Automatic dew-point temperature sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Graichen, H; Rascati, R; Gonzalez, R R

1982-06-01

A device is described for measuring dew-point temperature and water vapor pressure in small confined areas. The method is based on the deposition of water on a cooled surface when at dew-point temperature. A small Peltier module lowers the temperature of two electrically conductive plates. At dew point the insulating gap separating the plates becomes conductive as water vapor condenses. Sensors based on this principle can be made small and rugged and can be used for measuring directly the local water vapor pressure. They may be installed within a conventional ventilated sweat capsule used for measuring water vapor loss from the skin surface. A novel application is the measurement of the water vapor pressure gradients across layers of clothing worn by an exercising subject.

Analysis of Multicomponent Adsorption Close to a Dew Point

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shapiro, Alexander; Stenby, Erling Halfdan

1998-01-01

We develop the potential theory of multicomponent adsorption close to a dew point. The approach is based on an asymptotic adsorption equation (AAE) which is valid in a vicinity of the dew point. By this equation the thickness of the liquid film is expressed through thermodynamic characteristics...... and the direct calculations, even if the mixture is not close to a dew point.Key Words: adsorption; potential theory; multicomponent; dew point....

Projected climate change impacts upon dew yield in the Mediterranean basin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tomaszkiewicz, M. [Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Architecture, American University of Beirut, Beirut (Lebanon); Abou Najm, M., E-mail: majdian@aub.edu.lb [Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Architecture, American University of Beirut, Beirut (Lebanon); Beysens, D. [Physique et Mecanique des Milieux Heterogenes, UMR 7636 CNRS — ESPCI, Universite Pierre et Marie Curie — Universite Paris Diderot, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75005 Paris (France); Service des Basses Temperatures, CEA-Grenoble & Universite Joseph Fourier, Grenoble (France); OPUR, 60 rue Emeriau, 75015 Paris (France); Alameddine, I. [Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Architecture, American University of Beirut, Beirut (Lebanon); Bou Zeid, E. [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540 (United States); El-Fadel, M. [Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Architecture, American University of Beirut, Beirut (Lebanon)

2016-10-01

Water scarcity is increasingly raising the need for non-conventional water resources, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. In this context, atmospheric moisture can potentially be harvested in the form of dew, which is commonly disregarded from the water budget, although its impact may be significant when compared to rainfall during the dry season. In this study, a dew atlas for the Mediterranean region is presented illustrating dew yields using the yield data collected for the 2013 dry season. The results indicate that cumulative monthly dew yield in the region can exceed 2.8 mm at the end of the dry season and 1.5 mm during the driest months, compared to < 1 mm of rainfall during the same period in some areas. Dew yields were compared with potential evapotranspiration (PET) and actual evapotranspiration (ET) during summer months thus highlighting the role of dew to many native plants in the region. Furthermore, forecasted trends in temperature and relative humidity were used to estimate dew yields under future climatic scenarios. The results showed a 27% decline in dew yield during the critical summer months at the end of the century (2080). - Highlights: • Dew atlas for Mediterranean region is presented. • Cumulative dew yields can exceed 2.8 mm at the end of the dry season. • Dew yields compared with PET and ET show the role of dew to many native plants. • Forecasted trends under future climatic scenarios show a 27% decline in dew yield.

Accurate dew-point measurement over a wide temperature range using a quartz crystal microbalance dew-point sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Su-Yong; Kim, Jong-Chul; Choi, Buyng-Il

2008-11-01

Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) dew-point sensors are based on frequency measurement, and so have fast response time, high sensitivity and high accuracy. Recently, we have reported that they have the very convenient attribute of being able to distinguish between supercooled dew and frost from a single scan through the resonant frequency of the quartz resonator as a function of the temperature. In addition to these advantages, by using three different types of heat sinks, we have developed a QCM dew/frost-point sensor with a very wide working temperature range (-90 °C to 15 °C). The temperature of the quartz surface can be obtained effectively by measuring the temperature of the quartz crystal holder and using temperature compensation curves (which showed a high level of repeatability and reproducibility). The measured dew/frost points showed very good agreement with reference values and were within ±0.1 °C over the whole temperature range.

Accurate dew-point measurement over a wide temperature range using a quartz crystal microbalance dew-point sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwon, Su-Yong; Kim, Jong-Chul; Choi, Buyng-Il

2008-01-01

Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) dew-point sensors are based on frequency measurement, and so have fast response time, high sensitivity and high accuracy. Recently, we have reported that they have the very convenient attribute of being able to distinguish between supercooled dew and frost from a single scan through the resonant frequency of the quartz resonator as a function of the temperature. In addition to these advantages, by using three different types of heat sinks, we have developed a QCM dew/frost-point sensor with a very wide working temperature range (−90 °C to 15 °C). The temperature of the quartz surface can be obtained effectively by measuring the temperature of the quartz crystal holder and using temperature compensation curves (which showed a high level of repeatability and reproducibility). The measured dew/frost points showed very good agreement with reference values and were within ±0.1 °C over the whole temperature range

A new comparison method for dew-point generators

Science.gov (United States)

Heinonen, Martti

1999-12-01

A new method for comparing dew-point generators was developed at the Centre for Metrology and Accreditation. In this method, the generators participating in a comparison are compared with a transportable saturator unit using a dew-point comparator. The method was tested by constructing a test apparatus and by comparing it with the MIKES primary dew-point generator several times in the dew-point temperature range from -40 to +75 °C. The expanded uncertainty (k = 2) of the apparatus was estimated to be between 0.05 and 0.07 °C and the difference between the comparator system and the generator is well within these limits. In particular, all of the results obtained in the range below 0 °C are within ±0.03 °C. It is concluded that a new type of a transfer standard with characteristics most suitable for dew-point comparisons can be developed on the basis of the principles presented in this paper.

Acid dew point measurements in combustion gases using the dew point measuring system AH 85100

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fehler, D.

1984-01-01

Measuring system for continuous monitoring of the SO/sub 2//SO/sub 3/ dew point in the flue gas, characterized by a low failure rate, applicability inside the flue gas duct, maintenance-free continuous operation, and self-cleaning. The measuring principle is the cooling of the sensor element down to the 'onset condensation' message. Sensor surface temperatures are listed and evaluated as flue gas dew point temperatures. The measuring system is described. (DOMA).

Multi-channel fiber optic dew and humidity sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Limodehi, Hamid E.; Mozafari, Morteza; Amiri, Hesam; Légaré, François

2018-03-01

In this article, we introduce a multi-channel fiber optic dew and humidity sensor which works using a novel method based on relation between surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and water vapor condensation. The proposed sensor can instantly detect moisture or dew formation through its fiber optic channels, separately situated in different places. It enables to simultaneously measure the ambient Relative Humidity (RH) and dew point temperature of several environments with accuracy of 5%.

The measurement of tiny dew droplets at the initial deposition stage and dew point using a phase-shift interference microscope

Science.gov (United States)

Shigeaki, Matsumoto

2003-12-01

The shape of a dew droplet deposited on the mirror surface of a copper plate was measured accurately using an interference microscope that employed a phase-shift technique. The microscope was constructed by adding a piezoelectric transducer to an interference microscope. A simple method that uses a conventional speaker horn and an optical fibre cable was used to depress any speckle noise. The shape of a dew droplet deposited at dew point on the plate surface with average roughness of 0.1 µm was measured with an accuracy of ± 3 nm. The mass of a tiny dew droplet could be determined from the volume of its shape and was of the order of 10-9 g. The total mass of a dew droplet deposited per unit area and the deposition velocity under a gentle wind were also obtained in a similar way. The total mass was of the order of 10-5 g cm-2 at the beginning of deposition and the deposition velocity ranged from 1 × 10-5 to 6 × 10-5 g cm-2 min-1 at room temperature.

Automatic dew-point hygrometer making use of US -ray backscattering and controlled at the constant amount of dew

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matsumoto, Shigeaki; Kobayashi, Hisanobu

1988-08-01

A control system which consists of proportional and integral control to maintain the constant amount of dew was developed in this hygrometer. The dew points were measured within an accuracy of +-1 deg C in the ranging from -4 to 32 deg C. The response time for suddenly changing humidity was about 8 min.

Dew-point measurements at high water vapour pressure

Science.gov (United States)

Lomperski, S.; Dreier, J.

1996-05-01

A dew-point meter capable of measuring humidity at high vapour pressure and high temperature has been constructed and tested. Humidity measurements in pure steam were made over the temperature range 100 - 1500957-0233/7/5/003/img1C and a vapour pressure range of 1 - 4 bar. The dew-point meter performance was assessed by comparing measurements with a pressure transmitter and agreement between the two was within 0957-0233/7/5/003/img2% relative humidity. Humidity measurements in steam - air mixtures were also made and the dew-point meter readings were compared to those of a zirconia oxygen sensor. For these tests the dew-point meter readings were generally within 0957-0233/7/5/003/img2% relative humidity of the oxygen sensor measurements.

Protection of HCl dew point corrosion in municipal incinerators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yamamoto, S.; Tsuruta, T.; Maeda, N.

1976-12-01

HCl dew point corrosion is often observed on the components of municipal incinerators used for burning wastes which contain polyvinyl chloride. In order to solve the problem, the relation between concentrations of gaseous HCl and the corresponding dew points as well as concentrations of condensed HCl, was investigated. A series of HCl dipping tests for the materials concerned was performed and the dip test results were compared with in-plant tests. As a result it was concluded that HCl dew point corrosion can be reliably predicted from measurements of HCl concentrations in the water and in the gas and the partial pressure of the saturated steam at the dew point.

sarcome d'ewing

African Journals Online (AJOL)

7 mai 2012 ... Le sarcome d'Ewing est une tumeur osseuse rare corres- pondant à la ... Introduction : petrous Ewing sarcoma is exceptional. We report a ..... (15) Iriz A, Albayrak L, Eryilmaz A. Extraskeletal primary Ewing's sarcoma of the.

TFOS DEWS II Report Executive Summary.

Science.gov (United States)

Craig, Jennifer P; Nelson, J Daniel; Azar, Dimitri T; Belmonte, Carlos; Bron, Anthony J; Chauhan, Sunil K; de Paiva, Cintia S; Gomes, José A P; Hammitt, Katherine M; Jones, Lyndon; Nichols, Jason J; Nichols, Kelly K; Novack, Gary D; Stapleton, Fiona J; Willcox, Mark D P; Wolffsohn, James S; Sullivan, David A

2017-10-01

This article presents an Executive Summary of the conclusions and recommendations of the 10-chapter TFOS DEWS II report. The entire TFOS DEWS II report was published in the July 2017 issue of The Ocular Surface. A downloadable version of the document and additional material, including videos of diagnostic and management techniques, are available on the TFOS website: www.TearFilm.org. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparison of dew point temperature estimation methods in Southwestern Georgia

Science.gov (United States)

Marcus D. Williams; Scott L. Goodrick; Andrew Grundstein; Marshall Shepherd

2015-01-01

Recent upward trends in acres irrigated have been linked to increasing near-surface moisture. Unfortunately, stations with dew point data for monitoring near-surface moisture are sparse. Thus, models that estimate dew points from more readily observed data sources are useful. Daily average dew temperatures were estimated and evaluated at 14 stations in...

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and risk elements in honey from the South Moravian region (Czech Republic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petra Batelková

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to determine the actual content of some exogenous contaminants in the honey from the South Moravian region of the Czech Republic. The content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs and risk elements (Mercury - Hg, Cadmium - Cd, Lead - Pb, and Arsenic - As in multifloral blossom and honey dew samples of honey were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography and atomic absorption spectroscopy methods. The samples were collected form beekeepers and from retail stores located in South Moravia in the Czech Republic. Concentrations of individual PAHs in honey samples ranged between 0.02 μg·kg-1–1.93 μg·kg-1. The limit of benzo[a]pyrene for infant formula (1.0 μg·kg-1 was not exceeded and fluoranthene was not quantified in any of the samples. Concentrations of Hg, Cd, and Pb were in the range of 3.24 μg·kg-1–11.31 μg·kg-1, 0.95 μg·kg-1–32.35 μg·kg-1, and 22.80 μg·kg-1–177.85 μg·kg-1, respectively. Concentration of As exceeded the detection limit only in three samples, ranging from 3.51 μg·kg-1 to 4.35 μg·kg-1. Acceptable limits for trace elements in infant formula were met. Results of this study complete present knowledge of the contaminant content in Czech honey and confirmed high quality and safety of honey from the South Moravian region.

Urban dew and rain in Paris, France: Occurrence and physico-chemical characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Beysens, D.; Mongruel, A.; Acker, K.

2017-06-01

This paper summarizes one year (April 2011 to March 2012) measurements on planar condensing surfaces of dew and rain events and related physico-chemical characteristics in the urban environment of Paris (city center). Yearly collected water was 3.48 mm for dew (63 events) and 593 mm for rain (146 events). The latter value compares well with rain data (547 mm and 107 events) collected within 12 km at Paris-Orly airport. An estimation of dew yield based on meteo data gives 2.35 mm and 74 events, to be compared with 17.11 mm and 196 events at Paris-Orly. These differences highlight the large reduction in dew events and dew yields in an urban area as compared to a close rural-like area. This reduction is not due to a sky view reduction but to heat island that increases air temperature and decreases relative humidity. Analysis of dew (34) and rain (77) samples were done concerning pH, electrical conductivity (EC), major anions and cations as well as selected trace metals and other minor ions. Mean pH values are found similar for both, dew (6.5) and rain (6.1), rain being slightly more acidic than dew. The mean dew total ionic content (TIC 1.8 meq/l) and EC value (124 μS/cm) are about four times that of rain (0.45 meq/l; 35 μS/cm), meaning that total dissolved solids in dew is nearly four times that in rain. Sulfate and nitrate are the most acidifying components, calcium the most neutralizing constituent with ratio of mean total acidity/total alkalinity comparable for dew and rain ( 0.9). Sulfate and nitrate have mainly anthropogenic sources, whereas chloride and magnesium are mostly connected with marine air masses. Dew is a considerable factor of wet deposition of pollutants; dew and rain ion concentrations, however, meet the WHO requirements for drinking water.

An automatic dew-point hygrometer making use of β-ray backscattering and controlled at the constant amount of dew

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsumoto, Shigeaki; Kobayashi, Hisanobu

1988-01-01

A control system which consists of proportional and integral control to maintain the constant amount of dew was developed in this hygrometer. The dew points were measured within an accuracy of ±1 deg C in the ranging from -4 to 32 deg C. The response time for suddenly changing humidity was about 8 min. (author)

Relationship between relative humidity and the dew point ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This research was aimed at determining the relationship between relative humidity and the dew point temperature in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. The dew point temperature was approximated from the measured air temperature and relative humidity with the aid of a currently self-designed weather monitoring system.

Dew Measurements along a Longitudinal Sand Dune Transect

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jacobs, A.F.G.; Heusinkveld, B.G.; Berkowicz, S.

2000-01-01

In a desert environment dew can serve as an important source of moisture for plants, biological crusts, insects and small animals. A measurement programme was carried out within a sand dune belt situated in the northwestern Negev desert, Israel, to measure daily amounts of dew deposition as well as

Experimental study of influence characteristics of flue gas fly ash on acid dew point

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Jinhui; Li, Jiahu; Wang, Shuai; Yuan, Hui; Ren, Zhongqiang

2017-12-01

The long-term operation experience of a large number of utility boilers shows that the measured value of acid dew point is generally lower than estimated value. This is because the influence of CaO and MgO on acid dew point in flue gas fly ash is not considered in the estimation formula of acid dew point. On the basis of previous studies, the experimental device for acid dew point measurement was designed and constructed, and the acid dew point under different smoke conditions was measured. The results show that the CaO and MgO in the flue gas fly ash have an obvious influence on the acid dew point, and the content of the fly ash is negatively correlated with the temperature of acid dew point At the same time, the concentration of H2SO4 in flue gas is different, and the acid dew point of flue gas is different, and positively correlated with the acid dew point.

Tar dew point analyser as a tool in biomass gasification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vreugdenhil, B.J.; Kuipers, J. [ECN Biomass, Coal and Environmental Research, Petten (Netherlands)

2008-08-15

Application of the Tar Dew point Analyzer (TDA) in different biomass based gasification systems and subsequent gas cleaning setups has been proven feasible. Such systems include BFB gasifiers, CFB gasifier and fixed bed gasifiers, with tar crackers or different scrubbers for tar removal. Tar dew points obtained with the TDA give direct insight in the performance of the gas cleaning section and help prevent any tar related problems due to condensation. The current TDA is capable of measuring tar dew points between -20 to 200C. This manuscript will present results from 4 different gasification setups. The range of measured tar dew points is -7 to 164C with comparable results from the calculated dew points based on the SPA measurements. Further detail will be presented on the differences between TDA and SPA results and explanations will be given for deviations that occurred. Improvements for the TDA regarding future work will be presented.

A quartz crystal microbalance dew point sensor without frequency measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Guohua; Zhang, Weishuo; Wang, Shuo; Sun, Jinglin

2014-11-01

This work deals with the design of a dew point sensor based on Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) without measuring the frequency. This idea is inspired by the fact that the Colpitts oscillation circuit will stop oscillating when the QCM works in the liquid media. The quartz crystal and the electrode are designed through the finite element simulation and the stop oscillating experiment is conducted to verify the sensibility. Moreover, the measurement result is calibrated to approach the true value. At last a series of dew points at the same temperature is measured with the designed sensor. Results show that the designed dew point sensor is able to detect the dew point with the proper accuracy.

Dew and hoarfrost frequency, formation efficiency and chemistry in Wroclaw, Poland

Science.gov (United States)

Gałek, G.; Sobik, M.; Błaś, M.; Polkowska, Ż.; Cichała-Kamrowska, K.; Wałaszek, K.

2015-01-01

This article presents the results of a research study concerning a comparison of frequency, formation efficiency and basic physico-chemical properties of dew and hoarfrost in urban conditions. Longer than two-year series of measurements was carried out from 1 February 2008 to 10 March 2010 in Wroclaw, Poland. Sampling of atmospheric deposits was made by means of insulated plain passive radiative condensers, which allowed to collect 222 dew and 96 hoarfrost samples. The results indicate that the frequency of dew days was about threefold greater than hoarfrost days. The formation efficiency of both types of deposits was almost the same, and reached a mean value of about 100 mL·m- 2 per day. The conducted analysis of several meteorological parameters showed that dew and hoarfrost, despite seasonal weather changes, were formed in very similar meteorological conditions. Only water vapor pressure values were in average twice higher in the case of dew and the impact of this parameter on dew and hoarfrost formation efficiency seems to be more complex than expected. The role of night duration in counterbalancing of smaller amount of available moisture in hoarfrost days is not clear. The investigation showed also, that there was an expected clear positive dependence of dew and hoarfrost formation efficiency on relative humidity, and not so evident in the case of temperature inversion, and wind velocity. The physico-chemical analysis indicated that the pH of dew was only slightly lower than the hoarfrost ones, regardless of the deposit formation intensity. Simultaneously, the lower pH values were much more frequent in the case of dew, which resulted from more effective absorption of anthropogenic NO3- and SO42 - ions. For both types of deposits, the average pH was low (4.5-4.8) in relation to majority of studies reported in literature. In spite of seasonal changes of pollutant concentration, various weather conditions and different mechanisms of pollutant absorption of dew

Investigation of the dew-point temperature scale maintained at the MIKES

Science.gov (United States)

Heinonen, Martti

1999-01-01

For the investigation of the dew-point temperature scale realized by the MIKES primary dew-point generator, a two-pressure generator and a dew-point indicator based on condensation in a cooled coil were constructed and tested. In addition, a chilled mirror hygrometer was validated by means of an uncertainty analysis. The comparison of these systems was focused on the dew-point temperature range from 0957-0233/10/1/010/img1 to 0957-0233/10/1/010/img2 but measurements were made up to 0957-0233/10/1/010/img3. The generator systems were compared using a dew-point comparator based on two relative humidity sensors. According to the results of the comparisons, the differences between the measurement systems were less than 0957-0233/10/1/010/img4, while the expanded uncertainty of the MIKES generator was between 0957-0233/10/1/010/img5 and 0957-0233/10/1/010/img6. The uncertainty of the other systems was from 0957-0233/10/1/010/img7 to 0957-0233/10/1/010/img8. It was concluded that the dew-point temperature scale was not dependent on the realization method.

On dew and micrometeorology in an arid coastal ecosystem

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heusinkveld, B.G.

2008-01-01

This study investigated intriguing aspects of dew within a sandy arid ecosystem situated in the NW Negev desert, Israel. The goal was to quantify dew formation and evaporation processes through sensor design, field measurements and modelling. To do this, two new sensors were developed. The first

New methods of subcooled water recognition in dew point hygrometers

Science.gov (United States)

Weremczuk, Jerzy; Jachowicz, Ryszard

2001-08-01

Two new methods of sub-cooled water recognition in dew point hygrometers are presented in this paper. The first one- impedance method use a new semiconductor mirror in which the dew point detector, the thermometer and the heaters were integrated all together. The second one an optical method based on a multi-section optical detector is discussed in the report. Experimental results of both methods are shown. New types of dew pont hydrometers of ability to recognized sub-cooled water were proposed.

Predicting acid dew point with a semi-empirical model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiang, Baixiang; Tang, Bin; Wu, Yuxin; Yang, Hairui; Zhang, Man; Lu, Junfu

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The previous semi-empirical models are systematically studied. • An improved thermodynamic correlation is derived. • A semi-empirical prediction model is proposed. • The proposed semi-empirical model is validated. - Abstract: Decreasing the temperature of exhaust flue gas in boilers is one of the most effective ways to further improve the thermal efficiency, electrostatic precipitator efficiency and to decrease the water consumption of desulfurization tower, while, when this temperature is below the acid dew point, the fouling and corrosion will occur on the heating surfaces in the second pass of boilers. So, the knowledge on accurately predicting the acid dew point is essential. By investigating the previous models on acid dew point prediction, an improved thermodynamic correlation formula between the acid dew point and its influencing factors is derived first. And then, a semi-empirical prediction model is proposed, which is validated with the data both in field test and experiment, and comparing with the previous models.

Calibration of Relative Humidity Sensors using a Dew Point Generator

OpenAIRE

Brooks, Milo

2010-01-01

A relative humidity sensor can be calibrated using a dew point generator to continuously supply an air stream of known constant humidity and a temperature chamber to control the dew point and ambient temperature.

