do not detach themselves neither from the rest of the clump nor from each other. For this reason, it is very difficult for the hornet to grab a bee unless the latter makes a “mistake” by detaching herself from other adjacent bees. If the hornet grabs such a bee, the other defending bees will not attack the hornet to free that bee even when the latter is one centimeter from the others. The defending bees can capture the hornet only when the latter grabs one of them which stands very close to the others. The hornet seems very “aware” of such a situation; hence she seldom becomes a captive. On the other hand, hovering over the clump makes it easier for the hornet to grab a bee. The hovering puts all the clump, rather than part of it, on alert. If the hornet is persistent, which is not often the case, then the clump will no longer be dense. The bees will panicly disperse all over the flight board; hence the hornet can find a detached bee and grabs it easily. The hornet also waits on wing in front of the hive to capture an outgoing or incoming flying bee but the latter usually maneuver to escape. Also, foraging bees reduce their activity during main hours of hornet presence. Among the main factors reducing the hornet impact are the continuous chasing of hornets to each other and the non-persistent attempts of the hornets when they attack bee clumps.
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused an unprecedented disruption in medical education and healthcare systems worldwide. The disease can cause life-threatening conditions and it presents challenges for medical education, as instructors must deliver lectures safely, while ensuring the integrity and continuity of the medical education process. It is therefore important to assess the usability of online learning methods, and to determine their feasibility and adequacy for medical students. We aimed to provide an overview of the situation experienced by medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of medical students regarding electronic medical education.
... Show MoreThe present study aim at preparing frusemide in liquid form suitable for oral use. This is achieved through preparing different liquid forms of frusemide. The frusemide liquid is prepared in the following forms: oral solution, syrup and elixir with intensity of 1, 0.4 and 0.8% weight /volume respectively and in combination with potassium carbonate, polysorbate 80, alcohol and phosphate buffer solution of pH8 to dissolve the frusemide in the above mentioned forms. The different forms of the prepared medicine have been stored in glass bottles that can provide protection against light and at 40, 50, 600C for four months. Besides the pH has been checked to decide the period of validity. The results show that the expiration date of
... Show MoreThe electronic characteristics, including the density of state and bond length, in addition to the spectroscopic properties such as IR spectrum and Raman scattering, as a function of the frequency of Sn10O16, C24O6, and hybrid junction (Sn10O16/C24O6) were studied. The methodology uses DFT for all electron levels with the hybrid function B3-LYP (Becke level, 3-parameters, Lee–Yang-Parr), with 6-311G (p,d) basis set, and Stuttgart/Dresden (SDD) basis set, using Gaussian 09 theoretical calculations. The geometrical structures were calculated by Gaussian view 05 as a supplementary program. The band gap was calculated and compared to the measured valu
... Show MoreThe dual nature of asphalt binder necessitates improvements to mitigate rutting and fatigue since it performs as an elastic material under the regime of rapid loading or cold temperatures and as a viscous fluid at elevated temperatures. The present investigation assesses the effectiveness of Nano Alumina (NA), Nano Silica (NS), and Nano Titanium Dioxide (NT) at weight percentages of 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8% in asphalt cement to enhance both asphalt binder and mixture performance. Binder evaluations include tests for consistency, thermal susceptibility, aging, and workability, while mixture assessments focus on Marshall properties, moisture susceptibility, resilient modulus, permanent deformation, and fatigue characteristics. NS notably im
... Show MoreThe dual nature of asphalt binder necessitates improvements to mitigate rutting and fatigue since it performs as an elastic material under the regime of rapid loading or cold temperatures and as a viscous fluid at elevated temperatures. The present investigation assesses the effectiveness of Nano Alumina (NA), Nano Silica (NS), and Nano Titanium Dioxide (NT) at weight percentages of 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8% in asphalt cement to enhance both asphalt binder and mixture performance. Binder evaluations include tests for consistency, thermal susceptibility, aging, and workability, while mixture assessments focus on Marshall properties, moisture susceptibility, resilient modulus, permanent deformation, and fatigue characteristics. NS notably im
... Show MoreUsing an electrochemical polymerization technique at room temperature, poly nicotine amide (PNA) was produced from the monomer nicotine amide (NA) in aqueous solution. The structure of polymer layer generated on the stainless steel surface (316 L) (working electrode) is investigated by Fourier Transmission Infrared Region (FT-IR). The anti-corrosion activity of polymer coating on the stainless steel (SS 316 L) is investigated by electrochemical polarization in 0.20M solution of HCl at 293-323K. The graphene -modified polymer film-coated SS had greater protection efficiency (PE percent) when compared to Nano ZnO -modified polymer film-coated SS. For the corrosion process of SS 316 L, kinetic and thermo-dynamic parameters of activatio
... Show MoreBackground: The Titanium and its alloys are suitable for dental implant and medical applications. Biocompatibility of the materials is a major factor in determining the success of the implant and has a great impact on their rate of osseointegration. The aim of this study was to evaluate the biocompatibility and cytotoxicity of Ti2AlC in comparison to CPTi & Ti6Al7Nb in rabbits. Materials and Methods: 10 male New Zealand White rabbits, weighing (2-2.5 kg), aged (10-12 months) were used in this study. Cylindrical implants were prepared from the study materials (CPTi, Ti6Al7Nb and Ti2AlC) with (8mm) height and (3mm) diameter for the evaluation of tissue response and disc specimens were prepared with (6 mm) diameter and (2 mm) thickness for ev
... Show MoreObjectives: Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) is WNT/b-catenin pathway antagonist which plays a detrimental role in the development of diabetic retinopathy (DR). This research aimed to assess serum DKK-1 levels in diabetic patients who have and have not developed DR and, compare them with the control subjects finding out whether we can use it as an indicator for DR early diagnosis and to find out which one of the widely used two groups of antidiabetic treatments had the greater effect on this biomarker and hence on the progression of DR. Methods: The study participants were divided into two subgroups: First, 70 patients (36 male, 34 female) with type 2 diabetes mellitus, among them 35 patients diagnosed with DR and 35 with no evidence of DR, and s
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