Dew variability in three habitats of a sand dune transect in a desert oasis ecotone, Northwestern China

CERN Document Server

Zhuang, Yanli

2014-01-01

Dew, as a supplementary water source, may have an important ecological role in arid and semi-arid regions. During August and September of 2007 and 2008, measurements were taken to investigate the dew accumulation and evaporation patterns in the very early morning hours, in three different habitats (dunetop, footslope, and interdune lowland) of a fixed sand dune in Northwest China. Dew quantities were measured using the cloth-plate method. The results indicated that there was a positive correlation between dew amounts and relative humidity, but a negative correlation between dew amounts and mean temperature. Clear mornings were characterized by higher dew amounts and longer dew duration, whereas less dew was recorded during cloudy and especially windy mornings. Dew continued to condense even after sunrise, although a shorter warming time after dawn is also of vital importance in dew formation. The higher average maximum dew quantities (0.06mm) and longer average dew duration (2.3h) occurred in the interdune lo...

A New Primary Dew-Point Generator at TUBITAK UME

Science.gov (United States)

Oğuz Aytekin, S.; Karaböce, N.; Heinonen, M.; Sairanen, H.

2018-05-01

An implementation of a new low-range primary humidity generator as a part of an international collaboration between TUBITAK UME and VTT MIKES was initiated as a EURAMET Project Number 1259. The dew-point generator was designed and constructed within the scope of the cooperation between TUBITAK UME and VTT MIKES in order to extend the dew-point temperature measurement capability of Humidity Laboratory of TUBITAK UME down to - 80 °C. The system was thoroughly characterized and validated at TUBITAK UME to support the evidence for dew-point temperature uncertainties. The new generator has a capability of operating in the range of - 80 °C to +10 °C, but at the moment, it was characterized down to - 60 °C. The core of the generator system is a saturator which is fully immersed in a liquid bath. Dry air is supplied to the saturator through a temperature-controlled pre-saturator. The operation of the system is based on the single-pressure generation method with a single pass, i.e., the dew-point temperature is only controlled by the saturator temperature, and the humidity-controlled air is not returned to the system after leaving of the saturator. The metrological performance of the saturator was investigated thoroughly at both National Metrology Institutes. The pre-saturator was also tested using a thermostatic bath at VTT MIKES prior to sending them to TUBITAK UME. This paper describes the principle and design of the generator in detail. The dew-point measurement system and the corresponding uncertainty analysis of the dew-point temperature scale realized with the generator in the range from - 60 °C to 10 °C is also presented.

Mechanism research on coupling effect between dew point corrosion and ash deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Yun-Gang; Zhao, Qin-Xin; Zhang, Zhi-Xiang; Zhang, Zhi-Chao; Tao, Wen-Quan

2013-01-01

In order to study the coupling mechanism between ash deposition and dew point corrosion, five kinds of tube materials frequently used as anti-dew point corrosion materials were selected as research objects. Dew point corrosion and ash deposition experiments were performed with a new type experimental device in a Chinese thermal power plant. The microstructures of the materials and the composition of ash deposition were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS). The results showed that the ash deposition layer could be divided into non-condensation zone, the main condensation zone and the secondary condensation zone. The acid vapor condensed in the main condensation zone rather than directly on the tube wall surface. The dew point corrosion mainly is oxygen corrosion under the condition of the viscosity ash deposition, and the corrosion products are composed of the ash and acid reaction products in the outer layer, iron sulfate in the middle layer, and iron oxide in the inner layer. The innermost layer is the main corrosion layer. With the increase of the tube wall temperature, the ash deposition changes from the viscosity ash deposition to the dry loose ash deposition, the ash deposition rate decreases dramatically and dew point corrosion is alleviated efficiently. The sulfuric dew point corrosion resistance of the five test materials is as follows: 316L > ND > Corten>20G > 20 steel. -- Highlights: ► Dew point corrosion and ash deposition tests of five materials were performed. ► Acid vapor condensed in the ash deposit rather than directly on the tube surface. ► Dew point corrosion resistance is as follow: 316L > ND > Corten>20G > 20 steel. ► Dew point corrosion mainly is oxygen corrosion under viscosity ash deposition

Feedback dew-point sensor utilizing optimally cut plastic optical fibres

Science.gov (United States)

Hadjiloucas, S.; Irvine, J.; Keating, D. A.

2000-01-01

A plastic optical fibre reflectance sensor that makes full use of the critical angle of the fibres is implemented to monitor dew formation on a Peltier-cooled reflector surface. The optical configuration permits isolation of optoelectronic components from the sensing head and better light coupling between the reflector and the detecting fibre, giving a better signal of the onset of dew formation on the reflector. Continuous monitoring of the rate of change in reflectance as well as the absolute reflectance signals, the use of a novel polymethyl-methacrylate-coated hydrophobic film reflector on the Peltier element and the application of feedback around the point of dew formation, further reduces the possibility of contamination of the sensor head. Under closed-loop operation, the sensor is capable of cycling around the point of dew formation at a frequency of 2.5 Hz.

A microwave resonance dew-point hygrometer

Science.gov (United States)

Underwood, R. J.; Cuccaro, R.; Bell, S.; Gavioso, R. M.; Madonna Ripa, D.; Stevens, M.; de Podesta, M.

2012-08-01

We report the first measurements of a quasi-spherical microwave resonator used as a dew-point hygrometer. In conventional dew-point hygrometers, the condensation of water from humid gas flowing over a mirror is detected optically, and the mirror surface is then temperature-controlled to yield a stable condensed layer. In our experiments we flowed moist air from a humidity generator through a quasi-spherical resonator and detected the onset of condensation by measuring the frequency ratio of selected microwave modes. We verified the basic operation of the device over the dew-point range 9.5-13.5 °C by comparison with calibrated chilled-mirror hygrometers. These tests indicate that the microwave method may allow a quantitative estimation of the volume and thickness of the water layer which is condensed on the inner surface of the resonator. The experiments reported here are preliminary due to the limited time available for the work, but show the potential of the method for detecting not only water but a variety of other liquid or solid condensates. The robust all-metal construction should make the device appropriate for use in industrial applications over a wide range of temperatures and pressures.

A microwave resonance dew-point hygrometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Underwood, R J; Bell, S; Stevens, M; De Podesta, M; Cuccaro, R; Gavioso, R M; Ripa, D Madonna

2012-01-01

We report the first measurements of a quasi-spherical microwave resonator used as a dew-point hygrometer. In conventional dew-point hygrometers, the condensation of water from humid gas flowing over a mirror is detected optically, and the mirror surface is then temperature-controlled to yield a stable condensed layer. In our experiments we flowed moist air from a humidity generator through a quasi-spherical resonator and detected the onset of condensation by measuring the frequency ratio of selected microwave modes. We verified the basic operation of the device over the dew-point range 9.5–13.5 °C by comparison with calibrated chilled-mirror hygrometers. These tests indicate that the microwave method may allow a quantitative estimation of the volume and thickness of the water layer which is condensed on the inner surface of the resonator. The experiments reported here are preliminary due to the limited time available for the work, but show the potential of the method for detecting not only water but a variety of other liquid or solid condensates. The robust all-metal construction should make the device appropriate for use in industrial applications over a wide range of temperatures and pressures. (paper)

Initial response of an automatic dew-point hygrometer using [beta]-ray backscattering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matsumoto, Shigeaki (Saitama Univ., Urawa (Japan). Faculty of Engineering)

1992-05-01

This paper describes the initial response of an automatic dew-point hygrometer using [beta]-ray backscattering. The response time after starting of measurement was evaluated in which the dew point measured with the hygrometer reached a value of 90 percent of the correct dew point in its response. Theoretical calculation was made by means of the loop transfer function of a control system employed in the hygrometer. The response times ranged from 1.7 min to 16 min corresponding to the dew point of 47.5degC and -6degC, respectively, and agreed well with experimental ones. (author).

Calculating the flue gas dew point for raw brown coal fired steam generators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schinkel, W.

1977-01-01

The paper analyzes parameters influencing the sulfuric acid dew point in flue gas of steam generators. Sulfur content and alkaline earths content in the fuel air ratio during combustion, fly ash content in the flue gas (which absorbs sulfur dioxide and sulfur trioxide) and combustion conditions in steam generators are relevant parameters in the combustion process. A thermodynamic and reaction kinetic calculation of the sulfuric acid dew point is, however, not yet possible. A statistical evaluation of dew point measurements in steam generators is, therefore, employed. Various diagrams show results of dew point measurements carried out at generators with steam capacities ranging from 40 to 660 t/h, which demonstrate relations of these parameters to flue gas dew points, in particular the relative sulfur content (sulfur content in the raw brown coal compared to coal ash content and alkaline earths content). A function is derived for the conversion of fuel sulfur to sulfur trioxide. A diagram presents the relation of the flue gas dew point to partial pressures of sulfuric acid and steam. Direct calculation of the flue gas dew point was achieved by the proposed method. It is applied in steam generator design. (17 refs.)

A micro dew point sensor with a thermal detection principle

Science.gov (United States)

Kunze, M.; Merz, J.; Hummel, W.-J.; Glosch, H.; Messner, S.; Zengerle, R.

2012-01-01

We present a dew point temperature sensor with the thermal detection of condensed water on a thin membrane, fabricated by silicon micromachining. The membrane (600 × 600 × ~1 µm3) is part of a silicon chip and contains a heating element as well as a thermopile for temperature measurement. By dynamically heating the membrane and simultaneously analyzing the transient increase of its temperature it is detected whether condensed water is on the membrane or not. To cool the membrane down, a peltier cooler is used and electronically controlled in a way that the temperature of the membrane is constantly held at a value where condensation of water begins. This temperature is measured and output as dew point temperature. The sensor system works in a wide range of dew point temperatures between 1 K and down to 44 K below air temperature. In experimental investigations it could be proven that the deviation of the measured dew point temperatures compared to reference values is below ±0.2 K in an air temperature range of 22 to 70 °C. At low dew point temperatures of -20 °C (air temperature = 22 °C) the deviation increases to nearly -1 K.

A micro dew point sensor with a thermal detection principle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunze, M; Merz, J; Glosch, H; Messner, S; Zengerle, R; Hummel, W-J

2012-01-01

We present a dew point temperature sensor with the thermal detection of condensed water on a thin membrane, fabricated by silicon micromachining. The membrane (600 × 600 × ∼1 µm 3 ) is part of a silicon chip and contains a heating element as well as a thermopile for temperature measurement. By dynamically heating the membrane and simultaneously analyzing the transient increase of its temperature it is detected whether condensed water is on the membrane or not. To cool the membrane down, a peltier cooler is used and electronically controlled in a way that the temperature of the membrane is constantly held at a value where condensation of water begins. This temperature is measured and output as dew point temperature. The sensor system works in a wide range of dew point temperatures between 1 K and down to 44 K below air temperature. In experimental investigations it could be proven that the deviation of the measured dew point temperatures compared to reference values is below ±0.2 K in an air temperature range of 22 to 70 °C. At low dew point temperatures of −20 °C (air temperature = 22 °C) the deviation increases to nearly −1 K

Dew point of combustion products of coal from the Berezovo deposit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Petrov, V.A. (UralVTI (USSR))

1990-11-01

Evaluates properties of brown coal from the Berezovo deposit, Kansk-Achinsk basin, and properties of its combustion products. Coal properties are the following: sulfur content from 0.26 to 0.49%, ash content from 3.49 to 6.58%, moisture content from 31.6 to 36.9%, calorific value from 14,200 to 15,840 kJ/kg. Dew point of the combustion products amounts to 51 C and is equal to that of water vapor present in flue gases. Changing boiler output does not influence dew point. Increase in the excess air coefficient from 1.2 to 1.4 results in an increase in dew point by 2-3 K; further increase in air excess coefficient to 1.64 causes a decline in dew point by 3-4 K. 2 refs.

The dew point response of the annulus gas system of Bruce NGS A

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kenchington, J.; Ellis, P.J.; Meranda, D.

1983-01-01

The dew point response of the Annulus Gas System in Bruce A, Units 1 and 2 has been modelled in order to alert the operator of the presence of heavy water and to estimate the leak rate into the annulus. The computer model can be easily adapted to determine the Annulus Gas System dew point response in any station. It models the complex arrangement of the system and the transportation of moisture through the annuli by a combination of plug flow and mixing of CO 2 and D 2 O vapor. It predicts the response of the dew point monitor for a range of specified leak rates and positions of a leaking channel in a string of channels. This model has been used to calculate the variation of dew point and rate of change of dew point with respect to time (t). It shows that there is a maximum in the rate of dew point change (dT/dt) with respect to the corresponding dew point (T). This maximum is unique for a given leak rate and channel position. It is independent of the starting time for the leak. The computer programme has been verified by an analytical solution for the model

Dew as an Adaptation Measure to Meet Agricultural and Reforestation Water Demand in a Changing Climate

Science.gov (United States)

Tomaszkiewicz, Marlene; Abou Najm, Majdi; Alameddine, Ibrahim; El Fadel, Mutasem

2014-05-01

Dew harvesting, believed to be an ancient technique, has recently re-emerged as a viable and sustainable water resource. Nightly yields are relatively low, yet non-negligible, and dew events occur more frequently than rainfall promoting its effectiveness, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. In this study, we demonstrate how dew can be harvested and subsequently used for small-scale irrigation to meet agricultural and reforestation water demand. Polyethylene dew harvesting systems were constructed and placed in the field. Dew was harvested as a result of the radiative cooling during the night, thus allowing dew formation under conditions of high humidity. Condensed dew formed upon the planar surface was collected by gravity. Water demand for selected crops and trees within a pilot study area (Lebanon) was estimated using a deficit irrigation model. Simulations of water demand requirements of various plants and surfaces were performed and compared to dew volumes to assess the ability of the system to meet all or in part the plant water demands across seasons. Data from the polyethylene low-cost dew condensers have shown that within the pilot study, average nightly dew yields were 0.1 L m-2 of condensing surface with a maximum yield of 0.4 L m-2. Dew events occurred generally more frequently than precipitation events, with an estimated 40% of nights producing dew condensate. This translates to 50 mm of equivalent rainfall on average (during dew nights), with a maximum of 200 mm in one night, if one assumes using drip irrigation over a seedling within a 20 cm2 area. Using a simple deficit irrigation model, it was demonstrated that crops such as the tomato plant, which typically has a growing season during the dry summer, can potentially be irrigated solely by dew, thus eliminating the need for traditional irrigation sources. Similarly, young tree seedlings, such as the cedar tree, can depend upon dew as a primary water resource. Moreover, based on similar

Control of dew and frost formation on leaf by radiative cooling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsui, T.; Eguchi, H.; Mori, K.

1981-01-01

A radiative cooling system was developed to control dew and frost formations and to examine the effect of the radiative cooling on the leaf temperature. The growth chamber was provided with a box which was constructed by using heat insulating materials to minimize the disturbances and to regulate the air current. A cooling coil (cooling surface of 300 cm was equipped at the bottom of the box and manipulated by a refrigerator of 1, 430 kcal hour -1 , and a concave mirror was attached to the ceiling of the box to facilitate the reflection of the radiation from the leaf to the cooling coil. The moisture in air was supplied by flowing the controlled air (0.2 m min -1 ) into the box. The distribution of dew point temperatures was almost uniform horizontally even under vertically slight conversion (downward velocity of 1.3 cm sec -1 ) of the air. The leaf temperature became about 1.0°C lower than the ambient air temperature under the radiative cooling. The dew and the frost were clearly observed on the leaf after the time when the leaf temperature had become lower than the dew point temperature. The dew increased in size in course of time, and the frost varied in shape and in size with the temperatures. Thus, artificial formations of the dew and the frost were made possible by the radiative cooling system developed in this experiment

Dew point of flue gas in the combustion of brown coal briquettes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schinkel, W

1977-08-01

Economical operation of small steam generators can follow two courses, viz. to channel the emitted gases through the plant and reduce waste gas loss. Two possibilities exist to achieve this: firstly a steam generating process with only slight excess air; secondly a reduction of the emitted gas temperature. The lowest waste gas temperature found in sulphur-containing combustion materials is measured by finding the acid dew-point of the waste gas. The following results in the case of brown coal briquettes were found. Measurements of the dew point of flue gas in two steam generators, both of the double flue type, one having a capacity of 12.5 t/h, the other 25 t/h, one using brown coal briquettes with 1% sulphur content, the other with 3%, resulted in the fact that the dew point can be measured. It was shown that a low air ratio leads to a lowering of the dew point. However this process is unfortunately economically unviable in chain grate generators as the waste gas becomes so thin under a high air ratio that the dew point can only be minimally reduced. Further the acid dew point is only slightly influenced by partial operation of the generator and the infusion of briquette residue.

Chemical Characterization of Dew Water Collected in Different Geographic Regions of Poland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacek Namieśnik

2008-06-01

Full Text Available The results of a dew monitoring program performed in Poland with the aim to outline the chemical composition of dew water in meteorological context are presented. Dew samples were collected from eight measurement stations from August 2004 to November 2006. Taking into account the type of land use and characteristics of pollutant emission, sampling sites were divided into the following categories: rural, coastal urban and inland urban stations. Selected anions and cations as well as formaldehyde and sum of phenols were determined. The average TIC (Total Inorganic Ionic Content values in dew samples ranged from 0.83 to 3.93 between individual stations with 10.9 meq/L as the highest daily value of TIC measured. The average TIC values observed in dew at all stations were at a similar level (2.46 meq/L when compared with hoarfrost (2.86 meq/L. However, these values were much higher in comparison with other kinds of atmospheric water like precipitation (wet only; 0.37 meq/L or fog/cloud (1.01 meq/L. The pH values of dew water ranged from 5.22 to 7.35 for urban coastal stations, from 5.67 to 8.02 for urban inland stations and from 4.16 to 8.76 for dew samples collected in the rural area. HCHO was found in 97 % of dew samples, with concentrations ranging from 0.010 to 5.40 meq/L. Excluding stations near the seashore, where the contribution of Na+ and Cl- increased, the most important ions were sulphates. A very low contribution of NO3- and noticeable increase of Ca2+ which were not observed in the case of precipitation and fog water, were typical in all stations. The contribution of ammonium ion was two times higher at rural stations as a result of agricultural ammonia emissions. The strongest correlations were noticed between the sum of acidifying anions SO42- + NO3- and Ca2+ ion for all urban and rural stations. A very strong correlation was also observed for Na+ and Cl- ions in urban coastal stations, as a natural consequence of the location of these

Influence of the burning point on the dew point in a diesel engine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Teetz, C.

1982-06-01

A computation on the influence of the ignition point on the dew point in a cylinder of a diesel engine is presented. The cylinder-pressure diagrams are shown. The results of computation are given. A later ignition point diminishes the area with cylinder wall temperatures below the dew point. The endangering by cylinder wall temperatures below the dew point is illustrated.

Experimental investigation of a super performance dew point air cooler

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Peng; Ma, Xiaoli; Zhao, Xudong; Fancey, Kevin

2017-01-01

Highlights: •The cooler had a complex heat & mass exchanger with an advanced wet material layer. •Intermittent water supply scheme was implemented. •The cooler achieved 100–160% higher COP compared to the existing dew point coolers. •Electricity use of the cooler was reduced by 50–70% compared to existing dew coolers. •This optimal working air ratio was 0.364 that enabled maximised cooling effectiveness. -- Abstract: This paper presents an experimental investigation of a super performance dew point air cooler which, by employing a super performance wet material layer, innovative heat and mass exchanger and intermittent water supply scheme, has achieved a significantly higher energy efficiency (i.e. Coefficient of Performance, COP) and a much lower electrical energy use compared to the existing air coolers of the same type. This involves the dedicated system design & construction, fully planned experimental testing under various simulated climatic conditions representing the climate of hot & dry, warm & dry, moderate, warm & humid and standard lab testing condition, testing results analysis and discussion, as well as the parallel comparison against the commercial dew point air cooler. Under the standard test condition, i.e. dry bulb temperature of 37.8 °C and coincident wet bulb temperature of 21.1 °C, the prototype cooler achieved the wet-bulb cooling effectiveness of 114% and dew-point cooling effectiveness of 75%, yielding a significantly high COP value of 52.5 at the optimal working air ratio of 0.364. The testing also indicated that the lower inlet air relative humidity led to a higher cooling efficiency, while the lower cooling output helped increase COP and cooling effectiveness (including the wet-bulb effectiveness and dew-point effectiveness) of the cooler.

Memory persistency and nonlinearity in daily mean dew point across India

Science.gov (United States)

Ray, Rajdeep; Khondekar, Mofazzal Hossain; Ghosh, Koushik; Bhattacharjee, Anup Kumar

2016-04-01

Enterprising endeavour has been taken in this work to realize and estimate the persistence in memory of the daily mean dew point time series obtained from seven different weather stations viz. Kolkata, Chennai (Madras), New Delhi, Mumbai (Bombay), Bhopal, Agartala and Ahmedabad representing different geographical zones in India. Hurst exponent values reveal an anti-persistent behaviour of these dew point series. To affirm the Hurst exponent values, five different scaling methods have been used and the corresponding results are compared to synthesize a finer and reliable conclusion out of it. The present analysis also bespeaks that the variation in daily mean dew point is governed by a non-stationary process with stationary increments. The delay vector variance (DVV) method has been exploited to investigate nonlinearity, and the present calculation confirms the presence of deterministic nonlinear profile in the daily mean dew point time series of the seven stations.

Dew point measurements of flue gases in steam generators with brown coal combustion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schinkel, W.

1980-01-01

This paper examines empirical data on sulfuric acid condensation and resulting internal corrosion in brown coal fired steam generators. Due to the high sulfur content in brown coal (0.5% to 5.0%) and relative short duration of the gases in the combustion chamber the concentrations of sulfur trioxide present in the flue gases can condense at the heat exchange surfaces of the steam generators. A number of diagrams show sulfuric acid dew point temperatures depending on brown coal sulfur content, the influence of combustion air supply on the dew point, and condensing speed and the rate of corrosion in relation to different heat exchange surface temperatures. The conclusion is made that a five-fold increase in corrosion can be caused by a 10 K higher flue gas dew point, a 5 K cooling of heating surfaces can also cause heavy corrosion at a certain dew point. Maximum corrosion results at 20 to 50 K differences between flue gas dew point and heat exchange surfaces. Optimum operation of steam generators with minimal internal corrosion requires the consideration of flue gas and heating surface temperatures as well as flue gas sulfur acid dew points. (10 refs.) (In German)

Determination of dew absorption by coffee plant through deuterium concentrations in leaf water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leopoldo, P R [Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas e Biologicas de Botucatu (Brazil); Salati, E; Matsui, E [Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura, Piracicaba (Brazil)

1975-12-01

The effect of dew falling on leaves on the water metabolism of the coffee plant (Coffea arabica) is examined. The use of natural stable isotopes variations in plant physiological studies is demonstrated. Water extracted from leaf samples is analysed by mass spectrometry. Analyses of deuterium concentrations in water extracted from plant leaves, dew and nutrient solutions are made. Determination of changes in deuterium concentration in the water of leaves from plants exposed to dew, compared with leaves not exposed to dew, is carried out. Results show that during daytime there is an enrichment in deuterium in water contained in the leaves, while at night the opposite occurs.

Determination of dew absorption by coffee plant through deuterium concentrations in leaf water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leopoldo, P.R.; Salati, E.; Matsui, E.

1975-01-01

The effect of dew falling on leaves on the water metabolism of the coffee plant (Coffea arabica) is examined. The use of natural stable isotopes variations in plant physiological studies is demonstrated. Water extracted from leaf samples is analysed by mass spectrometry. Analyses of deuterium concentrations in water extracted from plant leaves, dew and nutrient solutions are made. Determination of changes in deuterium concentration in the water of leaves from plants exposed to dew, compared with leaves not exposed to dew, is carried out. Results show that during daytime there is an enrichment in deuterium in water contained in the leaves, while at night the opposite occurs [pt

Theory of acid deposition and its application to the dew-point meter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Land, T.

1977-06-01

The theory of convective mass transfer is used to calculate the rate of deposition of sulphuric acid on cooled surfaces in boiler flues. The mass deposited per unit area per second is ah/c (p/sub Ag/ - p/sub As/) where h is the coefficient of convective heat transfer, c is the specific heat of the gas and a is a factor having a value of about 1.9; p/sub Ag/ and p/sub As/ are the partial pressures of sulphuric acid in the bulk of the gas and in saturated gas at the temperature of the surface. Values of p/sub A/ are tabulated against dew-point temperature and water vapour content. The theory explains how fog formation in the gas reduces the rate of acid deposition within a certain band of temperature between the acid dew-point and the water dew-point. The rate of deposition on a probe is shown to depend on the local mass flow as well as on the acid content. By contrast the dew-point depends only on the acid content. The sensitivity of the dew-point meter to changes in acid content is not very high but it is adequate for the control of combustion. A continuously recording dew-point meter is being successfully used on industrial boilers.

Effect of artificially-generated wind on removing guttation and dew ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

DynabookSS

2015-03-25

Mar 25, 2015 ... wind on the formation and removal of guttation and dew droplets on rice leaves. ... Wind is thought to reduce the number of spores attached to rice plant and to promote removal of dew droplets on the leaves. Thus, the penetration of blast into ..... and the application for forecasting method of the rice blast.

Winter Dew Harvest in Mexico City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arias-Torres Jorge Ernesto

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This study presents experimental and theoretical results of winter dew harvest in México City in terms of condensation rate. A simplified theoretical model based on a steady-state energy balance on a radiator-condenser was fitted, as a function of the ambient temperature, the relative humidity and the wind velocity. A glass sheet and aluminum sheet white-painted were used as samples over the outdoor experiments. A good correlation was obtained between the theoretical and experimental data. The experimental results show that there was condensation in 68% of the winter nights on both condensers. The total winter condensed mass was 2977 g/m2 and 2888 g/m2 on the glass sheet and aluminum sheet white-painted, respectively. Thus, the condensed mass on the glass was only 3% higher than that on the painted surface. The maximum nightly dew harvests occurred during December, which linearly reduced from 50 g/m2 night to 22 g/m2 night as the winter months went by. The condensation occurred from 1:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., with maximum condensation rates between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. The dew harvest can provide a partial alternative to the winter water shortage in certain locations with similar climates to the winter in Mexico City, as long as pollution is not significant.

Method and apparatus for continuously detecting and monitoring the hydrocarbon dew-point of gas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boyle, G.J.; Pritchard, F.R.

1987-08-04

This patent describes a method and apparatus for continuously detecting and monitoring the hydrocarbon dew-point of a gas. A gas sample is supplied to a dew-point detector and the temperature of a portion of the sample gas stream to be investigated is lowered progressively prior to detection until the dew-point is reached. The presence of condensate within the flowing gas is detected and subsequently the supply gas sample is heated to above the dew-point. The procedure of cooling and heating the gas stream continuously in a cyclical manner is repeated.

Using dew points to estimate savings during a planned cooling shutdown

Science.gov (United States)

Friedlein, Matthew T.; Changnon, David; Musselman, Eric; Zielinski, Jeff

2005-12-01

In an effort to save money during the summer of 2003, Northern Illinois University (NIU) administrators instituted a four-day working week and stopped air conditioning buildings for the three-day weekends (Friday through Sunday). Shutting down the air conditioning systems caused a noticeable drop in electricity usage for that part of the campus that features in our study, with estimated total electricity savings of 1,268,492 kilowatt-hours or 17% of the average usage during that eight-week period. NIU's air conditioning systems, which relied on evaporative cooling to function, were sensitive to dew point levels. Greatest savings during the shutdown period occurred on days with higher dew points. An examination of the regional dew point climatology (1959 2003) indicated that the average summer daily dew point for 2003 was 14.9°C (58.8°F), which fell in the lowest 20% of the distribution. Based on the relationship between daily average dew points and electrical usage, a predictive model that could estimate electrical daily savings was created. This model suggests that electrical savings related to any future three-day shutdowns over summer could be much greater in more humid summers. Studies like this demonstrate the potential value of applying climatological information and of integrating this information into practical decision-making.

Dew Point modelling using GEP based multi objective optimization

OpenAIRE

Shroff, Siddharth; Dabhi, Vipul

2013-01-01

Different techniques are used to model the relationship between temperatures, dew point and relative humidity. Gene expression programming is capable of modelling complex realities with great accuracy, allowing at the same time, the extraction of knowledge from the evolved models compared to other learning algorithms. We aim to use Gene Expression Programming for modelling of dew point. Generally, accuracy of the model is the only objective used by selection mechanism of GEP. This will evolve...

Continuous acid dew point measurement in coal-fired power plants; Kontinuierliche Saeuretaupunktmessung in Braunkohlekraftwerken

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Foedisch, Holger; Schulz, Joerg; Schengber, Petra; Dietrich, Gabriele [Dr. Foedisch Umweltmesstechnik AG, Markranstaedt (Germany)

2009-07-01

The reduction of flue gas losses is one option to increase power plant efficiency. The target is the optimised low waste gas temperature. When applying lignite and other high-sulphur fuels the temperature of the flue gas is mainly determined by the acid dew point. Temperature of the flue gas system is to amount some 10 to 20 K above the assumed acid dew point. The acid dew point measuring system AMD 08 is able to detect the real acid dew point in a quasi-continuous way. Thus, it is possible to deliberately decrease waste gas temperature. (orig.)

Temperature distribution model for the semiconductor dew point detector

Science.gov (United States)

Weremczuk, Jerzy; Gniazdowski, Z.; Jachowicz, Ryszard; Lysko, Jan M.

2001-08-01

The simulation results of temperature distribution in the new type silicon dew point detector are presented in this paper. Calculations were done with use of the SMACEF simulation program. Fabricated structures, apart from the impedance detector used to the dew point detection, contained the resistive four terminal thermometer and two heaters. Two detector structures, the first one located on the silicon membrane and the second one placed on the bulk materials were compared in this paper.

Comparative analyses of ber (zizyphus) honey with other types of honey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iftikhar, F.; Mehmood, R.

2007-01-01

Eight different honey samples were collected from different ecological areas of Pakistan and analyzed for various physico-chemical parameters. The aim was to evaluate the quality, difference in the composition and comparison of Ber/Sidder (Zizyphus spp.) honey with other types of honey. The two samples of Ber honey and six other floral honey i.e., Citrus, mixed (citrus + Justicia), Acacia modesta, multi-flora and mixed (zizyphus + sesamum) were collected from Apis mellifera colonies. The colonies of Apis mellifera foraged on the above-mentioned flora in different ecological areas i.e. ber honey from Bannu and Karak, Citrus and mixed (citrus + Justicia) honey from Mandi Bahauddin, Acacia honey from Peshawar + Islamabad and multi-flora from Lahore. Nine legal parameters of honey quality control were followed. All honey samples were well within the limits of Codex Alimentarius Commission except ber and citrus. The ber honey showed high pH (6.85) and low reducing sugars (67.66%), sucrose (1.0%), free acidity (6.09 meq/kg) and total acidity (7.68 meq/kg). Mixed honey (zizyphus + sesamum) exhibited highest pH (6.88), lowest free acidity (2.80 meq/kg) and total acidity (5.50 meq/kg). Citrus honey was also found high in Hydroxy-methyl-furfural (HMF, 22.75 meql kg). (author)

Numerical study of a novel dew point evaporative cooling system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Riangvilaikul, B.; Kumar, S. [Energy Field of Study, School of Environment, Resources and Development, Asian Institute of Technology, P.O. Box 4, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120 (Thailand)

2010-11-15

Dew point evaporative cooling system is an alternative to vapor compression air conditioning system for sensible cooling of ventilation air. This paper presents the theoretical performance of a novel dew point evaporative cooling system operating under various inlet air conditions (covering dry, moderate and humid climate) and influence of major operating parameters (namely, velocity, system dimension and the ratio of working air to intake air). A model of the dew point evaporative cooling system has been developed to simulate the heat and mass transfer processes. The outlet air conditions and system effectiveness predicted by the model using numerical method for known inlet parameters have been validated with experimental findings and with recent literature. The model was used to optimize the system parameters and to investigate the system effectiveness operating under various inlet air conditions. (author)

An experimental study of a novel dew point evaporative cooling system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Riangvilaikul, B.; Kumar, S. [Energy Field of Study, School of Environment, Resources and Development, Asian Institute of Technology, P.O. Box 4, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120 (Thailand)

2010-05-15

A novel dew point evaporative cooling system for sensible cooling of the ventilation air for air conditioning application was constructed and experiments were carried out to investigate the outlet air conditions and the system effectiveness at different inlet air conditions (temperature, humidity and velocity) covering dry, temperate and humid climates. The results showed that wet bulb effectiveness ranged between 92 and 114% and the dew point effectiveness between 58 and 84%. A continuous operation of the system during a typical day of summer season in a hot and humid climate showed that wet bulb and dew point effectiveness were almost constant at about 102 and 76%, respectively. The experiment results were compared with some recent studies in literature. (author)

MICROBIOLOGICAL COMPARISON BETWEEN HONEY IN JAR AND HONEY IN COMB FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Formato

2013-02-01

Full Text Available The Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Regioni Lazio e Toscana, during August-July 2007 analyzed, for the microbial aspects, 37 samples of jar honey and 53 samples of honey in comb obtained from 37 farms of Latium Region. In the jar honey there weren’t values up to 1*103 colony-forming unit (CFU/g of bacteria mesophiles, while in the honey in comb it was not up to 2*103 CFU/g. Bacillus cereus was found in 22 samples (41,5% of honey in comb and in 18 samples (48,6% of jar honey; Clostridium perfringens was found in 6 (11,3% samples of honey in comb and in 6 samples (16,2% of jar honey; Clostridium baratii was found in 1 (1,9% sample of honey in comb and in 1 sample (2,7% of jar honey; coagulase-positive staphylococci were found in 4 (11,3% samples of honey in comb and in 4 samples (10,8% of jar honey; Clostridium sordelli was found in 2 samples (3,8% of honey in comb and in 1 sample (2,7% of jar honey. Only 2 samples of honey in comb and 1 sample of jar honey had yeasts up to 1000 CFU/g. Finally, 9 samples (24,3% of jar honey and 16 samples (30,2% of honey in jar were positives for moulds.

Large Dew water collectors in a village of S-Morocco (Idouasskssou)

Science.gov (United States)

Lekouch, I.; Clus, O.; Durand, M.; Lanfourmi, M.; Muselli, M.; Milimouk, I.; Beysens, D.

2010-07-01

With precipitations close to 227 mm/year in average, the coastal region of south Morocco presents a chronically shortage of drinkable and fresh water. Since 1994, in the Mirleft area (150 km south of Agadir), inhabitants are facing a critically drought event. In the year 2007, only 49 mm of rain was recorded. However, measurements in Mirleft in the same year, showed that the dew yield was on order of 40 % of rain fall. In order to show to the local population the interest of recovering dew water in addition to rain water, a small nearby village (Idouasskssou, 8 km SE of Mirleft) was equipped with three pilot condensers of 136 m2 total surface area. In order to ensure a good integration of the project by the village inhabitants, a local organization (Association IMRJANE) collaborated to the project. A concrete tank at ground level with a flat horizontal surface, easily accessible for inhabitants and also a model for traditional Morocco terrace roofings, has been equipped with two lines of condensers (40.6 m²). All roofing materials were from local shops. Only the special radiative and hydrophilic coating was coming from non local resources (see www.opur.fr). The top of a second tank (aside the first one) was renovated and covered with a 21.2 m² two slopes steel roof, insulated and painted with the special dew coating as above. These roofs represent a condensation surface comparable to that of a very little house. A third condenser, with 73.8 m² surface area, was implemented directly on the ground, ensuring minimal work and very cheap implementation costs. Dew was collected and measured in one of the concrete tanks. The water production during 6 months, from 15-12-2008 to 31-07-2009 (137 dew events, 47 % of days) was more than 3800 L (more than 0.2 mm/dew day). It is important to note that, while the devices are specifically designed to condense dew water, they also harvest rain and fog as well, thus providing to the population a valuable water resource.

Pressure-Drop Considerations in the Characterization of Dew-Point Transfer Standards at High Temperatures

Science.gov (United States)

Mitter, H.; Böse, N.; Benyon, R.; Vicente, T.

2012-09-01

During calibration of precision optical dew-point hygrometers (DPHs), it is usually necessary to take into account the pressure drop induced by the gas flow between the "point of reference" and the "point of use" (mirror or measuring head of the DPH) either as a correction of the reference dew-point temperature or as part of the uncertainty estimation. At dew-point temperatures in the range of ambient temperature and below, it is sufficient to determine the pressure drop for the required gas flow, and to keep the volumetric flow constant during the measurements. In this case, it is feasible to keep the dry-gas flow into the dew-point generator constant or to measure the flow downstream the DPH at ambient temperature. In normal operation, at least one DPH in addition to the monitoring DPH are used, and this operation has to be applied to each instrument. The situation is different at high dew-point temperatures up to 95 °C, the currently achievable upper limit reported in this paper. With increasing dew-point temperatures, the reference gas contains increasing amounts of water vapour and a constant dry-gas flow will lead to a significant enhanced volume flow at the conditions at the point of use, and therefore, to a significantly varying pressure drop depending on the applied dew-point temperature. At dew-point temperatures above ambient temperature, it is also necessary to heat the reference gas and the mirror head of the DPH sufficiently to avoid condensation which will additionally increase the volume flow and the pressure drop. In this paper, a method is provided to calculate the dry-gas flow rate needed to maintain a known wet-gas flow rate through a chilled mirror for a range of temperature and pressures.

On the contribution of atmospheric moisture to dew formation

Science.gov (United States)

Garratt, J. R.; Segal, M.

1988-09-01

The relative contributions of dewfall (a flux of water vapour from air to surface) and distillation (a flux of water vapour from soil to canopy) to dew formation on closed canopy and bare soil surfaces are assessed, and the dependence of dew amount upon wind speed, absolute temperature, atmospheric stability, relative humidity, soil characteristics and cloudiness, all of which are significant factors, is evaluated. Some of these evaluations provide refinements to similar ones given in Monteith (1961). High dewfall rates are usually ≲0.06 mm hr-1 over canopy or bare soil, though upon a canopy under soil-saturated and air-saturated conditions, rates of dew formation may reach 0.07 0.09 mm hr-1 with contributions from distillation. Various sets of observations are reanalyzed to illustrate the importance of the horizontal advection of moisture in the nocturnal boundary layer (NBL) to observed high rates of dew formation arising from the atmospheric contribution of water vapour (dewfall). These locally observed high dewfall rates must be the result of small-scale or mesoscale horizontal advection of moisture in the NBL, since the humidity changes within the typically shallow NBL required to balance the loss of water at the surface are not observed. Over extensive areas of uniform surface (horizontal scales ≫10 km), such continuously high dewfall rates could only be balanced by a local supply of atmospheric moisture since advection of moisture would necessarily be small.

Wireless sensor network-based greenhouse environment monitoring and automatic control system for dew condensation prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Dae-Heon; Park, Jang-Woo

2011-01-01

Dew condensation on the leaf surface of greenhouse crops can promote diseases caused by fungus and bacteria, affecting the growth of the crops. In this paper, we present a WSN (Wireless Sensor Network)-based automatic monitoring system to prevent dew condensation in a greenhouse environment. The system is composed of sensor nodes for collecting data, base nodes for processing collected data, relay nodes for driving devices for adjusting the environment inside greenhouse and an environment server for data storage and processing. Using the Barenbrug formula for calculating the dew point on the leaves, this system is realized to prevent dew condensation phenomena on the crop's surface acting as an important element for prevention of diseases infections. We also constructed a physical model resembling the typical greenhouse in order to verify the performance of our system with regard to dew condensation control.

An Investigation of the Relation Between Contact Thermometry and Dew-Point Temperature Realization

Science.gov (United States)

Benyon, R.; Böse, N.; Mitter, H.; Mutter, D.; Vicente, T.

2012-09-01

Precision optical dew-point hygrometers are the most commonly used transfer standards for the comparison of dew-point temperature realizations at National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) and for disseminating traceability to calibration laboratories. These instruments have been shown to be highly reproducible when properly used. In order to obtain the best performance, the resistance of the platinum resistance thermometer (PRT) embedded in the mirror is usually measured with an external, traceable resistance bridge or digital multimeter. The relation between the conventional calibration of miniature PRTs, prior to their assembly in the mirrors of state-of-the-art optical dew-point hygrometers and their subsequent calibration as dew-point temperature measurement devices, has been investigated. Standard humidity generators of three NMIs were used to calibrate hygrometers of different designs, covering the dew-point temperature range from -75 °C to + 95 °C. The results span more than a decade, during which time successive improvements and modifications were implemented by the manufacturer. The findings are presented and discussed in the context of enabling the optimum use of these transfer standards and as a basis for determining contributions to the uncertainty in their calibration.

Trends in temperature and dew point at the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire, 1935-2004.

Science.gov (United States)

Grant, A. N.; Pszenny, A. A.; Fischer, E. V.

2005-05-01

Dry and wet bulb temperatures from sling psychrometer measurements taken every six hours from 1935 to 2004 at the summit of Mount Washington, located at 44 °16'N, 71 °18'W, 1914 m ASL have recently been digitized. Annual temperature has increased by 0.3°C, and annual dew point has decreased by 0.4°C over this 70-year period. Synoptic temperature has increased most in spring and winter, changing by 1.0°C and 0.5°C, respectively, while it has decreased slightly in summer and fall. Dew point has decreased in fall, summer, and winter, 0.9°C, 0.5°C, and 0.4°C respectively, and increased by 0.1°C in spring. Preliminary analysis suggests that some of the larger trends in winter and spring may be statistically significant; results of Monte Carlo simulations will be reported. Changes in dew point may be attributed to two factors. Decreasing dew points are expected if the temperature increases but the amount of water vapor present stays the same. Alternatively, lower dew points could be indicative of the presence of drier air. Other dew point climatologies of the continental United States for the second half of the century have shown mixed results, with increased dew points evident at some stations, decreased dew points at others, and no clear regional patterns.

Bubble and Dew Point Calculations in Multicomponent and Multireactive Mixtures

OpenAIRE

Bonilla-Petriciolet, A.; Acosta-Martínez, A.; Bravo-Sánchez, U. I.; Segovia-Hernández, J. G.

2006-01-01

Bubble and dew point calculations are useful in chemical engineering and play an important role in the study of separation equipments for non-reactive and reactive mixtures. To the best of the authors’s knowledge, few methods have been proposed for these calculations in systems with several chemical reactions. The objective of this paper is to introduce new conditions for performing bubble and dew point calculations in reactive mixtures. We have developed these conditions based on the a...

Wireless Sensor Network-Based Greenhouse Environment Monitoring and Automatic Control System for Dew Condensation Prevention

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Dae-Heon; Park, Jang-Woo

2011-01-01

Dew condensation on the leaf surface of greenhouse crops can promote diseases caused by fungus and bacteria, affecting the growth of the crops. In this paper, we present a WSN (Wireless Sensor Network)-based automatic monitoring system to prevent dew condensation in a greenhouse environment. The system is composed of sensor nodes for collecting data, base nodes for processing collected data, relay nodes for driving devices for adjusting the environment inside greenhouse and an environment server for data storage and processing. Using the Barenbrug formula for calculating the dew point on the leaves, this system is realized to prevent dew condensation phenomena on the crop’s surface acting as an important element for prevention of diseases infections. We also constructed a physical model resembling the typical greenhouse in order to verify the performance of our system with regard to dew condensation control. PMID:22163813

The Effect of Climate Change on Variations in Dew Amount in a Paddy Ecosystem of the Sanjiang Plain, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yingying Xu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Due to global warming, a drying and warming trend has been observed over the last 50 years in the Sanjiang Plain of Heilongjiang Province, China, which could significantly affect the condensation of vapor in paddy ecosystems. Dew is a crucial factor in the water and nutrient cycling of farmland ecosystems, and it exerts an important influence on fertilization and other agricultural activities. In order to reveal the effects of global warming on dew variation in a paddy ecosystem, an in situ experiment was conducted in paddy fields in the Sanjiang Plain during the growing seasons of 2011 to 2013. Dew was collected and measured with a poplar stick. The results of correlation analysis between meteorological factors and dew intensity in the paddy ecosystem indicate that the dew point temperature and relative humidity significantly influenced the dew intensity. Based on synchronous meteorological data, a stepwise linear multivariation regression model was established to predict dew amount. The model successfully interpreted the relationship between simulated and measured dew intensity. The results suggest that a warmer and drier climate would lead to a reduction in dew amount because water cannot condense when relative humidity falls below 71%.

Antifungal activity of selected Malaysian honeys: a comparison with Manuka honey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siti Aisyah Sayadi

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Objective: To evaluate four selected Malaysian honey samples from different floral sources (Gelam, Tualang, Nenas and Acacia for their ability to inhibit the growth of fungi and yeast strains (Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, Epidermophyton floccosum, Microsporum gypseum, Trichophyton rubrum and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. Methods: The broth microdilution method was used to assess the antifungal activity of honey against yeasts at different concentrations ranging from 0.01% to 70% (v/v. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC of the honeys were determined by visual inspection and spectrophotometric assay. Minimum fungicidal concentration test was performed by further sub-culturing from the plates which showed no visible growth in the MIC assay onto Sabroud dextrose agar. Results: All tested Malaysian honeys except Gelam showed antifungal activity against all species analysed, with the MIC ranging from 25% (v/v to 50% (v/v while MIC of Manuka honey ranged between 21% to 53% (v/v. Candida albicans was more susceptible to honey than other species tested. Conclusions: Locally produced honeys exhibited antifungal activity which is less than or equal to that of Manuka honey. Our data showed evidence in support of the therapeutic uses of Malaysian honeys.

Dew point fast measurement in organic vapor mixtures using quartz resonant sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Nie, Jing; Liu, Jia; Meng, Xiaofeng

2017-01-01

A fast dew point sensor has been developed for organic vapor mixtures by using the quartz crystal with sensitive circuits. The sensor consists of the quartz crystal and a cooler device. Proactive approach is taken to produce condensation on the surface of the quartz crystal, and it will lead to a change in electrical features of the quartz crystal. The cessation of oscillation was measured because this phenomenon is caused by dew condensation. Such a phenomenon can be used to detect the dew point. This method exploits the high sensitivity of the quartz crystal but without frequency measurement and also retains the stability of the resonant circuit. It is strongly anti-interfered. Its performance was evaluated with acetone-methanol mixtures under different pressures. The results were compared with the dew points predicted from the universal quasi-chemical equation to evaluate the performance of the proposed sensor. Though the maximum deviations of the sensor are less than 1.1 °C, it still has a fast response time with a recovery time of less than 10 s, providing an excellent dehumidifying performance.

An ultrahigh-accuracy Miniature Dew Point Sensor based on an Integrated Photonics Platform

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, Jifang; Luo, Yu; Wang, Li; Cai, Hong; Sun, Tao; Song, Junfeng; Liu, Hui; Gu, Yuandong

2016-07-01

The dew point is the temperature at which vapour begins to condense out of the gaseous phase. The deterministic relationship between the dew point and humidity is the basis for the industry-standard “chilled-mirror” dew point hygrometers used for highly accurate humidity measurements, which are essential for a broad range of industrial and metrological applications. However, these instruments have several limitations, such as high cost, large size and slow response. In this report, we demonstrate a compact, integrated photonic dew point sensor (DPS) that features high accuracy, a small footprint, and fast response. The fundamental component of this DPS is a partially exposed photonic micro-ring resonator, which serves two functions simultaneously: 1) sensing the condensed water droplets via evanescent fields and 2) functioning as a highly accurate, in situ temperature sensor based on the thermo-optic effect (TOE). This device virtually eliminates most of the temperature-related errors that affect conventional “chilled-mirror” hygrometers. Moreover, this DPS outperforms conventional “chilled-mirror” hygrometers with respect to size, cost and response time, paving the way for on-chip dew point detection and extension to applications for which the conventional technology is unsuitable because of size, cost, and other constraints.

Estimating dew formation in rice, using seasonally averaged diel patterns of weather variables

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Luo, W.; Goudriaan, J.

2004-01-01

If dew formation cannot be measured it has to be estimated. Available simulation models for estimating dew formation require hourly weather data as input. However, such data are not available for places without an automatic weather station. In such cases the diel pattern of weather variables might

Honey bee pathology: current threats to honey bees and beekeeping.

Science.gov (United States)

Genersch, Elke

2010-06-01

Managed honey bees are the most important commercial pollinators of those crops which depend on animal pollination for reproduction and which account for 35% of the global food production. Hence, they are vital for an economic, sustainable agriculture and for food security. In addition, honey bees also pollinate a variety of wild flowers and, therefore, contribute to the biodiversity of many ecosystems. Honey and other hive products are, at least economically and ecologically rather, by-products of beekeeping. Due to this outstanding role of honey bees, severe and inexplicable honey bee colony losses, which have been reported recently to be steadily increasing, have attracted much attention and stimulated many research activities. Although the phenomenon "decline of honey bees" is far from being finally solved, consensus exists that pests and pathogens are the single most important cause of otherwise inexplicable colony losses. This review will focus on selected bee pathogens and parasites which have been demonstrated to be involved in colony losses in different regions of the world and which, therefore, are considered current threats to honey bees and beekeeping.

Dew measurement and estimation of rain-fed jujube (Zizyphus jujube Mill) in a semi-arid loess hilly region of China

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

WANG Xing; GAO Zhiyong; WANG Youke; Wang Zhi; JIN Shanshan

2017-01-01

Dew is an important water source for plants in arid and semi-arid regions.However,information on dew is scarce in such regions.In this study,we explored dew formation,amount,and duration of rain-fed jujube (Zi（w）phus jujube Mill) trees in a semi-arid loess hilly region of China (i.e.,Mizhi County).The data included dew intensity and duration,relative humidity,temperature,and wind speed measured from 26 July to 23 October,2012 and from 24 June to 17 October,2013 using a micro-climate system (including dielectric leaf wetness sensors,VP-3 Relative Humidity/Temperature Sensor,High Resolution Rain Gauge,and Davis Cup Anemometer).The results show that atmospheric conditions of relative humidity of ＞78％ and dew point temperature of 1℃C-3℃C are significantly favorable to dew formation.Compared with the rainfall,dew was characterized by high frequency,strong stability,and long duration.Furthermore,heavy dew accounted for a large proportion of the total amount.The empirical models (i.e.,relative humidity model (RH model) and dew point depression model (DPD model)) for daily dew duration estimation performed well at 15-rain intervals,with low errors ranging between 1.29 and 1.60 h,respectively.But it should be noted that the models should be calibrated firstly by determining the optimal thresholds of relatively humidity for RH model and dew point depression for DPD model.For rain-fed jujube trees in the semi-arid loess hilly regions of China,the optimal threshold of relative humidity was 78％,and the optimal upper and lower thresholds of dew point depression were 1℃C and 5℃C,respectively.The study further demonstrates that dew is an important water resource that cannot be ignored for rain-fed jujube trees and may affect water balance at regional scales.

Measuring the exhaust gas dew point of continuously operated combustion plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fehler, D.

1985-07-16

Low waste-gas temperatures represent one means of minimizing the energy consumption of combustion facilities. However, condensation should be prevented to occur in the waste gas since this could result in a destruction of parts. Measuring the waste-gas dew point allows to control combustion parameters in such a way as to be able to operate at low temperatures without danger of condensation. Dew point sensors will provide an important signal for optimizing combustion facilities.

Integrated CMOS dew point sensors for relative humidity measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Savalli, Nicolo; Baglio, Salvatore; Castorina, Salvatore; Sacco, Vincenzo; Tringali, Cristina

2004-07-01

This work deals with the development of integrated relative humidity dew point sensors realized by adopting standard CMOS technology for applications in various fields. The proposed system is composed by a suspended plate that is cooled by exploiting integrated Peltier cells. The cold junctions of the cells have been spread over the plate surface to improve the homogeneity of the temperature distribution over its surface, where cooling will cause the water condensation. The temperature at which water drops occur, named dew point temperature, is a function of the air humidity. Measurement of such dew point temperature and the ambient temperature allows to know the relative humidity. The detection of water drops is achieved by adopting a capacitive sensing strategy realized by interdigited fixed combs, composed by the upper layer of the adopted process. Such a capacitive sensor, together with its conditioning circuit, drives a trigger that stops the cooling of the plate and enables the reading of the dew point temperature. Temperature measurements are achieved by means of suitably integrated thermocouples. The analytical model of the proposed system has been developed and has been used to design a prototype device and to estimate its performances. In such a prototype, the thermoelectric cooler is composed by 56 Peltier cells, made by metal 1/poly 1 junctions. The plate has a square shape with 200 μm side, and it is realized by exploiting the oxide layers. Starting from the ambient temperature a temperature variation of ΔT = 15 K can be reached in 10 ms thus allowing to measure a relative humidity greater than 40%.

Detection of Dew-Point by substantial Raman Band Frequency Jumps (A new Method)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Susanne Brunsgaard; Berg, Rolf W.; Stenby, Erling Halfdan

Detection of Dew-Point by substantial Raman Band Frequency Jumps (A new Method). See poster at http://www.kemi.dtu.dk/~ajo/rolf/jumps.pdf......Detection of Dew-Point by substantial Raman Band Frequency Jumps (A new Method). See poster at http://www.kemi.dtu.dk/~ajo/rolf/jumps.pdf...

Comparing the quality of honey from beekeepers and honey from the market chain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milena Bušová

Full Text Available Honey is a valuable food for its beneficial nutritional and dietetic effects. The quality of honey fluctuates considerably according to various criteria, the adulteration of honey with cheaper substitutes is not negligible. The quality of honey in the market chain with honey taken from beekeepers was compared in this study. A total of 10 samples from each group were tested for basic qualitative markers and compared with legislative criteria. The samples were analysed for fructose and glucose content, water content, titratable acidity and two tests for illegal sugar additions. The results revealed the addition of 25% of the technical syrup in one sample of honey from the market chain, one sample had the sum of fructose and glucose 56,3%, it is below the required limit 60% (differed by 6,3%. In other parameters the samples complied with the valid legislation. All tested parameters in honey from beekeepers met the criteria of the legislation, only 1 sample of blossom honey had the sum of fructose and glucose just below the required limit. The sum of fructose and glucose in this sample was 58.3 %, it differed by 2.9% from the required content of 60%. Sensory analysis was used to assess four samples of honey from beekeepers collected by different techniques. Results have not shown significant difference in sensory properties between manually pressed honey and honey obtained after whirling. The responses characterizing the favourable sensory properties of the examined honey samples were prevailing. The difference between the perception of honey after whirling and honey harvested by press manually was not demonstrated in sensory properties.

Estimation of dew point temperature using neuro-fuzzy and neural network techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Kisi, Ozgur; Kim, Sungwon; Shiri, Jalal

2013-11-01

This study investigates the ability of two different artificial neural network (ANN) models, generalized regression neural networks model (GRNNM) and Kohonen self-organizing feature maps neural networks model (KSOFM), and two different adaptive neural fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) models, ANFIS model with sub-clustering identification (ANFIS-SC) and ANFIS model with grid partitioning identification (ANFIS-GP), for estimating daily dew point temperature. The climatic data that consisted of 8 years of daily records of air temperature, sunshine hours, wind speed, saturation vapor pressure, relative humidity, and dew point temperature from three weather stations, Daego, Pohang, and Ulsan, in South Korea were used in the study. The estimates of ANN and ANFIS models were compared according to the three different statistics, root mean square errors, mean absolute errors, and determination coefficient. Comparison results revealed that the ANFIS-SC, ANFIS-GP, and GRNNM models showed almost the same accuracy and they performed better than the KSOFM model. Results also indicated that the sunshine hours, wind speed, and saturation vapor pressure have little effect on dew point temperature. It was found that the dew point temperature could be successfully estimated by using T mean and R H variables.

Toxic compounds in honey.

Science.gov (United States)

Islam, Md Nazmul; Khalil, Md Ibrahim; Islam, Md Asiful; Gan, Siew Hua

2014-07-01

There is a wealth of information about the nutritional and medicinal properties of honey. However, honey may contain compounds that may lead to toxicity. A compound not naturally present in honey, named 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), may be formed during the heating or preservation processes of honey. HMF has gained much interest, as it is commonly detected in honey samples, especially samples that have been stored for a long time. HMF is a compound that may be mutagenic, carcinogenic and cytotoxic. It has also been reported that honey can be contaminated with heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium. Honey produced from the nectar of Rhododendron ponticum contains alkaloids that can be poisonous to humans, while honey collected from Andromeda flowers contains grayanotoxins, which can cause paralysis of limbs in humans and eventually leads to death. In addition, Melicope ternata and Coriaria arborea from New Zealand produce toxic honey that can be fatal. There are reports that honey is not safe to be consumed when it is collected from Datura plants (from Mexico and Hungary), belladonna flowers and Hyoscamus niger plants (from Hungary), Serjania lethalis (from Brazil), Gelsemium sempervirens (from the American Southwest), Kalmia latifolia, Tripetalia paniculata and Ledum palustre. Although the symptoms of poisoning due to honey consumption may differ depending on the source of toxins, most common symptoms generally include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, convulsions, headache, palpitations or even death. It has been suggested that honey should not be considered a completely safe food. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Simultaneous measurements of formaldehyde and nitrous acid in dews and gas phase in the atmosphere of Santiago, Chile

Science.gov (United States)

Rubio, María A.; Lissi, Eduardo; Villena, Guillermo; Elshorbany, Y. F.; Kleffmann, Jörg; Kurtenbach, Ralf; Wiesen, Peter

2009-12-01

The amounts of formaldehyde and nitrous acid (HONO) in gas phase and dews of Santiago de Chile were simultaneously measured. Formaldehyde concentrations values in the liquid phase (dews) correlate fairly well with those in the gaseous phase and are even higher than those expected from gas-dew equilibrium. On the other hand, nitrite concentrations in dews were considerably smaller (ca. 15 times) than those expected from the gas-phase concentrations. This under-saturation is attributed to diffusion limitations due to the relatively large HONO solubility. In agreement with this, under-saturation increases with the rate of dew formation and the pH of the collected waters, factors that should increase the rate of gas to liquid HONO transfer required to reach equilibrium.

Dew Point Calibration System Using a Quartz Crystal Sensor with a Differential Frequency Method.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Ningning; Meng, Xiaofeng; Nie, Jing

2016-11-18

In this paper, the influence of temperature on quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensor response during dew point calibration is investigated. The aim is to present a compensation method to eliminate temperature impact on frequency acquisition. A new sensitive structure is proposed with double QCMs. One is kept in contact with the environment, whereas the other is not exposed to the atmosphere. There is a thermal conductivity silicone pad between each crystal and a refrigeration device to keep a uniform temperature condition. A differential frequency method is described in detail and is applied to calibrate the frequency characteristics of QCM at the dew point of -3.75 °C. It is worth noting that frequency changes of two QCMs were approximately opposite when temperature conditions were changed simultaneously. The results from continuous experiments show that the frequencies of two QCMs as the dew point moment was reached have strong consistency and high repeatability, leading to the conclusion that the sensitive structure can calibrate dew points with high reliability.

Honey Market in Romania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nica Maria

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In Romania, beekeeping is an important traditional occupation. Honey and other bee products produced in our country are appreciated both in Europe and around the world. Honey is a complex food, one of the healthiest: it contains vitamins, organic acids, minerals and enzymes from bees, thanks to which honey is considered a superfood. The main objectives of the research are to analyze: the evolution of the number of bee families; the evolution of honey production and consumption in Romania; the value of exports and imports of honey from Romania. Estimates will also be made on honey production and consumption. The data used in the research will be taken from national and international databases.

Observed changes in relative humidity and dew point temperature in coastal regions of Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Hosseinzadeh Talaee, P.; Sabziparvar, A. A.; Tabari, Hossein

2012-12-01

The analysis of trends in hydroclimatic parameters and assessment of their statistical significance have recently received a great concern to clarify whether or not there is an obvious climate change. In the current study, parametric linear regression and nonparametric Mann-Kendall tests were applied for detecting annual and seasonal trends in the relative humidity (RH) and dew point temperature ( T dew) time series at ten coastal weather stations in Iran during 1966-2005. The serial structure of the data was considered, and the significant serial correlations were eliminated using the trend-free pre-whitening method. The results showed that annual RH increased by 1.03 and 0.28 %/decade at the northern and southern coastal regions of the country, respectively, while annual T dew increased by 0.29 and 0.15°C per decade at the northern and southern regions, respectively. The significant trends were frequent in the T dew series, but they were observed only at 2 out of the 50 RH series. The results showed that the difference between the results of the parametric and nonparametric tests was small, although the parametric test detected larger significant trends in the RH and T dew time series. Furthermore, the differences between the results of the trend tests were not related to the normality of the statistical distribution.

Analysis of Romania’s Honey Market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ion Pîrvuţoiu

2011-10-01

Full Text Available The paper aimed to present the evolution of Romania’s honey market in the period 1990-1997, by means of the specific indicators: number of beekeepers, number of bee families, honey yield and production, ecological honey production, honey trade and price. The analysis has pointed out that beekeeping has been continuously developing mainly after the year 2000. In 2007, 34,971 beekeepers were keeping 1,085,905 bee families, producing 18.56 kg honey per family in average, meaning 20,159 honey tons. The major producing regions are the Central, South West, West, North East, South East and North West areas. Romania produces 50 % mixed honey, 30 % Robinia honey and 25 % lime honey and honey price is related to honey quality. Ecological honey is produced in 584 apiaries and accounted for 2,300 tones in 2008. Honey consumption per capita is 0.19 kg, still at a low level compared to other EU countries. In 2007, Romania exported 6,236 tons of honey and imported 1,8 tones. Romania is a net honey exporter having a positive trade balance.Romania produces 6.26 % of the EU honey production and 1.87 % of world production. It also contributes by 5.67 % to the EU honey exports and by 1.53 % to the world exports.

Densimetry for the Quantification of Sorption Phenomena on Nonporous Media Near the Dew Point of Fluid Mixtures.

Science.gov (United States)

Richter, Markus; McLinden, Mark O

2017-07-21

Phase equilibria of fluid mixtures are important in numerous industrial applications and are, thus, a major focus of thermophysical property research. Improved data, particularly along the dew line, are needed to improve model predictions. Here we present experimental results utilizing highly accurate densimetry to quantify the effects of sorption and capillary condensation, which exert a distorting influence on measured properties near the dew line. We investigate the (pressure, density, temperature, composition) behaviour of binary (CH 4  + C 3 H 8 ) and (Ar + CO 2 ) mixtures over the temperature range from (248.15 to 273.15) K starting at low pressures and increasing in pressure towards the dew point along isotherms. Three distinct regions are observed: (1) minor sorption effects in micropores at low pressures; (2) capillary condensation followed by wetting in macro-scale surface scratches beginning approximately 2% below the dew-point pressure; (3) bulk condensation. We hypothesize that the true dew point lies within the second region.

From Flower to Honey Bouquet: Possible Markers for the Botanical Origin of Robinia Honey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giovanna Aronne

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Flowers are complex structures devoted to pollinator attraction, through visual as well as chemical signals. As bees collect nectar on flowers to produce honey, some aspects of floral chemistry are transferred to honey, making chemical markers an important technique to identify the botanical and geographical origins of honey. We applied a new approach that considers the simultaneous analysis of different floral parts (petals, stamens + pistils, calyxes + nectarines, and nectar and the corresponding unifloral honey. We collected fresh flowers of Robinia pseudoacacia L. (black locust, selected five samples of Robinia honey from different geographical origins, applied SPME-GC/MS for volatile analyses, and defined the chemical contribution added by different floral parts to the honey final bouquet. Our results show that honey blends products from nectar as well as other flower parts. Comparing honey and flower profiles, we detected compounds coming directly from flower parts but not present in the nectar, such as hotrienol and β-pinene. These may turn out to be of special interest when selecting floral markers for the botanical origin of honey.

From flower to honey bouquet: possible markers for the botanical origin of Robinia honey.

Science.gov (United States)

Aronne, Giovanna; Giovanetti, Manuela; Sacchi, Raffaele; De Micco, Veronica

2014-01-01

Flowers are complex structures devoted to pollinator attraction, through visual as well as chemical signals. As bees collect nectar on flowers to produce honey, some aspects of floral chemistry are transferred to honey, making chemical markers an important technique to identify the botanical and geographical origins of honey. We applied a new approach that considers the simultaneous analysis of different floral parts (petals, stamens + pistils, calyxes + nectarines, and nectar) and the corresponding unifloral honey. We collected fresh flowers of Robinia pseudoacacia L. (black locust), selected five samples of Robinia honey from different geographical origins, applied SPME-GC/MS for volatile analyses, and defined the chemical contribution added by different floral parts to the honey final bouquet. Our results show that honey blends products from nectar as well as other flower parts. Comparing honey and flower profiles, we detected compounds coming directly from flower parts but not present in the nectar, such as hotrienol and β-pinene. These may turn out to be of special interest when selecting floral markers for the botanical origin of honey.

Concerning the acid dew point in waste gases from combustion processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Knoche, K.F.; Deutz, W.; Hein, K.; Derichs, W.

1986-09-01

The paper discusses the problems associated with the measurement of acid dew point and of sulphuric acid-(say SO/sub 3/-)concentrations in the flue gas from brown coal-fired boiler plants. The sulphuric acid content in brown coal flue gas has been measured at 0.5 to 3 vpm in SO/sub 2/ concentrations of 200 to 800 vpm. Using a conditional equation, the derivation of which from new formulae for phase stability is described in the paper, an acid dew point temperature of 115 to 125/sup 0/C is produced.

Improvement of lithium chloride dew-point hygrometer for direct reading and controlling of relative humidity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, X.Z.; Chu, Y.

1986-01-01

The lithium chloride dew-point hygrometer has many advantages over other types of hygrometers. However, it only reads and controls the dew-point temperature of air instead of the relative humidity, which is more important in industry, agriculture, food storage, and hygiene. This paper describes a new hygrometer which is based on the same principle as the lithium chloride dew-point hygrometer, but it can read and control the relative humidity directly. The instrument is quick in response and the ranges of temperature and relative humidity are quite large. Its accuracy is normally within 3% RH and its precision is within 2% RH.

Dew Point Calibration System Using a Quartz Crystal Sensor with a Differential Frequency Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ningning Lin

2016-11-01

Full Text Available In this paper, the influence of temperature on quartz crystal microbalance (QCM sensor response during dew point calibration is investigated. The aim is to present a compensation method to eliminate temperature impact on frequency acquisition. A new sensitive structure is proposed with double QCMs. One is kept in contact with the environment, whereas the other is not exposed to the atmosphere. There is a thermal conductivity silicone pad between each crystal and a refrigeration device to keep a uniform temperature condition. A differential frequency method is described in detail and is applied to calibrate the frequency characteristics of QCM at the dew point of −3.75 °C. It is worth noting that frequency changes of two QCMs were approximately opposite when temperature conditions were changed simultaneously. The results from continuous experiments show that the frequencies of two QCMs as the dew point moment was reached have strong consistency and high repeatability, leading to the conclusion that the sensitive structure can calibrate dew points with high reliability.

Note: A dual-channel sensor for dew point measurement based on quartz crystal microbalance

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ning; Meng, Xiaofeng; Nie, Jing

2017-05-01

A new sensor with dual-channel was designed for eliminating the temperature effect on the frequency measurement of the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) in dew point detection. The sensor uses active temperature control, produces condensation on the surface of QCM, and then detects the dew point. Both the single-channel and the dual-channel methods were conducted based on the device. The measurement error of the single-channel method was less than 0.5 °C at the dew point range of -2 °C-10 °C while the dual-channel was 0.3 °C. The results showed that the dual-channel method was able to eliminate the temperature effect and yield better measurement accuracy.

Effects of sand burial on dew deposition on moss soil crust in a revegetated area of the Tennger Desert, Northern China

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Rong-liang; Li, Xin-rong; Liu, Li-chao; Pan, Yan-xia; Gao, Yan-hong; Wei, Yong-ping

2014-11-01

Sand burial and dew deposition are two fundamental phenomena profoundly influencing biological soil crusts in desert areas. However, little information is available regarding the effects of sand burial on dew deposition on biological soil crusts in desert ecosystems. In this study, we evaluated the effects of sand burial at depths of 0 (control), 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 mm on dew formation and evaporation of three dominant moss crusts in a revegetated area of the Tengger Desert (Northern China) in 2010. The results revealed that sand burial significantly decreased the amount of dew deposited on the three moss crust types by acting as a semi-insulator retarding the dew formation and evaporation rates. The changes in surface temperature cannot fully explain the variations of the formation and evaporation rates of dew by moss crusts buried by sand. The extension of dew retention time was reflected by the higher dew ratios (the ratio of dew amount at a certain time to the maximum value in a daily course) in the daytime, and may to some extent have acted as compensatory mechanisms that diminished the negative effects of the reduction of dew amount induced by sand burial of moss crusts. The resistances to reduction of dewfall caused by sand burial among the three moss crusts were also compared and it was found that Bryum argenteum crust showed the highest tolerance, followed by crusts dominated by Didymodon vinealis and Syntrichia caninervis. This sequence corresponds well with the successional order of the three moss crusts in the revegetated area, thereby suggesting that resistance to reduction of dewfall may act as one mechanism by which sand burial drives the succession of moss crusts in desert ecosystems. This side effect of dew reduction induced by sand burial on biological soil crusts should be considered in future ecosystem construction and management of desert area.

Numerical study of a novel counter-flow heat and mass exchanger for dew point evaporative cooling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, X.; Riffat, S.B. [School of the Built Environment, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD (United Kingdom); Li, J.M. [Department of Thermal Engineering, Key Laboratory for Thermal Science and Power Engineering of Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

2008-10-15

The paper presents numerical investigation of a novel counter-flow heat and mass exchanger used in the indirect evaporative dew point cooling systems, a potential alternative to the conventional mechanical compression air conditioning systems. Numeric simulation was carried out to optimise the geometrical sizes and operating conditions of the exchanger in order to enhance the cooling (dew point and wet bulb) effectiveness of the exchanger and maximise the energy efficiency of the dew point cooling system. The results of the simulations indicated that cooling (dew point and wet bulb) effectiveness and energy efficiency are largely dependent on the dimensions of the airflow passages, air velocity and working-to-intake-air ratio, and less dependent on the temperature of the feed water. It is recommended that exchanger intake air velocity should be controlled to a value below 0.3-0.5 m/s; height of air passage (channel) should be set to 6 mm or below and the length of the passage should be 200 time the height; the working-to-intake-air ratio should be around 0.4. Under the UK summer design condition, i.e., 28{sup o}C of dry bulb temperature, 20{sup o}C of wet bulb temperature and 16{sup o}C of dew point temperature, the exchanger can achieve wet-bulb effectiveness of up to 1.3 and dew-point effectiveness of up to 0.9. (author)

Estimation of combustion flue gas acid dew point during heat recovery and efficiency gain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bahadori, A. [Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA (Australia)

2011-06-15

When cooling combustion flue gas for heat recovery and efficiency gain, the temperature must not be allowed to drop below the sulfur trioxide dew point. Below the SO{sub 3} dew point, very corrosive sulfuric acid forms and leads to operational hazards on metal surfaces. In the present work, simple-to-use predictive tool, which is easier than existing approaches, less complicated with fewer computations is formulated to arrive at an appropriate estimation of acid dew point during combustion flue gas cooling which depends on fuel type, sulfur content in fuel, and excess air levels. The resulting information can then be applied to estimate the acid dew point, for sulfur in various fuels up to 0.10 volume fraction in gas (0.10 mass fraction in liquid), excess air fractions up to 0.25, and elemental concentrations of carbon up to 3. The proposed predictive tool shows a very good agreement with the reported data wherein the average absolute deviation percent was found to be around 3.18%. This approach can be of immense practical value for engineers and scientists for a quick estimation of acid dew point during combustion flue gas cooling for heat recovery and efficiency gain for wide range of operating conditions without the necessity of any pilot plant setup and tedious experimental trials. In particular, process and combustion engineers would find the tool to be user friendly involving transparent calculations with no complex expressions for their applications.

Investigation of a novel dew point indirect evaporative air conditioning system for buildings

OpenAIRE

Duan, Zhiyin

2011-01-01

This study aims to improve the performance of existing indirect evaporative coolers. A new dew point indirect evaporative cooler with counter-current heat/mass exchanger was developed in this research by optimal design, material selection, numerical simulation, experimental investigations and economic, environmental, regional acceptance analysis. A new dew point heat/mass exchanger using a counter-current flow pattern was designed by numerical simulation in terms of material, structure, g...

A MEMS-based super fast dew point hygrometer—construction and medical applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jachowicz, Ryszard S; Weremczuk, Jerzy; Paczesny, Daniel; Tarapata, Grzegorz

2009-01-01

The paper shows how MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical system) technology and a modified principle of fast temperature control (by heat injection instead of careful control of cooling) can considerably improve the dynamic parameters of dew point hygrometers. Some aspects of MEMS-type integrated sensor construction and technology, whole measurement system design, the control algorithm to run the system as well as empirical dynamic parameters from the tests are discussed too. The hygrometer can easily obtain five to six measurements per second with an uncertainty of less than 0.3 K. The meter range is between −10 °C and 40 °C dew point. In the second part of the paper (section 2), two different successful applications in medicine based on fast humidity measurements have been discussed. Some specific constructions of these super fast dew point hygrometers based on a MEMS sensor as well as limited empirical results from clinical tests have been reported too

A MEMS-based super fast dew point hygrometer—construction and medical applications

Science.gov (United States)

Jachowicz, Ryszard S.; Weremczuk, Jerzy; Paczesny, Daniel; Tarapata, Grzegorz

2009-12-01

The paper shows how MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical system) technology and a modified principle of fast temperature control (by heat injection instead of careful control of cooling) can considerably improve the dynamic parameters of dew point hygrometers. Some aspects of MEMS-type integrated sensor construction and technology, whole measurement system design, the control algorithm to run the system as well as empirical dynamic parameters from the tests are discussed too. The hygrometer can easily obtain five to six measurements per second with an uncertainty of less than 0.3 K. The meter range is between -10 °C and 40 °C dew point. In the second part of the paper (section 2), two different successful applications in medicine based on fast humidity measurements have been discussed. Some specific constructions of these super fast dew point hygrometers based on a MEMS sensor as well as limited empirical results from clinical tests have been reported too.

Viper's bugloss (Echium spp. honey typing and establishing the pollen threshold for monofloral honey.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomás Martín Arroyo

Full Text Available Honey samples (n = 126 from Castilla-La Mancha (Central Spain were characterized based on their physicochemical properties and a melissopalynological analysis. The latter showed that Echium pollen type was the dominant palynomorph in most samples, representing at least 30% of the pollen in each sample. As anticipated, a relationship was observed between the proportion of this pollen and the properties of the honey. One goal of this study was to set a threshold that defines the percentage of pollen necessary for Viper's bugloss honey to be considered monofloral or multifloral. This is a mandatory requirement in light of the publication of the European Directive 2014/63/EU establishing the regulations governing the labelling and control of honey to eradicate fraud (BOE n° 147, June 2015. By analyzing how the proportions of Echium pollen type affected the physicochemical and sensory parameters of the honey, the honeys analyzed could be segregated into multifloral and monofloral honeys. The data indicates that the proportion of pollen necessary to discriminate monofloral Viper's bugloss honey lies at 70%.

Dew point measurement technique utilizing fiber cut reflection

Science.gov (United States)

Kostritskii, S. M.; Dikevich, A. A.; Korkishko, Yu. N.; Fedorov, V. A.

2009-05-01

The fiber optical dew point hygrometer based on change of reflection coefficient for fiber cut has been developed and examined. We proposed and verified the model of condensation detector functioning principle. Experimental frost point measurements on air with different frost points have been performed.

How honey kills bacteria

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kwakman, Paulus H. S.; te Velde, Anje A.; de Boer, Leonie; Speijer, Dave; Vandenbroucke-Grauls, Christina M. J. E.; Zaat, Sebastian A. J.

2010-01-01

With the rise in prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, honey is increasingly valued for its antibacterial activity. To characterize all bactericidal factors in a medical-grade honey, we used a novel approach of successive neutralization of individual honey bactericidal factors. All bacteria

Antibacterial components of honey

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kwakman, Paulus H. S.; Zaat, Sebastian A. J.

2012-01-01

The antibacterial activity of honey has been known since the 19th century. Recently, the potent activity of honey against antibiotic-resistant bacteria has further increased the interest for application of honey, but incomplete knowledge of the antibacterial activity is a major obstacle for clinical

Viral diseases in honey bee queens

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Francis, Roy Mathew

Honey bees are important insects for human welfare, due to pollination as well as honey production. Viral diseases strongly impact honey bee health, especially since the spread of varroa mites. This dissertation deals with the interactions between honey bees, viruses and varroa mites. A new tool...... was developed to diagnose three viruses in honey bees. Quantitative PCR was used to investigate the distribution of two popular viruses in five different tissues of 86 honey bee queens. Seasonal variation of viral infection in honey bee workers and varroa mites were determined by sampling 23 colonies under...

Automatic continuous dew point measurement in combustion gases

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fehler, D.

1986-08-01

Low exhaust temperatures serve to minimize energy consumption in combustion systems. This requires accurate, continuous measurement of exhaust condensation. An automatic dew point meter for continuous operation is described. The principle of measurement, the design of the measuring system, and practical aspects of operation are discussed.

Honey: an immunomodulator in wound healing.

Science.gov (United States)

Majtan, Juraj

2014-01-01

Honey is a popular natural product that is used in the treatment of burns and a broad spectrum of injuries, in particular chronic wounds. The antibacterial potential of honey has been considered the exclusive criterion for its wound healing properties. The antibacterial activity of honey has recently been fully characterized in medical-grade honeys. Recently, the multifunctional immunomodulatory properties of honey have attracted much attention. The aim of this review is to provide closer insight into the potential immunomodulatory effects of honey in wound healing. Honey and its components are able to either stimulate or inhibit the release of certain cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, interleukin-6) from human monocytes and macrophages, depending on wound condition. Similarly, honey seems to either reduce or activate the production of reactive oxygen species from neutrophils, also depending on the wound microenvironment. The honey-induced activation of both types of immune cells could promote debridement of a wound and speed up the repair process. Similarly, human keratinocytes, fibroblasts, and endothelial cell responses (e.g., cell migration and proliferation, collagen matrix production, chemotaxis) are positively affected in the presence of honey; thus, honey may accelerate reepithelization and wound closure. The immunomodulatory activity of honey is highly complex because of the involvement of multiple quantitatively variable compounds among honeys of different origins. The identification of these individual compounds and their contributions to wound healing is crucial for a better understanding of the mechanisms behind honey-mediated healing of chronic wounds. © 2014 by the Wound Healing Society.

Global Validation of MODIS Atmospheric Profile-Derived Near-Surface Air Temperature and Dew Point Estimates

Science.gov (United States)

Famiglietti, C.; Fisher, J.; Halverson, G. H.

2017-12-01

This study validates a method of remote sensing near-surface meteorology that vertically interpolates MODIS atmospheric profiles to surface pressure level. The extraction of air temperature and dew point observations at a two-meter reference height from 2001 to 2014 yields global moderate- to fine-resolution near-surface temperature distributions that are compared to geographically and temporally corresponding measurements from 114 ground meteorological stations distributed worldwide. This analysis is the first robust, large-scale validation of the MODIS-derived near-surface air temperature and dew point estimates, both of which serve as key inputs in models of energy, water, and carbon exchange between the land surface and the atmosphere. Results show strong linear correlations between remotely sensed and in-situ near-surface air temperature measurements (R2 = 0.89), as well as between dew point observations (R2 = 0.77). Performance is relatively uniform across climate zones. The extension of mean climate-wise percent errors to the entire remote sensing dataset allows for the determination of MODIS air temperature and dew point uncertainties on a global scale.

Effects of dew point on selective oxidation of TRIP steels containing Si, Mn, and B

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Suk-Kyu; Kim, Jong-Sang; Choi, Jin-Won; Kang, Namhyun; Cho, Kyung-Mox

2011-04-01

The selective oxidation of Si, Mn, and B on TRIP steel surfaces is a widely known phenomenon that occurs during heat treatment. However, the relationship between oxide formation and the annealing factors is not completely understood. This study examines the effect of the annealing conditions (dew point and annealing temperature) on oxide formation. A low dew point of -40 °C leads to the formation of Si-based oxides on the surface. A high dew point of -20 °C changes the oxide type to Mn-based oxides because the formation of Si oxides on the surface is suppressed by internal oxidation. Mn-based oxides exhibit superior wettability due to aluminothermic reduction during galvanizing.

Phase-equilibria for design of coal-gasification processes: dew points of hot gases containing condensible tars. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Prausnitz, J.M.

1980-05-01

This research is concerned with the fundamental physical chemistry and thermodynamics of condensation of tars (dew points) from the vapor phase at advanced temperatures and pressures. Fundamental quantitative understanding of dew points is important for rational design of heat exchangers to recover sensible heat from hot, tar-containing gases that are produced in coal gasification. This report includes essentially six contributions toward establishing the desired understanding: (1) Characterization of Coal Tars for Dew-Point Calculations; (2) Fugacity Coefficients for Dew-Point Calculations in Coal-Gasification Process Design; (3) Vapor Pressures of High-Molecular-Weight Hydrocarbons; (4) Estimation of Vapor Pressures of High-Boiling Fractions in Liquefied Fossil Fuels Containing Heteroatoms Nitrogen or Sulfur; and (5) Vapor Pressures of Heavy Liquid Hydrocarbons by a Group-Contribution Method.

High Response Dew Point Measurement System for a Supersonic Wind Tunnel

Science.gov (United States)

Blumenthal, Philip Z.

1996-01-01

A new high response on-line measurement system has been developed to continuously display and record the air stream dew point in the NASA Lewis 10 x 10 supersonic wind tunnel. Previous instruments suffered from such problems as very slow response, erratic readings, and high susceptibility to contamination. The system operates over the entire pressure level range of the 10 x 10 SWT, from less than 2 psia to 45 psia, without the need for a vacuum pump to provide sample flow. The system speeds up tunnel testing, provides large savings in tunnel power costs and provides the dew point input for the data-reduction subroutines which calculate test section conditions.

Novel ideas for maximising dew collection to aid plant establishment to combat desertification and restore degraded dry and arid lands

Science.gov (United States)

Kotzen, Benz

2014-05-01

This paper focuses on the potential of dew to provide water to plants and potentially to people as well in remote and difficult to reach areas where rainfall and underground water cannot be harvested. The combat of desertification and the restoration of degraded and desertified dry and arid lands has never been more urgent. A key practical component of this strategy is the restoration of habitat with planting. But for habitat and planting to survive there needs to be an adequate supply of water. In most cases providing water to the plant's roots is vital. In some areas where habitats have been destroyed, sufficient water is immediately available, for example through seasonal rainfall, or it can be harvested to concentrate adequate supplies of water to the roots. However, in arid and hyper arid areas, as well as in some dryland areas, a consistent and adequate supply of water cannot be provided by any conventional proven method. Thus, as the need to combat desertification and to restore desertified dry and arid land increases, so the need to find novel methods of establishing and maintaining planting and thus habitat increases. In more traditional land management scenarios this can be achieved through manipulating landform on a micro and macro scale, for example, by creating catchments, thereby collecting precipitation and directing it to the plants. Where this cannot be done, other means of water supply are usually required. Bainbridge (2007) and others have shown that supplying water to plants is possible through a number of traditional methods, for example, using clay pots. But most of these techniques require an introduced source of water, for example, obtained through water harvesting methods or by delivering water to site in tanks and by water bowser. This can work but requires continuous manpower. It is expensive and can be physically prohibitive in areas where access is difficult and/or remote. The concept of using dew to supply water in drylands is not new

Portable Dew Point Mass Spectrometry System for Real-Time Gas and Moisture Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Arkin, C.; Gillespie, Stacey; Ratzel, Christopher

2010-01-01

A portable instrument incorporates both mass spectrometry and dew point measurement to provide real-time, quantitative gas measurements of helium, nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and carbon dioxide, along with real-time, quantitative moisture analysis. The Portable Dew Point Mass Spectrometry (PDP-MS) system comprises a single quadrupole mass spectrometer and a high vacuum system consisting of a turbopump and a diaphragm-backing pump. A capacitive membrane dew point sensor was placed upstream of the MS, but still within the pressure-flow control pneumatic region. Pressure-flow control was achieved with an upstream precision metering valve, a capacitance diaphragm gauge, and a downstream mass flow controller. User configurable LabVIEW software was developed to provide real-time concentration data for the MS, dew point monitor, and sample delivery system pressure control, pressure and flow monitoring, and recording. The system has been designed to include in situ, NIST-traceable calibration. Certain sample tubing retains sufficient water that even if the sample is dry, the sample tube will desorb water to an amount resulting in moisture concentration errors up to 500 ppm for as long as 10 minutes. It was determined that Bev-A-Line IV was the best sample line to use. As a result of this issue, it is prudent to add a high-level humidity sensor to PDP-MS so such events can be prevented in the future.

Biological and therapeutic effects of honey produced by honey bees and stingless bees: a comparative review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pasupuleti Visweswara Rao

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Honey is a natural product produced by both honey bees and stingless bees. Both types of honey contain unique and distinct types of phenolic and flavonoid compounds of variable biological and clinical importance. Honey is one of the most effective natural products used for wound healing. In this review, the traditional uses and clinical applications of both honey bee and stingless bee honey – such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antihyperlipidemic, and cardioprotective properties; the treatment of eye disorders, gastrointestinal tract diseases, neurological disorders, and fertility disorders and wound healing activity are described.

No apparent correlation between honey bee forager gut microbiota and honey production.

Science.gov (United States)

Horton, Melissa A; Oliver, Randy; Newton, Irene L

2015-01-01

One of the best indicators of colony health for the European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is its performance in the production of honey. Recent research into the microbial communities naturally populating the bee gut raise the question as to whether there is a correlation between microbial community structure and colony productivity. In this work, we used 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to explore the microbial composition associated with forager bees from honey bee colonies producing large amounts of surplus honey (productive) and compared them to colonies producing less (unproductive). As supported by previous work, the honey bee microbiome was found to be dominated by three major phyla: the Proteobacteria, Bacilli and Actinobacteria, within which we found a total of 23 different bacterial genera, including known "core" honey bee microbiome members. Using discriminant function analysis and correlation-based network analysis, we identified highly abundant members (such as Frischella and Gilliamella) as important in shaping the bacterial community; libraries from colonies with high quantities of these Orbaceae members were also likely to contain fewer Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus species (such as Firm-4). However, co-culture assays, using isolates from these major clades, were unable to confirm any antagonistic interaction between Gilliamella and honey bee gut bacteria. Our results suggest that honey bee colony productivity is associated with increased bacterial diversity, although this mechanism behind this correlation has yet to be determined. Our results also suggest researchers should not base inferences of bacterial interactions solely on correlations found using sequencing. Instead, we suggest that depth of sequencing and library size can dramatically influence statistically significant results from sequence analysis of amplicons and should be cautiously interpreted.

CROATIAN HONEY MARKET IN EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dragana Dukić

2004-06-01

Full Text Available This examination is based on comparison of honey production, in countries of European Union, transition countries and The Republic of Croatia. The situation in Croatia is shown with all information about honey production. All data are compared with already managed European countries. In comparison with registrated number of beekeepers and hives, Croatia belongs to transition countries with the smallest number of beekepers and hives. On the other hand, values, such as, number of hives per beekeper and average honey production by hive, classify Croatia ahead of transition countries. There are very few professional beekepers in Croatia, as well as in other transition countries, but not countries of The European Union. Honey production in Croatia has been increasing last seven years and in the last few it increased more than 50%. Export of honey in the last 2 years is half of the complete honey production, which accomplish conditions for export enlargement. At the same time, import of honey is considerable reduced. Conditions for export can be better with production of biological clean honey (eco-honey, since Croatia has great resources for it. Also, cost of Croatian honey on the foreign market, will be considerable higher.

Melissopalynological Characterization of North Algerian Honeys

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samira Nair

2013-03-01

Full Text Available A pollen analysis of Algerian honey was conducted on a total of 10 honey samples. The samples were prepared using the methodology described by Louveaux et al., that was then further adapted by Ohe et al. The samples were subsequently observed using light microscopy. A total of 36 pollen taxa were discovered and could be identified in the analyzed honey samples. Seventy percent of the studied samples belonged to the group ofmonofloral honeys represented by Eucalyptus globulus, Thymus vulgaris, Citrus sp. and Lavandula angustifolia. Multifloral honeys comprised 30% of the honey samples, with pollen grains of Lavandula stoechas (28.49% standing out as the most prevalent. Based on cluster analysis, two different groups of honey were observed according to different pollen types found in the samples. The identified pollen spectrum of honey confirmed their botanical origin.

Fuzzy logic prediction of dew point pressure of selected Iranian gas condensate reservoirs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nowroozi, Saeed [Shahid Bahonar Univ. of Kerman (Iran); Iranian Offshore Oil Company (I.O.O.C.) (Iran); Ranjbar, Mohammad; Hashemipour, Hassan; Schaffie, Mahin [Shahid Bahonar Univ. of Kerman (Iran)

2009-12-15

The experimental determination of dew point pressure in a window PVT cell is often difficult especially in the case of lean retrograde gas condensate. Besides all statistical, graphical and experimental methods, the fuzzy logic method can be useful and more reliable for estimation of reservoir properties. Fuzzy logic can overcome uncertainty existent in many reservoir properties. Complexity, non-linearity and vagueness are some reservoir parameter characteristics, which can be propagated simply by fuzzy logic. The fuzzy logic dew point pressure modeling system used in this study is a multi input single output (MISO) Mamdani system. The model was developed using experimentally constant volume depletion (CVD) measured samples of some Iranian fields. The performance of the model is compared against the performance of some of the most accurate and general correlations for dew point pressure calculation. Results show that this novel method is more accurate and reliable with an average absolute deviation of 1.33% and 2.68% for developing and checking, respectively. (orig.)

Correlation of dew- and bubble-point curves for binary refrigerant mixtures. [Correlation between dew-point pressure(saturated vapor state) and bubble-point pressure(saturated liquid state)]. Niseibunkei kongo reibai no roten oyobi futten kyokusen no sokan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yada, N. (Kanagawa Institute of Technology, Kanagawa (Japan)); Watanabe, K. (Keio University, Tokyo (Japan). Faculty of Science and Technology)

1991-12-25

The paper makes a correlation expressing dew- and bubble-point curves using measured values for seven binary refrigerant freon-mixtures. In most binary systems at the same temperature, the pressure shows a different value between in a saturated vapor state (dew-point pressure) and in a saturated liquid state (bubble-point pressure). The target is such correlation as has as simple a function form as possible and is able to estimate even near the critical point where it used to be difficult to estimate. The pressure difference between measured values of the dew- and bubble-point pressure and values calculated from Raoult's law showing an ideal mixture of fluid is expressed by a simple function form of reduced temperature Tr and molar fraction. Tr is thermodynamic temperature/critical temperature. Reproducibility of this correlation is less than {plus minus}3% of the pressure deviation. Concerning also the arbitary composition range and near the critical point, the dew- and bubble-point pressure can be calculated accurately. 24 refs., 4 figs., 5 tabs.

Polychlorinated biphenyls in honey bees

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morse, R.A.; Culliney, T.W.; Gutenmann, W.H.; Littman, C.B.; Lisk, D.J.

1987-02-01

Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) may traverse a radius of several miles from their hives and contact innumerable surfaces during their collection of nectar, pollen, propolis and water. In the process, they may become contaminated with surface constituents which are indicative of the type of environmental pollution in their particular foraging area. Honey has also been analyzed as a possible indicator of heavy metal pollution. Insecticides used in the vicinity of bee hives have been found in bees and honey. It has been recently reported that appreciable concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been found in honey bees sampled throughout Connecticut. In the work reported here, an analytical survey was conducted on PCBs in honey bees, honey, propolis and related samples in several states to learn the extent of contamination and possible sources.

The New LMK Primary Standard for Dew-Point Sensor Calibration: Evaluation of the High-Range Saturator Efficiency

Science.gov (United States)

Hudoklin, Domen; Drnovšek, Janko

2008-10-01

In the field of hygrometry, a primary dew-point standard can be realized according to several proven principles, such as single-pressure (1-P), two-pressure (2-P), or divided flow. Different realizations have been introduced by various national laboratories, each resulting in a stand-alone complex generation system. Recent trends in generator design favor the single-pressure principle without recirculation because it promises theoretically lower uncertainty and because it avoids problems regarding the leak tightness of the recirculation. Instead of recirculation, the efficiency of saturation, the key factor, is increased by preconditioning the inlet gas entering the saturator. For preconditioning, a presaturator or purifier is used to bring the dew point of the inlet stream close to the saturator temperature. The purpose of the paper is to identify the minimum requirements for the preconditioning system and the main saturator to assure efficient saturation for the LMK generator. Moreover, the aim is also to find out if the preconditioning system can be avoided despite the rather simple construction of the main saturator. If this proves to be the case, the generator design can be simplified while maintaining an accurate value of the generated dew point. Experiments were carried out within the scope of improving our existing primary generator in the above-ambient dew-point range up to +70°C. These results show the generated dew point is within the measurement uncertainty for any dew-point value of the inlet gas. Thus, the preconditioning subsystem can be avoided, which leads to a simplified generator design.

Honey: Single food stuff comprises many drugs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shahid Ullah Khan

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Honey is a natural food item produced by honey bees. Ancient civilizations considered honey as a God gifted prestigious product. Therefore, a huge literature is available regarding honey importance in almost all religions. Physically, honey is a viscous and jelly material having no specific color. Chemically, honey is a complex blend of many organic and inorganic compounds such as sugars, proteins, organic acids, pigments, minerals, and many other elements. Honey use as a therapeutic agent is as old as human civilization itself. Prior to the appearance of present day drugs, honey was conventionally used for treating many diseases. At this instant, the modern research has proven the medicinal importance of honey. It has broad spectrum anti-biotic, anti-viral and anti-fungal activities. Honey prevents and kills microbes through different mechanism such as elevated pH and enzyme activities. Till now, no synthetic compound that works as anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal drugs has been reported in honey yet it works against bacteria, viruses and fungi while no anti-protozoal activity has been reported. Potent anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancerous activities of honey have been reported. Honey is not only significant as anti-inflammatory drug that relieve inflammation but also protect liver by degenerative effects of synthetic anti-inflammatory drugs. This article reviews physico-chemical properties, traditional use of honey as medicine and mechanism of action of honey in the light of modern scientific medicinal knowledge.

Dew water effects on leaf water using a stable isotope approach

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, K.; Lee, X.

2009-12-01

The presence of dew is a common meteorological phenomenon in field conditions and takes into account for significant portion of hydrologic processes in terrestrial ecosystems. The isotope composition of leaf water plays an important role in the isotopic water and carbon fluxes between terrestrial plants and the atmosphere. However, the consequence of dew formation in the plant-atmosphere relations has been ignored in many studies. The objective of this study is to improve our understanding of environmental and biological controls on the leaf water in equilibrium with dew water through laboratory experiments. Five species of plants (soybean, corn, sorghum, wheat, cotton) were grown hydroponically with water of a known isotopic content in a greenhouse. On the day of the experiment, they were first moved to ambient environment in full sunlight for at least 6 hr and then into a dark container inside the lab for up to 48 hr in which water vapor isotope ratios, temperature, and humidity were controlled. This arrangement created a step change in the forcing on the plant isotopic exchange. Leaves were sampled prior to the transfer to the dark container and 6 more times every 4 - 12 hr over the experiment. Humidity inside the container was saturated to mimic dew events in field conditions. Water from the leaf samples was extracted by a vacuum line and was analyzed for both δD and δ18O. The dataset will allow us to evaluate leaf water isotopic theories by exploring the transitions of the isotopic ratio of leaf water in response to the step change. Specifically, we are interested in whether the stomatal opening is an effective pathway for gaseous exchange in total darkness and how the transitional behaviors of the isotopic ratio of leaf water differ between the C3 and C4 photosynthesis pathways.

Antimicrobial activity and rutin identification of honey produced by the stingless bee Melipona compressipes manaosensis and commercial honey.

Science.gov (United States)

Pimentel, Renah Boanerges de Queiroz; da Costa, Cristovão Alves; Albuquerque, Patrícia Melchionna; Junior, Sergio Duvoisin

2013-07-01

Honey has been identified as a potential alternative to the widespread use of antibiotics, which are of significant concern considering the emergence of resistant bacteria. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of honey samples produced by a stingless bee species and by Apis sp. against pathogenic bacteria, as well as to identify the presence of phenolic compounds. Honey samples from the stingless bee M. compressipes manaosensis were collected twice, during the dry and rainy seasons. Three commercial honey samples from Apis sp. were also included in this study. Two different assays were performed to evaluate the antibacterial potential of the honey samples: agar-well diffusion and broth macrodilution. Liquid-liquid extraction was used to assess phenolic compounds from honey. HPLC analysis was performed in order to identify rutin and apigenin on honey samples. Chromatograms were recorded at 340 and 290 nm. Two honey samples were identified as having the highest antimicrobial activity using the agar diffusion method. Honey produced by Melipona compressipes manaosensis inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli (0157: H7), Proteus vulgaris, Shigella sonnei and Klebsiella sp. A sample of honey produced by Apis sp. also inhibited the growth of Salmonella paratyphi. The macrodilution technique presented greater sensitivity for the antibacterial testing, since all honey samples showed activity. Flavonoid rutin was identified in the honey sample produced by the stingless bee. Honey samples tested in this work showed antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The results reported herein highlight the potential of using honey to control bacterial growth.

Determination of dew point in natural gas; Determinacion del punto de rocio en el gas natural

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Avila Calzada, S.; Marco Martinez, G.; Montenegro Soto, S. [ENAGAS (Spain)

1995-07-01

The natural gas can contain water and heavy hydrocarbons very dangerous for the equipments and the pipes. This is the reason of the importance of dew point. The value of this dew point is fixed in the supply contract conditions. This article studies the different evaluation methods, pointing out the advantages and disadvantages (Author)

Temporal trends in United States dew point temperatures

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Peter J.

2000-07-01

In this study, hourly data for the 1951-1990 period for 178 stations in the coterminous United States were used to establish temporal trends in dew point temperature. Although the data had been quality controlled previously (Robinson, 1998. Monthly variations of dew point temperatures in the coterminous United States. International Journal of Climatology 18: 1539-1556), comparisons of values between nearby stations suggested that instrumental changes, combined with locational changes, may have modified the results by as much as 1°C during the 40-year period. Nevertheless, seasonally averaged results indicated an increase over much of the area, of slightly over 1°C/100 years in spring and autumn, slightly less than this in summer. Winter displayed a drying of over 1°C/100 years. When only the 1961-1990 period was considered, the patterns were similar and trends increased by approximately 1-2°C/100 years, except in autumn, which displayed a slight drying. Analyses for specific stations indicated periods of both increasing and decreasing Td, the change between them varying with observation hour. No single change point was common over a wide area, although January commonly indicated maximum values early in the period in the east and west, and much later in the north-central portion. Rates of increase were generally higher in daytime than at night, especially in summer. Investigation of the inter-decadal differences in dew point, as a function of wind conditions, indicated that changes during calm conditions were commonly similar in magnitude to that of the overall average changes, suggesting an important role for the local hydrologic cycle in driving changes. Other inter-decadal changes could be attributed to the changes in the frequency and moisture content of invading air-streams. This was particularly clear for the changes in north-south flow in the interior.

Role of honey in modern medicine

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Sultan Ayoub Meo

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Use of honey has a very long history. Honey has been used since ancient time due to its nutritional and therapeutic values. There had been varied ways of consumption honey including its use as a sweetener and flavoring agent. Honey is produced all over the world. The most important nutriment of honey is carbohydrates present in the form of monosaccharides, fructose and glucose. Honey plays an important role as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial agent and augments the adherence of skin grafts and wound healing process. The role of honey has been acknowledged in the scientific literature and there is convincing evidence in support of its antioxidant and antibacterial nature, cough prevention, fertility and wound healing properties. However, its use has been controversially discussed and has not been well accepted in the modern medicine. The aim of this review was explore and highlight the role of honey in modern medicine.

Remotely-sensed, nocturnal, dew point correlates with malaria transmission in Southern Province, Zambia: a time-series study.

Science.gov (United States)

Nygren, David; Stoyanov, Cristina; Lewold, Clemens; Månsson, Fredrik; Miller, John; Kamanga, Aniset; Shiff, Clive J

2014-06-13

Plasmodium falciparum transmission has decreased significantly in Zambia in the last decade. The malaria transmission is influenced by environmental variables. Incorporation of environmental variables in models of malaria transmission likely improves model fit and predicts probable trends in malaria disease. This work is based on the hypothesis that remotely-sensed environmental factors, including nocturnal dew point, are associated with malaria transmission and sustain foci of transmission during the low transmission season in the Southern Province of Zambia. Thirty-eight rural health centres in Southern Province, Zambia were divided into three zones based on transmission patterns. Correlations between weekly malaria cases and remotely-sensed nocturnal dew point, nocturnal land surface temperature as well as vegetation indices and rainfall were evaluated in time-series analyses from 2012 week 19 to 2013 week 36. Zonal as well as clinic-based, multivariate, autoregressive, integrated, moving average (ARIMAX) models implementing environmental variables were developed to model transmission in 2011 week 19 to 2012 week 18 and forecast transmission in 2013 week 37 to week 41. During the dry, low transmission season significantly higher vegetation indices, nocturnal land surface temperature and nocturnal dew point were associated with the areas of higher transmission. Environmental variables improved ARIMAX models. Dew point and normalized differentiated vegetation index were significant predictors and improved all zonal transmission models. In the high-transmission zone, this was also seen for land surface temperature. Clinic models were improved by adding dew point and land surface temperature as well as normalized differentiated vegetation index. The mean average error of prediction for ARIMAX models ranged from 0.7 to 33.5%. Forecasts of malaria incidence were valid for three out of five rural health centres; however, with poor results at the zonal level. In this

Investigation of potential factors affecting the measurement of dew point temperature in oil-soaked transformers

Science.gov (United States)

Kraus, Adam H.

Moisture within a transformer's insulation system has been proven to degrade its dielectric strength. When installing a transformer in situ, one method used to calculate the moisture content of the transformer insulation is to measure the dew point temperature of the internal gas volume of the transformer tank. There are two instruments commercially available that are designed for dew point temperature measurement: the Alnor Model 7000 Dewpointer and the Vaisala DRYCAPRTM Hand-Held Dewpoint Meter DM70. Although these instruments perform an identical task, the design technology behind each instrument is vastly different. When the Alnor Dewpointer and Vaisala DM70 instruments are used to measure the dew point of the internal gas volume simultaneously from a pressurized transformer, their differences in dew point measurement have been observed to vary as much as 30 °F. There is minimal scientific research available that focuses on the process of measuring dew point of a gas inside a pressurized transformer, let alone this observed phenomenon. The primary objective of this work was to determine what effect certain factors potentially have on dew point measurements of a transformer's internal gas volume, in hopes of understanding the root cause of this phenomenon. Three factors that were studied include (1) human error, (2) the use of calibrated and out-of-calibration instruments, and (3) the presence of oil vapor gases in the dry air sample, and their subsequent effects on the Q-value of the sampled gas. After completing this portion of testing, none of the selected variables proved to be a direct cause of the observed discrepancies between the two instruments. The secondary objective was to validate the accuracy of each instrument as compared to its respective published range by testing against a known dew point temperature produced by a humidity generator. In a select operating range of -22 °F to -4 °F, both instruments were found to be accurate and within their

A novel method of measuring the concentration of anaesthetic vapours using a dew-point hygrometer.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkes, A R; Mapleson, W W; Mecklenburgh, J S

1994-02-01

The Antoine equation relates the saturated vapour pressure of a volatile substance, such as an anaesthetic agent, to the temperature. The measurement of the 'dew-point' of a dry gas mixture containing a volatile anaesthetic agent by a dew-point hygrometer permits the determination of the partial pressure of the anaesthetic agent. The accuracy of this technique is limited only by the accuracy of the Antoine coefficients and of the temperature measurement. Comparing measurements by the dew-point method with measurements by refractometry showed systematic discrepancies up to 0.2% and random discrepancies with SDS up to 0.07% concentration in the 1% to 5% range for three volatile anaesthetics. The systematic discrepancies may be due to errors in available data for the vapour pressures and/or the refractive indices of the anaesthetics.

The influence of dew point during annealing on the power loss of electrical steel sheets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Broddefalk, Arvid [Development and Market Research, Cogent Power Ltd., P.O. Box 201, SE-735 23 Surahammar (Sweden)], E-mail: arvid.broddefalk@sura.se; Jenkins, Keith [Development and Market Research, Cogent Power Ltd., P.O. Box 201, SE-735 23 Surahammar (Sweden); Silk, Nick [Corus RD and T, Swinden Technology Centre, Moorgate Rotherham S60 3AR (United Kingdom); Lindenmo, Magnus [Development and Market Research, Cogent Power Ltd., P.O. Box 201, SE-735 23 Surahammar (Sweden)

2008-10-15

Decarburization is a necessary part of the processing of electrical steels if their carbon content is above a certain level. The process is usually carried out in a wet hydrogen-nitrogen atmosphere. Having a high dew point has a negative influence on the power loss, though. This is due to oxidation of the steel, which hinders domain wall motion near the surface. In this study, an increase of the power loss was only observed at a fairly high dew point (>20 deg. C). It was also only at these high dew points where a subsurface oxide layer was observed. The surfaces of samples with and without this layer were etched in steps. The magnetic properties of the etched samples corresponded well with the expected behavior based on GDOES profiles of the samples.

The influence of dew point during annealing on the power loss of electrical steel sheets

Science.gov (United States)

Broddefalk, Arvid; Jenkins, Keith; Silk, Nick; Lindenmo, Magnus

Decarburization is a necessary part of the processing of electrical steels if their carbon content is above a certain level. The process is usually carried out in a wet hydrogen-nitrogen atmosphere. Having a high dew point has a negative influence on the power loss, though. This is due to oxidation of the steel, which hinders domain wall motion near the surface. In this study, an increase of the power loss was only observed at a fairly high dew point (>20 °C). It was also only at these high dew points where a subsurface oxide layer was observed. The surfaces of samples with and without this layer were etched in steps. The magnetic properties of the etched samples corresponded well with the expected behavior based on GDOES profiles of the samples.

Applicability of a desiccant dew-point cooling system independent of external water sources

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bellemo, Lorenzo; Elmegaard, Brian; Kærn, Martin Ryhl

2015-01-01

The applicability of a technical solution for making desiccant cooling systems independent of external water sources is investigated. Water is produced by condensing the desorbed water vapour in a closed regeneration circuit. Desorbed water recovery is applied to a desiccant dew-point cooling...... system, which includes a desiccant wheel and a dew point cooler. The system is simulated during the summer period in the Mediterranean climate of Rome and it results completely independent of external water sources. The seasonal thermal COP drops 8% in comparison to the open regeneration circuit solution...

Honey, Hadza, hunter-gatherers, and human evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Marlowe, Frank W; Berbesque, J Colette; Wood, Brian; Crittenden, Alyssa; Porter, Claire; Mabulla, Audax

2014-06-01

Honey is the most energy dense food in nature. It is therefore not surprising that, where it exists, honey is an important food for almost all hunter-gatherers. Here we describe and analyze widespread honey collecting among foragers and show that where it is absent, in arctic and subarctic habitats, honey bees are also rare to absent. Second, we focus on one hunter-gatherer society, the Hadza of Tanzania. Hadza men and women both rank honey as their favorite food. Hadza acquire seven types of honey. Hadza women usually acquire honey that is close to the ground while men often climb tall baobab trees to raid the largest bee hives with stinging bees. Honey accounts for a substantial proportion of the kilocalories in the Hadza diet, especially that of Hadza men. Cross-cultural forager data reveal that in most hunter-gatherers, men acquire more honey than women but often, as with the Hadza, women do acquire some. Virtually all warm-climate foragers consume honey. Our closest living relatives, the great apes, take honey when they can. We suggest that honey has been part of the diet of our ancestors dating back to at least the earliest hominins. The earliest hominins, however, would have surely been less capable of acquiring as much honey as more recent, fully modern human hunter-gatherers. We discuss reasons for thinking our early ancestors would have acquired less honey than foragers ethnographically described, yet still significantly more than our great ape relatives. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Calibration Facility for Dew Point in Air up to 1 MPa

Science.gov (United States)

Carroll, P. A.; Bell, S. A.; Stevens, M.

2015-12-01

The provision of primary dew-point standards for humidified air and nitrogen at atmospheric pressure is well established, and measurement traceability to these standards provides confidence in a vast number of air humidity measurements. However, hygrometers are used industrially at a wide range of pressures. Both the performance of hygrometers and the properties of humid gases are known to vary with gas pressure. The pressure-dependence of gas non-ideality for air-water mixtures (water-vapor enhancement factor) is well enough known at moderate pressures, but there remains a need to characterize hygrometers at the pressure of use. To address this, a humidity calibration capability of wider scope is under development at the UK National Physical Laboratory (NPL). As an initial stage in the development of this capability, a humidity standard generating air or nitrogen in the dew-point range from -60° C to +10° C, at pressures up to 1 MPa (10 bar) has been validated for the calibration of hygrometers. The expanded uncertainty of the dew-point generator in this range with a coverage factor k= 2 is ± 0.07° C.

The Influence of Air Temperature on the Dew Point Temperature in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ADOWIE PERE

done to determine the influence and effect of temperature on other climatic environmental ... Key words: Air Temperature, Dew point temperature, Weather, Climate, Influence. Weather ... humidity, clouds and atmospheric pressure. Its.

Carbonyl Compounds in Manuka Honey:

OpenAIRE

Rückriemen, Jana

2018-01-01

New Zealand is the world’s third-largest honey exporter by value behind China and Argentina and honey accounts for up to 80 % of New Zealand’s exports. However, it is only the 16th biggest global supplier by volume. Manuka honey from New Zealand is sold for premium prices and merchandised for its health benefits. Because of its exceptional antibacterial effect, there is a strong market demand and the price for a kilogram of manuka honey has tripled in recent years (Ministry for Primary Indust...

Consistency of the national realization of dew-point temperature using NIS standard humidity generators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

El-Galil Doaa Abd

2017-01-01

Full Text Available A comparison of two standard humidity generators (two-temperature (2-T and one-temperature (1-T generators that are developed by the National Institute for Standards (NIS has been performed using a transfer standard chilled-mirror hygrometer and measurement procedures to realize dew-point temperature Td in the range from −50 °C to 0 °C. The main objective of this comparison was to compare the realizations of dew-point temperature and to establish the level of consistency between the two generators. For a level of consistency between two measurements, it is expressed by the difference between the measured values, m1 − m2, and the expanded pair uncertainty of this difference Up [1]. The comparison measurements revealed dew-point temperature differences of 0.02 °C and 0.07 °C with expanded pair uncertainties of ±0.09 °C and ±0.15 °C.

Diet-dependent gene expression in honey bees: honey vs. sucrose or high fructose corn syrup.

Science.gov (United States)

Wheeler, Marsha M; Robinson, Gene E

2014-07-17

Severe declines in honey bee populations have made it imperative to understand key factors impacting honey bee health. Of major concern is nutrition, as malnutrition in honey bees is associated with immune system impairment and increased pesticide susceptibility. Beekeepers often feed high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) or sucrose after harvesting honey or during periods of nectar dearth. We report that, relative to honey, chronic feeding of either of these two alternative carbohydrate sources elicited hundreds of differences in gene expression in the fat body, a peripheral nutrient-sensing tissue analogous to vertebrate liver and adipose tissues. These expression differences included genes involved in protein metabolism and oxidation-reduction, including some involved in tyrosine and phenylalanine metabolism. Differences between HFCS and sucrose diets were much more subtle and included a few genes involved in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. Our results suggest that bees receive nutritional components from honey that are not provided by alternative food sources widely used in apiculture.

"More than Honey": Investigation on Volatiles from Monovarietal Honeys Using New Analytical and Sensory Approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Siegmund, Barbara; Urdl, Katharina; Jurek, Andrea; Leitner, Erich

2018-03-14

Eight monovarietal honeys from dandelion, fir tree, linden tree, chestnut tree, robinia, orange, lavender, and rape were investigated with respect to their volatile compounds and sensory properties. Analysis of the volatile compounds was performed by gas chromatographic techniques (one-dimensional GC-MS as well as comprehensive GC×GC-MS). For sensory evaluation Napping in combination with ultraflash profiling was applied using sensory experts. For dandelion honey, 34 volatile compounds are described for the first time to be present in dandelion honey. PCA and cluster analysis of the volatile compounds, respectively, show high correlation with the PCA obtained from sensory evaluation. Lavender and linden honey showed sensory characteristics that were not expected from these honey types. Analysis of the volatile compounds resulted in the identification of odor-active compounds that are very likely derived from sources other than the respective honeyflow. Contamination with essential oils used in apiculture is very likely to be the reason for the occurrence of these compounds in the investigated honeys.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE BOTANIC ORIGIN OF HONEY PLANTS ON THE QUALITY OF HONEY

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Z. Tucak

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Numerous parameters affect the quality of honey from different beehive types (Albert – Žindaršić AŽ, Langstroth – Roott LR i Dadant – Blatt DB, i.e. the material of beehives are made of, the origin of queen bees (natural and selected, etc. Our research focuses on the influence of the botanic origin of honey plants (Tilia sp. L. (lime, Amorpha fructirosa L. (desert false indigo, Helianthus annuus L. (sunflower, Brassica napus subsp. olifera DC. (oil beet and Robina pseudoacacia L. (acacia on the quality of honey. The physical and chemical analyses of honey (N=133 (water %, water insoluble compounds %, acidity level, mmol of acid per kg, electrical conductivity, mS/cm, reducing sugar %, sucrose %, HMF, mg/kg, and diastasic number were conducted by Harmonised methods of the European Honey. The pollen analysis was conducted by Harmonised methods of melissopalynology. The pollen analysis indicates that the botanic origin has had a statistically significant influence (P<0.001 on the quality of all investigated characteristics of honey, except on the share of the non–dissolving substances (P=0.088. The research was conducted in the Vukovar-Srijem County, the Republic of Croatia. All bees used in this research belong to the Carniolan honey bee (Apis mellifera carnica, the European bee species.

Honey and Apoptosis in Human Gastric Mucosa

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Alireza Ostadrahimi

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Background: Gastric cancer is the fourth most common malignancy in the world. Honey is acomplex mixture of special biological active constituents. Honey possesses antioxidant and antitumorproperties. Nutritional studies have indicated that consumption of honey modulates therisk of developing gastric cancer. On the other hand, apoptosis has been reported to play a decisiverole in precancerous changes. Our chief study was conducted to assess the relationship betweenconsumption of honey and apoptosis in human gastric mucosa.Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 98 subjects over 18 years old, referred totwo hospitals in Tabriz, Iran. Subjects were undergone an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, 62subjects were finally enrolled. Honey consumption was assessed by a Food Frequency Questionnaire(FFQ and apoptosis was detected by TUNEL technique. We tested polynomial curve tofind the best fit between honey consumption and apoptosis.Results: A positive relation between honey consumption and apoptosis was found (P=0.024.Our results indicated that the final and the best fit curve was: apoptosis = 1.714+1.648(honeyamount - 0.533(honey amount2 +1.833×10-5(honey amount7.Conclusion: Honey consumption had positive effects on gastric cancer by inducing apoptosis ingastric mucosa.

Development of a new densimeter for the combined investigation of dew-point densities and sorption phenomena of fluid mixtures

Science.gov (United States)

Moritz, Katharina; Kleinrahm, Reiner; McLinden, Mark O.; Richter, Markus

2017-12-01

For the determination of dew-point densities and pressures of fluid mixtures, a new densimeter has been developed. The new apparatus is based on the well-established two-sinker density measurement principle with the additional capability of quantifying sorption effects. In the vicinity of the dew line, such effects cause a change in composition of the gas mixture under study, which can significantly distort accurate density measurements. The new experimental technique enables the accurate measurement of dew-point densities and pressures and the quantification of sorption effects at the same time.

Use of dew-point hygrometry, direct sweat collection, and measurement of body water losses to determine sweating rates in exercising horses.

Science.gov (United States)

Kingston, J K; Geor, R J; McCutcheon, L J

1997-02-01

To compare dew-point hygrometry, direct sweat collection, and measurement of body water loss as methods for determination of sweating rate (SR) in exercising horses. 6 exercise-trained Thoroughbreds. SR was measured in 6 horses exercising at 40% of the speed that elicited maximum oxygen consumption for 45 km, with a 15-minute rest at the end of each 15-km phase. Each horse completed 2 exercise trials. Dew-point hygrometry, as a method of local SR determination, was validated in vitro by measurement of rate of evaporative water loss. During exercise, local SR was determined every 10 minutes by the following 2 methods: (1) dew-point hygrometry on the neck and lateral area of the thorax, and (2) on the basis of the volume of sweat collected from a sealed plastic pouch attached to the lateral area of the thorax. Mean whole body SR was calculated from total body water loss incurred during exercise. Evaporation rate measured by use of dew-point hygrometry was significantly correlated (r2 = 0.92) with the actual rate of evaporative water loss. There was a similar pattern of change in SR measured by dew-point hygrometry on the neck and lateral area of the thorax during exercise, with a significantly higher SR on the neck. The SR measured on the thorax by direct sweat collection and by dew-point hygrometry were of similar magnitude. Mean whole body SR calculated from total body water loss was not significantly different from mean whole body SR estimated from direct sweat collection or dew-point hygrometry measurements on the thorax. Dew-point hygrometry and direct sweat collection are useful methods for determination of local SR in horses during prolonged, steady-state exercise in moderate ambient conditions. Both methods of local SR determination provide an accurate estimated of whole body SR.

Validation of a dew-point generator for pressures up to 6 MPa using nitrogen and air

Science.gov (United States)

Bosma, R.; Mutter, D.; Peruzzi, A.

2012-08-01

A new primary humidity standard was developed at VSL that, in addition to ordinary operation with air and nitrogen at atmospheric pressure, can be operated with other carrier gases such as natural gas at pressures up to 6 MPa and SF6 at pressures up to 1 MPa. The temperature range of the standard is from -80 °C to +20 °C. In this paper, we report the validation of the new primary dew-point generator in the temperature range -41 °C to +5 °C and the pressure range 0.1 MPa to 6 MPa using nitrogen and air. For the validation the flow through the dew-point generator was varied up to 10 l min-1 (at 23 °C and 1013 hPa) and the dew point of the gas entering the generator was varied up to 15 °C above the dew point exiting the generator. The validation results showed that the new generator, over the tested temperature and pressure range, can be used with a standard uncertainty of 0.02 °C frost/dew point. The measurements used for the validation at -41 °C and -20 °C with nitrogen and at +5 °C with air were also used to calculate the enhancement factor at pressures up to 6 MPa. For +5 °C the differences between the measured and literature values were compatible with the respective uncertainties. For -41 °C and -20 °C they were compatible only up to 3 MPa. At 6 MPa a discrepancy was observed.

Segmentation of Honey Buyers’ Behaviour by Conjoint Analysis

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Šánová P.

2017-03-01

Full Text Available A marketing analysis of Czech consumers’ behaviour when buying honey is discussed from the viewpoint of price, origin, honey type, crystallized sugar, and organic quality aspect. The surveyed target groups of honey consumers, who are examined also with respect to their education level, are from Prague and the Central Bohemian Region. The original premise of this research was the hypothesis that, when buying honey, customers focus primarily on its price and type. This hypothesis was verified by conjoint analysis. The results have shown that consumers are interested primarily in the price and origin of honey. An important parameter for buying honey is its (noncrystallization. Although it does not affect objective quality parameters of honey, it affects the consumers’ subjective perception of honey quality during purchase. Two clusters of honey consumers emerged through cluster analysis: the first cluster focussing on the origin, type, and price/sugar crystallization of honey, and the second interested in the origin, price, and quality of organic honey.

Dew formation on the surface of biological soil crusts in central European sand ecosystems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Fischer

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Dew formation was investigated in three developmental stages of biological soil crusts (BSC, which were collected along a catena of an inland dune and in the initial substrate. The Penman equation, which was developed for saturated surfaces, was modified for unsaturated surfaces and used for prediction of dewfall rates. The levels of surface saturation required for this approach were predicted using the water retention functions and the thicknesses of the BSCs. During a first field campaign (2–3 August 2011, dewfall increased from 0.042 kg m⁻² for the initial sandy substrate to 0.058, 0.143 and 0.178 kg m⁻² for crusts 1 to 3, respectively. During a second field campaign (17–18 August 2011, where dew formation was recorded in 1.5 to 2.75-h intervals after installation at 21:30 CEST, dewfall increased from 0.011 kg m⁻² for the initial sandy substrate to 0.013, 0.028 and 0.055 kg m⁻² for crusts 1 to 3, respectively. Dewfall rates remained on low levels for the substrate and for crust 1, and decreased overnight for crusts 2 and 3 (with crust 3 > crust 2 > crust 1 throughout the campaign. Dew formation was well reflected by the model response. The suggested mechanism of dew formation involves a delay in water saturation in near-surface soil pores and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS where the crusts were thicker and where the water capacity was high, resulting in elevated vapor flux towards the surface. The results also indicate that the amount of dewfall was too low to saturate the BSCs and to observe water flow into deeper soil. Analysis of the soil water retention curves revealed that, despite the sandy mineral matrix, moist crusts clogged by swollen EPS pores exhibited a clay-like behavior. It is hypothesized that BSCs gain double benefit from suppressing their competitors by runoff generation and from improving their water supply by dew collection. Despite higher amounts of dew, the

Honey bee surveillance: a tool for understanding and improving honey bee health.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kathleen; Steinhauer, Nathalie; Travis, Dominic A; Meixner, Marina D; Deen, John; vanEngelsdorp, Dennis

2015-08-01

Honey bee surveillance systems are increasingly used to characterize honey bee health and disease burdens of bees in different regions and/or over time. In addition to quantifying disease prevalence, surveillance systems can identify risk factors associated with colony morbidity and mortality. Surveillance systems are often observational, and prove particularly useful when searching for risk factors in real world complex systems. We review recent examples of surveillance systems with particular emphasis on how these efforts have helped increase our understanding of honey bee health. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Physicochemical properties of honey from Marche, Central Italy: classification of unifloral and multifloral honeys by multivariate analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Truzzi, Cristina; Illuminati, Silvia; Annibaldia, Anna; Finale, Carolina; Rossetti, Monica; Scarponi, Giuseppe

2014-11-01

The purpose of this study was the physicochemical characterization and classification of Italian honey from Marche Region with a chemometric approach. A total of 135 honeys of different botanical origins [acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia L.), chestnut (Castanea sativa), coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.), lime (Tilia spp.), sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), Metcalfa honeydew and multifloral honey] were considered. The average results of electrical conductivity (0.14-1.45 mS cm(-1)), pH (3.89-5.42), free acidity (10.9-39.0 meq(NaOH) kg(-1)), lactones (2.4-4.5 meq(NaOH) kg(-1)), total acidity (14.5-40.9 meq(NaOH) kg(-1)), proline (229-665 mg kg(-1)) and 5-(hydroxy-methyl)-2-furaldehyde (0.6-3.9 mg kg(-1)) content show wide variability among the analysed honey types, with statistically significant differences between the different honey types. Pattern recognition methods such as principal component analysis and discriminant analysis were performed in order to find a relationship between variables and types of honey and to classify honey on the basis of its physicochemical properties. The variables of electrical conductivity, acidity (free, lactones), pH and proline content exhibited higher discriminant power and provided enough information for the classification and distinction of unifloral honey types, but not for the classification of multifloral honey (100% and 85% of samples correctly classified, respectively).

Miniaturised Optical Fibre Sensor for Dew Detection Inside Organ Pipes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesco Baldini

2008-01-01

Full Text Available A new optical sensor for the continuous monitoring of the dew formation inside organ pipes was designed. This aspect is particularly critical for the conservation of organs in unheated churches since the dew formation or the condensation on the pipe surfaces can contribute to many kinds of physical and chemical disruptive mechanisms. The working principle is based on the change in the reflectivity which is observed on the surface of the fibre tip, when a water layer is formed on its distal end. Intensity changes of the order of 35% were measured, following the formation of the water layer on the distal end of a 400/430 μm optical fibre. Long-term tests carried out placing the fibre tip inside the base of an in-house-made metallic foot of an organ pipe located in an external environment revealed the consistency of the proposed system.

Development of a neural fuzzy system for advanced prediction of dew point pressure in gas condensate reservoirs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nowroozi, Saeed; Hashemipour, Hasan; Schaffie, Mahin [Department of Chemical Engineering, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman (Iran); ERC, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman (Iran); Ranjbar, Mohammad [Department of Mining Engineering, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman (Iran); ERC, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman (Iran)

2009-03-15

Dew point pressure is one of the most critical quantities for characterizing a gas condensate reservoir. So, accurate determination of this property has been the main challenge in reservoir development and management. The experimental determination of dew point pressure in PVT cell is often difficult especially in case of lean retrograde gas condensate. Empirical correlations and some equations of state can be used to calculate reservoir fluid properties. Empirical correlations do not have ability to reliable duplicate the temperature behavior of constant composition fluids. Equations of state have convergence problem and need to be tuned against some experimental data. Complexity, non-linearity and vagueness are some reservoir parameter characteristic which can be propagated simply by intelligent system. With the advantage of fuzzy sets in knowledge representation and the high capacity of neural nets (NNs) in learning knowledge expressed in data, in this paper a neural fuzzy system(NFS) is proposed to predict dew point pressure of gas condensate reservoir. The model was developed using 110 measurements of dew point pressure. The performance of the model is compared against performance of some of the most accurate and general correlations for dew point pressure calculation. From the results of this study, it can be pointed out that this novel method is more accurate and reliable with the mean square error of 0.058%, 0.074% and 0.044% for training, validation and test processes, respectively. (author)

Using ANFIS for selection of more relevant parameters to predict dew point temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohammadi, Kasra; Shamshirband, Shahaboddin; Petković, Dalibor; Yee, Por Lip; Mansor, Zulkefli

2016-01-01

Highlights: • ANFIS is used to select the most relevant variables for dew point temperature prediction. • Two cities from the central and south central parts of Iran are selected as case studies. • Influence of 5 parameters on dew point temperature is evaluated. • Appropriate selection of input variables has a notable effect on prediction. • Considering the most relevant combination of 2 parameters would be more suitable. - Abstract: In this research work, for the first time, the adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is employed to propose an approach for identifying the most significant parameters for prediction of daily dew point temperature (T_d_e_w). The ANFIS process for variable selection is implemented, which includes a number of ways to recognize the parameters offering favorable predictions. According to the physical factors influencing the dew formation, 8 variables of daily minimum, maximum and average air temperatures (T_m_i_n, T_m_a_x and T_a_v_g), relative humidity (R_h), atmospheric pressure (P), water vapor pressure (V_P), sunshine hour (n) and horizontal global solar radiation (H) are considered to investigate their effects on T_d_e_w. The used data include 7 years daily measured data of two Iranian cities located in the central and south central parts of the country. The results indicate that despite climate difference between the considered case studies, for both stations, V_P is the most influential variable while R_h is the least relevant element. Furthermore, the combination of T_m_i_n and V_P is recognized as the most influential set to predict T_d_e_w. The conducted examinations show that there is a remarkable difference between the errors achieved for most and less relevant input parameters, which highlights the importance of appropriate selection of input parameters. The use of more than two inputs may not be advisable and appropriate; thus, considering the most relevant combination of 2 parameters would be more suitable

A Look into the Cell: Honey Storage in Honey Bees, Apis mellifera.

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Michael Eyer

Full Text Available Honey bees, Apis species, obtain carbohydrates from nectar and honeydew. These resources are ripened into honey in wax cells that are capped for long-term storage. These stores are used to overcome dearth periods when foraging is not possible. Despite the economic and ecological importance of honey, little is known about the processes of its production by workers. Here, we monitored the usage of storage cells and the ripening process of honey in free-flying A. mellifera colonies. We provided the colonies with solutions of different sugar concentrations to reflect the natural influx of nectar with varying quality. Since the amount of carbohydrates in a solution affects its density, we used computer tomography to measure the sugar concentration of cell content over time. The data show the occurrence of two cohorts of cells with different provisioning and ripening dynamics. The relocation of the content of many cells before final storage was part of the ripening process, because sugar concentration of the content removed was lower than that of content deposited. The results confirm the mixing of solutions of different concentrations in cells and show that honey is an inhomogeneous matrix. The last stage of ripening occurred when cell capping had already started, indicating a race against water absorption. The storage and ripening processes as well as resource use were context dependent because their dynamics changed with sugar concentration of the food. Our results support hypotheses regarding honey production proposed in earlier studies and provide new insights into the mechanisms involved.

A Look into the Cell: Honey Storage in Honey Bees, Apis mellifera.

Science.gov (United States)

Eyer, Michael; Neumann, Peter; Dietemann, Vincent

2016-01-01

Honey bees, Apis species, obtain carbohydrates from nectar and honeydew. These resources are ripened into honey in wax cells that are capped for long-term storage. These stores are used to overcome dearth periods when foraging is not possible. Despite the economic and ecological importance of honey, little is known about the processes of its production by workers. Here, we monitored the usage of storage cells and the ripening process of honey in free-flying A. mellifera colonies. We provided the colonies with solutions of different sugar concentrations to reflect the natural influx of nectar with varying quality. Since the amount of carbohydrates in a solution affects its density, we used computer tomography to measure the sugar concentration of cell content over time. The data show the occurrence of two cohorts of cells with different provisioning and ripening dynamics. The relocation of the content of many cells before final storage was part of the ripening process, because sugar concentration of the content removed was lower than that of content deposited. The results confirm the mixing of solutions of different concentrations in cells and show that honey is an inhomogeneous matrix. The last stage of ripening occurred when cell capping had already started, indicating a race against water absorption. The storage and ripening processes as well as resource use were context dependent because their dynamics changed with sugar concentration of the food. Our results support hypotheses regarding honey production proposed in earlier studies and provide new insights into the mechanisms involved.

Transport-induced shifts in condensate dew-point and composition in multicomponent systems with chemical reaction

Science.gov (United States)

Rosner, D. E.; Nagarajan, R.

1985-01-01

Partial heterogeneous condensation phenomena in multicomponent reacting systems are analyzed taking into consideration the chemical element transport phenomena. It is demonstrated that the dew-point surface temperature in chemically reactive systems is not a purely thermodynamic quantity, but is influenced by the multicomponent diffusion and Soret-mass diffusion phenomena. Several distinct dew-points are shown to exist in such systems and, as a result of transport constraints, the 'sharp' locus between two chemically distinct condensates is systematically moved to a difference mainstream composition.

New Primary Dew-Point Generators at HMI/FSB-LPM in the Range from -70 °C to +60 °C

Science.gov (United States)

Zvizdic, Davor; Heinonen, Martti; Sestan, Danijel

2012-09-01

To extend the dew-point range and to improve the uncertainties of the humidity scale realization at HMI/FSB-LPM, new primary low- and high-range dew-point generators were developed and implemented in cooperation with MIKES, in 2009 through EUROMET Project No. 912. The low-range saturator is designed for primary realization of the dew-point temperature scale from -70 °C to + 5 °C, while the high-range saturator covers the range from 1 °C to 60 °C. The system is designed as a single-pressure, single-pass dew-point generator. MIKES designed and constructed both the saturators to be implemented in dew-point calibration systems at LPM. The LPM took care of purchasing and adapting liquid baths, of implementing the temperature and pressure measurement equipment appropriate for use in the systems, and development of gas preparation and flow control systems as well as of the computer-based automated data acquisition. The principle and the design of the generator are described in detail and schematically depicted. The tests were performed at MIKES to investigate how close both the saturators are to an ideal saturator. Results of the tests show that both the saturators are efficient enough for a primary realization of the dew-point temperature scale from -70 °C to + 60 °C, in the specified flow-rate ranges. The estimated standard uncertainties due to the non-ideal saturation efficiency are between 0.02 °C and 0.05 °C.

Hourly predictive Levenberg-Marquardt ANN and multi linear regression models for predicting of dew point temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Zounemat-Kermani, Mohammad

2012-08-01

In this study, the ability of two models of multi linear regression (MLR) and Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) feed-forward neural network was examined to estimate the hourly dew point temperature. Dew point temperature is the temperature at which water vapor in the air condenses into liquid. This temperature can be useful in estimating meteorological variables such as fog, rain, snow, dew, and evapotranspiration and in investigating agronomical issues as stomatal closure in plants. The availability of hourly records of climatic data (air temperature, relative humidity and pressure) which could be used to predict dew point temperature initiated the practice of modeling. Additionally, the wind vector (wind speed magnitude and direction) and conceptual input of weather condition were employed as other input variables. The three quantitative standard statistical performance evaluation measures, i.e. the root mean squared error, mean absolute error, and absolute logarithmic Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient ( {| {{{Log}}({{NS}})} |} ) were employed to evaluate the performances of the developed models. The results showed that applying wind vector and weather condition as input vectors along with meteorological variables could slightly increase the ANN and MLR predictive accuracy. The results also revealed that LM-NN was superior to MLR model and the best performance was obtained by considering all potential input variables in terms of different evaluation criteria.

IMPACT OF HONEY DRESSING IN CHRONIC ULCER

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Santhosh Kumar S. S

2018-01-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND This was an open label study. Although, honey has been used for centuries in wound care, now only it is being integrated into modern medical practice. The resurgence of interest in honey as a medicine for modern wound dressing offers opportunities for both patients and clinicians. The aim of this study is to show the advantage of honey dressing over conventional saline dressing in the management of chronic non-healing ulcer. This property of honey is mentioned in papyruses traced to 3500 years ago among ancient Egyptians and the Hebrews 3000 years ago. Honey naturally contains small amounts of enzymes. The predominant enzymes in honey are diastase (amylase, invertase (alpha-glucosidase and glucose oxidase. Honey has been proven to have significant antibacterial properties and is a useful constituent in wound and burn care. The stimulation of cell growth seen with honey is probably also responsible for ‘kick-starting’ the healing process in chronic wounds that have remained non-healing for long periods. Honey has a broad spectrum of activity against bacteria and fungi. Many randomised and non-randomised study has shown the efficacy of honey as a healing agent and excellent dressing material. MATERIALS AND METHODS Study was conducted in medical college, Trivandrum, which is a tertiary care centre. Patients are selected from orthopaedic and general surgical wards. The study period was one year extending from July 2014 to June 2015. Saline dressing was given for the patients admitted in the first 6 months of study. Honey dressing was given for the next 6 months of study. Outcome was assessed on duration of hospital stay, difference of outcome in different distribution of grades of ulcer, difference of outcome in patients with vascular compromise, which is found out by Doppler ultrasound and difference of outcome in patients with diabetes mellitus. RESULTS Most significant observations made were in regard to duration of hospital stay

Reprises textuelles dans The Dew Breaker d’Edwidge Danticat Rewriting / Reprising in Edwidge Danticat’s The Dew Breaker

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Corinne Duboin

2007-01-01

Full Text Available In her recent novel, The Dew Breaker (2004, Haitian-American writer Edwidge Danticat weaves together the lives of her bruised Haitian characters and their torturer, a former Tonton Macoute, all in exile in the US. Seven of the nine chapters were previously published as separate short stories and have been rearranged to form a novel. The reader is then led to unravel a narrative tangle made of many threads. The disparate nature of the book, its non-linear narrative, the plurality of stories and voices, the gaps in a fragmented, elliptic text all bear witness to an alternative approach to creative writing. Like a seamstress, the novelist pieces together individual stories, connecting them as the multifarious facets of a great whole. In the wake of francophone Haitian writers (namely Jacques Roumain, the author of Masters of the Dew, and Jacques Stephen Alexis who wrote General Sun, My Brother, Edwidge Danticat fictionalizes the traumatic history of a people confronted with violence and terror and engages in a complex intertextual game. Combining ethics and aesthetics, temporal and textual memory, the novelist explores facts and, rather than giving answers, raises difficult questions. Her characters, whether victims or perpetrators, all strive to free themselves from a haunting past: is it ever possible to forgive so as to heal the pain? Can one make amends for the harm that has been done to victims who seek redress?

Water harvest via dewing.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Anna; Moon, Myoung-Woon; Lim, Hyuneui; Kim, Wan-Doo; Kim, Ho-Young

2012-07-10

Harvesting water from humid air via dewing can provide a viable solution to a water shortage problem where liquid-phase water is not available. Here we experimentally quantify the effects of wettability and geometry of the condensation substrate on the water harvest efficiency. Uniformly hydrophilic surfaces are found to exhibit higher rates of water condensation and collection than surfaces with lower wettability. This is in contrast to a fog basking method where the most efficient surface consists of hydrophilic islands surrounded by hydrophobic background. A thin drainage path in the lower portion of the condensation substrate is revealed to greatly enhance the water collection efficiency. The optimal surface conditions found in this work can be used to design a practical device that harvests water as its biological counterpart, a green tree frog, Litoria caerulea , does during the dry season in tropical northern Australia.

Antibacterial efficacy of raw and commercially available honey

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Administrator

2011-09-19

Sep 19, 2011 ... Key words: Honey, antibacterial activity, raw honey, commercially available honey, minimum inhibitory ... against pathogenic bacteria, oral bacteria as well as food .... explore the possible benefits of the use of honey among.

Microwave processing of honey negatively affects honey antibacterial activity by inactivation of bee-derived glucose oxidase and defensin-1.

Science.gov (United States)

Bucekova, Marcela; Juricova, Valeria; Monton, Enrique; Martinotti, Simona; Ranzato, Elia; Majtan, Juraj

2018-02-01

Microwave (MW) thermal heating has been proposed as an efficient method for honey liquefaction, while maintaining honey quality criteria. However, little is known about the effects of MW thermal heating on honey antibacterial activity. In this study, we aimed to determine the effects of MW heating on the antibacterial activity of raw rapeseed honeys against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, with a particular focus on two major bee-derived antibacterial components, defensin-1 and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ). Our results demonstrated that MW thermal heating completely abolished honey antibacterial activity whereas conventional thermal treatment at 45 and 55°C did not affect the antibacterial activity of honey samples. A significant decrease in both glucose oxidase activity and H 2 O 2 production as well as defensin-1 amount was observed in MW-treated samples. Given that defensin-1 and H 2 O 2 are regular antibacterial components of all honeys, MW heating may have similar negative effects on every type of crystallized/liquid honey. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

MICROBIAL QUALITY OF HONEY MIXTURE WITH POLLEN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ján Mareček

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Normal 0 21 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The aim of this study was evaluation of microbial quality in raw materials (honey, pollen and evaluation of microbial quality in honey mixture with pollen (2.91 % and 3.85 % and also dynamics of microbial groups in honey mixtures with pollen after 14 days storage at the room temperature (approximately 25 °C and in cold store (8 °C. We used dilution plating method for testing of samples. Detections of total plate microbial count (aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms, sporulating bacteria, coliform bacteria, Bifidobacterium sp., Lactobacillus sp. and microscopic fungi were performed. In general, counts of microorganisms decreased in honey mixture with pollen compared to raw pollen and these counts increased compared to natural honey. Total plate count was 5.37 log KTJ.g-1 in pollen; 1.36 log KTJ.g-1 in honey; 2.97 log KTJ.g-1 in honey mixture with 2.91 % pollen and 2.04 log KTJ.g-1 in honey mixture with 3.85 % pollen. Coliform bacteria were detected in pollen (1.77 log KTJ.g-1. Then, we found coliform bacteria in one sample of honey mixtures with pollen (2.91 % - 1.00 log KTJ.g-1.Bifidobacterium species were detected only in raw pollen. We did not findLactobacillus sp. in any of the samples. Microscopic fungi were detected on two cultivating media. Yeasts were present in pollen sample (average 5.39 log KTJ.g-1, honey mixture with 2.91 % pollen (average 2.51 log KTJ.g-1 and honey mixture with 3.85 % pollen (average 1.58 log KTJ.g-1. Filamentous microscopic fungi were detectable in pollen (average 3.38 log KTJ.g-1, in honey (only on one medium: 1.00 log KTJ.g-1, in honey mixture with 2.91 % pollen (average 1.15 log KTJ.g-1 and in honey mixture with 3.85 % pollen (1.71 %. Raw pollen contained microscopic fungi as Absidiasp., Mucor sp., Alternaria sp. andEmericella nidulans. Honey mixture with 2.91 % pollen after storage (14 days contained lower microbial counts when compared with the sample

Contribution to the study of sulfur trioxide formation and determination of the sulfuric acid dew point in boiler plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mueller, H.

1983-11-01

This paper analyzes chemical reaction kinetics of the formation of sulfur trioxide and sulfuric acid in combustion air and flue gas of steam generators. Formulae for sulfuric acid equilibrium reactions according to Wahnschaffe (W. Grimm, 1972) and R. Hasse, H.W. Borgmann (1962) are presented. Theoretical acid dew point, combustion parameters with influence on the dew point temperature and formation of sulfates are further discussed. Sulfur trioxide formation at temperatures above 1,000 C as a non-equilibrium reaction is outlined as another variant of chemical reactions. A graphic evaluation is made of dew point conditions in brown coal dust fired, and heating oil fired steam generators. (11 refs.)

Metatranscriptomic analyses of honey bee colonies.

Science.gov (United States)

Tozkar, Cansu Ö; Kence, Meral; Kence, Aykut; Huang, Qiang; Evans, Jay D

2015-01-01

Honey bees face numerous biotic threats from viruses to bacteria, fungi, protists, and mites. Here we describe a thorough analysis of microbes harbored by worker honey bees collected from field colonies in geographically distinct regions of Turkey. Turkey is one of the World's most important centers of apiculture, harboring five subspecies of Apis mellifera L., approximately 20% of the honey bee subspecies in the world. We use deep ILLUMINA-based RNA sequencing to capture RNA species for the honey bee and a sampling of all non-endogenous species carried by bees. After trimming and mapping these reads to the honey bee genome, approximately 10% of the sequences (9-10 million reads per library) remained. These were then mapped to a curated set of public sequences containing ca. Sixty megabase-pairs of sequence representing known microbial species associated with honey bees. Levels of key honey bee pathogens were confirmed using quantitative PCR screens. We contrast microbial matches across different sites in Turkey, showing new country recordings of Lake Sinai virus, two Spiroplasma bacterium species, symbionts Candidatus Schmidhempelia bombi, Frischella perrara, Snodgrassella alvi, Gilliamella apicola, Lactobacillus spp.), neogregarines, and a trypanosome species. By using metagenomic analysis, this study also reveals deep molecular evidence for the presence of bacterial pathogens (Melissococcus plutonius, Paenibacillus larvae), Varroa destructor-1 virus, Sacbrood virus, and fungi. Despite this effort we did not detect KBV, SBPV, Tobacco ringspot virus, VdMLV (Varroa Macula like virus), Acarapis spp., Tropilaeleps spp. and Apocephalus (phorid fly). We discuss possible impacts of management practices and honey bee subspecies on microbial retinues. The described workflow and curated microbial database will be generally useful for microbial surveys of healthy and declining honey bees.

The authenticity of honey in relation to quality parameters

OpenAIRE

Dugalić-Vrndić, N.; Kečkeš, J.; Mladenović, M.

2011-01-01

In the Serbian market can be found significant quantity of honey which authenticity can be doubt. Honey is changed sensory, as well as in certain chemical quality parameters. Sometimes it happens that honey is in accordance to quality requirements but that doesn’t mean that it’s natural and authentic honey. Many analysts who are engage in testing the quality of honey have experience to recognize the honey that isn't from honey bees but the work of ...

Dew-point hygrometry system for measurement of evaporative water loss in infants.

Science.gov (United States)

Ariagno, R L; Glotzbach, S F; Baldwin, R B; Rector, D M; Bowley, S M; Moffat, R J

1997-03-01

Evaporation of water from the skin is an important mechanism in thermal homeostasis. Resistance hygrometry, in which the water vapor pressure gradient above the skin surface is calculated, has been the measurement method of choice in the majority of pediatric investigations. However, resistance hygrometry is influenced by changes in ambient conditions such as relative humidity, surface temperature, and convection currents. We have developed a ventilated capsule method that minimized these potential sources of measurement error and that allowed second-by-second, long-term, continuous measurements of evaporative water loss in sleeping infants. Air with a controlled reference humidity (dew-point temperature = 0 degree C) is delivered to a small, lightweight skin capsule and mixed with the vapor on the surface of the skin. The dew point of the resulting mixture is measured by using a chilled mirror dew-point hygrometer. The system indicates leaks, is mobile, and is accurate within 2%, as determined by gravimetric calibration. Examples from a recording of a 13-wk-old full-term infant obtained by using the system give evaporative water loss rates of approximately 0.02 mgH2O.cm-2.min-1 for normothermic baseline conditions and values up to 0.4 mgH2O.cm-2. min-1 when the subject was being warmed. The system is effective for clinical investigations that require dynamic measurements of water loss.

Evaluation of the dew point cooling technology; Beoordeling technologie dauwpuntskoeling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bootsveld, N.R.; Afink, J. [TNO Milieu, Energie en Procesinnovatie TNO-MEP, Amersfoort (Netherlands); Uges, P.G.H. (ed.) [Standex Periodieken, Veenendaal (Netherlands)

2003-01-01

Results of measurements on an indirect adiabatic dew point cooling system are presented and discussed. The cooling system has been developed by ComfortAir, Raalte, Netherlands. [Dutch] De meetresultaten van door ComfortAir in samenwerking met TNO-MEP uitgevoerde metingen aan een indirect werkende adiabatische dauwpuntkoeler worden gepresenteerd en besproken.

Sensitive skin at menopause; dew point and electrometric properties of the stratum corneum.

Science.gov (United States)

Paquet, F; Piérard-Franchimont, C; Fumal, I; Goffin, V; Paye, M; Piérard, G E

1998-01-12

A number of menopausal women experience skin sensitive to various environmental threats. Two panels of 15 menopausal women on or without HRT were compared. We studied the response of their stratum corneum to variations in environmental humidity, either in air or in response to an emollient. Environment dew point and electrometric measurements on the skin were recorded to search for correlations. Data show that the baseline stratum corneum hydration is influenced by the dew point. HRT improves the barrier function of the skin. The use of emollient further extends the improvement in the functional properties of skin in menopausal women. Both HRT and an emollient can counteract in part some of the deleterious effects of cold and dry weather.

Trace elements in wild and orchard honeys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Almeida-Silva, M.; Canha, N.; Galinha, C.; Dung, H.M. [Instituto Tecnologico e Nuclear, URSN, E.N. 10, 2686-953 Sacavem (Portugal); Freitas, M.C., E-mail: cfreitas@itn.pt [Instituto Tecnologico e Nuclear, URSN, E.N. 10, 2686-953 Sacavem (Portugal); Sitoe, T. [Instituto Tecnologico e Nuclear, URSN, E.N. 10, 2686-953 Sacavem (Portugal)

2011-11-15

The present study aims the identification and quantification of trace elements in two types of honey samples: Orchard honey and Wild honey from mainland Portugal. Chemical elements content was assessed by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA). Concentrations were determinated for Ag, As, Br, Ca, Cl, Cs, Cu, Fe, K, La, Mg, Mn, Na, Rb, Sb, Sc, U, V and Zn. The nutritional values of both honey types were evaluated since this product contains some elements that are essential dietary nutrients for humans. Physical properties of the honey samples, such as electrical conductivy and pH, were assessed as well.

A new steel with good low-temperature sulfuric acid dew point corrosion resistance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheng, X.Q.; Li, X.G. [Corrosion and Protection Center, University of Science and Technology Beijing (China); Key Laboratory of Corrosion and Protection (Ministry of Education), Beijing (China); Sun, F.L. [Corrosion and Protection Center, University of Science and Technology Beijing (China); Lv, S.J. [Corrosion and Protection Center, University of Science and Technology Beijing (China); Equipment and Power Department, Shijiazhuang Refine and Chemical Company Limited, SINOPEC, Shijiazhuang (China)

2012-07-15

In this work, new steels (1, 2, and 3) were developed for low-temperature sulfuric acid dew point corrosion. The mass loss rate, macro- and micro-morphologies and compositions of corrosion products of new steels in 10, 30, and 50% H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} solutions at its corresponding dew points were investigated by immersion test, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS). The results indicated that mass loss rate of all the tested steels first strongly increased and then decreased as H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} concentration increased, which reached maximum at 30%. Corrosion resistance of 2 steel is the best among all specimens due to its fine and homogeneous morphologies of corrosion products. The electrochemical corrosion properties of new steels in 10 and 30% H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} solutions at its corresponding dew points were studied by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. The results demonstrated that corrosion resistance of 2 steel is the best among all the experimental samples due to its lowest corrosion current density and highest charge transfer resistance, which is consistent with the results obtained from immersion tests. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Volatile fraction composition and physicochemical parameters as tools for the differentiation of lemon blossom honey and orange blossom honey.

Science.gov (United States)

Kadar, Melinda; Juan-Borrás, Marisol; Carot, Jose M; Domenech, Eva; Escriche, Isabel

2011-12-01

Volatile fraction profile and physicochemical parameters were studied with the aim of evaluating their effectiveness for the differentiation between lemon blossom honey (Citrus limon L.) and orange blossom honey (Citrus spp.). They would be useful complementary tools to the traditional analysis based on the percentage of pollen. A stepwise discriminant analysis constructed using 37 volatile compounds (extracted by purge and trap and analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry), and physicochemical and colour parameters (diastase, conductivity, Pfund colour and CIE L a b) together provided a model that permitted the correct classification of 98.3% of the original and 96.6% of the cross-validated cases, indicating its efficiency and robustness. This model proved its effectiveness in the differentiation of both types of honey with another set of batches from the following year. This model, developed from the volatile compounds, physicochemical and colour parameters, has been useful for the differentiation of lemon and orange blossom honeys. Furthermore, it may be of particular interest for the attainment of a suitable classification of orange honey in which the pollen count is very low. These capabilities imply an evident marketing advantage for the beekeeping sector, since lemon blossom honey could be commercialized as unifloral honey and not as generic citrus honey and orange blossom honey could be correctly characterized. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.

27 CFR 24.203 - Honey wine.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Honey wine. 24.203 Section... THE TREASURY LIQUORS WINE Production of Agricultural Wine § 24.203 Honey wine. (a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this section, a winemaker, in the production of wine from honey, may add the following: (1...

Evaluation of physicochemical and antioxidant properties of two stingless bee honeys: a comparison with Apis mellifera honey from Nsukka, Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Nweze, Justus Amuche; Okafor, J I; Nweze, Emeka I; Nweze, Julius Eyiuche

2017-11-06

Several physical, biochemical and antioxidant properties of two Nigerian stingless bee honey varieties (Melipona sp. and Hypotrigona sp.) were compared with Apis mellifera honey using standard analytical procedures. The mean pH of Apis mellifera, Hypotrigona sp. and Melipona sp. honeys were 4.24 ± 0.28, 3.75 ± 0.11 and 4.21 ± 0.37 respectively. The mean moisture contents of the honeys were 11.74 ± 0.47, 17.50 ± 0.80, and 13.86 ± 1.06%. Honey samples from Hypotrigona sp. when compared with other honey samples had the highest mean total dissolved solids (370.01 ± 22.51 ppm), hydroxymethylfurfural (16.58 ± 0.37 mg/kg), total acidity (35.57 ± 0.42 meq/kg), protein content (16.58 ± 0.37 g/kg), phenol content (527.41 ± 3.60 mg/kg), and ascorbic acid (161.69 ± 6.70 mg/kg), antioxidant equivalent-ascorbic acid assay value (342.33 ± 0.78 mg/kg) as well as ferric reducing power (666.88 ± 1.73 μM Fe(II)/100 g) (p honeys. This is the first study to compare the properties of Nigerian honey bees. Our results suggested that these honeys (specifically Hypotrigona sp. honey) is a good source of antioxidants comparable to A. mellifera honey.

Monthly variations of dew point temperature in the coterminous United States

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Peter J.

1998-11-01

The dew point temperature, Td, data from the surface airways data set of the U.S. National Climatic Data Center were used to develop a basic dew point climatology for the coterminous United States. Quality control procedures were an integral part of the analysis. Daily Td, derived as the average of eight observations at 3-hourly intervals, for 222 stations for the 1961-1990 period were used. The annual and seasonal pattern of average values showed a clear south-north decrease in the eastern portion of the nation, a trend which was most marked in winter. In the west, values decreased inland from the Pacific Coast. Inter-annual variability was generally low when actual mean values were high. A cluster analysis suggested that the area could be divided into six regions, two oriented north-south in the west, four aligned east-west in the area east of the Rocky Mountains. Day-to-day variability was low in all seasons in the two western clusters, but showed a distinct winter maximum in the east. This was explained in broad terms by consideration of air flow regimes, with the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico acting as the major moisture sources. Comparison of values for pairs of nearby stations suggested that Td was rather insensitive to local moisture sources. Analysis of the patterns of occurrence of dew points exceeding the 95th percentile threshold indicated that extremes in summer tend to be localized and short-lived, while in winter they are more widespread and persistent.

Honey characteristics after extraction and half-year storage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimíra Kňazovická

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study was to analyze the fresh honey after extracting and after half-year storage at room temperature. Overall, we analyzed 10 samples of rape (Brassica napus honey coming from district Vranov nad Toplou located in the eastern Slovakia. The analysis consisted of the evaluation of the physico-chemical parameters (water content, free acidity and electrical conductivity and microbiological evaluation (total plate count (TPC, counts of coliform bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, sporulating microorganisms and microscopic fungi. Water content, free acidity and electrical conductivity were measured according to IHC (2009, namely these parameters were detected by refractometer, titration and conductometer, respectively. We used dilution plating method for microbiological analysis. Fresh rape honey contained 18.3 ±1.0% of water. Free acidity of fresh rape honey was 12.7 ±2.0 meq.kg-1 and electrical conductivity was 0.14 mS.cm-1. After half a year of storage, water content and electrical conductivity decreased nonsignificantly and free acidity increased nonsignificantly. Stored honey samples meet the requirements of Decree 41/2012 and 106/2012. From microbiological point of view, fresh rape honey showed relatively high microbial counts. Mean values of TPC, sporulating microorganisms, lactic acid bacteria and yeasts exceeded 2.00 log cfu/g. All spotted microbial groups decreased in the stored honey comparing with the fresh honey. We found significant (p ˂0.01 differences of TPC, lactic acid bacteria and yeasts comparing the fresh and stored honey samples. Evaluating microbiological parameters, one sample of stored honey did not meet the requirements of Codex Alimentarius SR (2014. TPC exceeded the limit value. Based on the results we can conclude that all samples meet the requirements for good quality honey. Microbial counts in the honey decreased gradually. Probably, various microorganisms have important role in creation of the honey from

Technical aspects of acid dew point measurement in furnace exhaust. Messtechnik fuer die Saeuretaupunktmessung in Feuerungsabgasen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Struschka, M.; Baumbach, G.

1986-01-01

SO/sub 3/ formation in flue gases and the effect of furnace parameters, furnace type and design on the efficiency of SO/sub 2/ conversion were investigated in a detailed bibliographic study. Phase equilibrium data for the binary system H/sub 2/SO/sub 4//H/sub 2/O and equations for calculating the acid dew point are presented, and the available wet chemical methods for SO/sub 3/ concentration measurements in flue gases are reviewed. The SM1 acid dew point measuring instrument availabe at the authors' institute was modified by installing a new measuring probe, an external thermoelement intensifier, and a new PD control element for temperature control in the measuring surfaces. Acid dew point measurements were carried out in two different furnaces, i.e. a domestic boiler for light fuel oil and an industrial furnace fuelled with heavy oil at the Stuttgart University heat- and power plant. The measurements are compared with data from relevant publications. (orig./RB) With 80 figs., 7 tabs.

Evaluation of the physical dew point in the economizer of a combined cycle burning natural gas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pena, F.; Blanco, J.M. [Universidad del Pais Vasco/E.H.U. Alameda de Urquijo s/n, Bilbao (Spain). Dpto. Maquinas y Motores Termicos, Escuela Sup. de Ingenieria

2007-08-15

Natural gas contents a considerable percentage of hydrogen, so is obvious to expect an amount of water vapour in its combustion exhaust gases, which would raise the dew point temperature. That means a higher speed of corrosion over the whole exposed physical area, which could represent a serious risk of breakdown, especially in pressurized hot-water equipments. In this work, a new methodology for determining the physical dew point inside a economizer depending on the fuel type burned (in this case is natural gas) has been developed. The calculation of the total amount of condensed water has also been carried out as well as the localization of the area where this condensation occurs. Acid dew point has not been taken into account here although exhaust gases are acidic, due mainly to the low sulphur content which is almost undetectable when burning natural gas, but it will be performed in a later study coming soon. (author)

Potential antibacterial activity of some Saudi Arabia honey

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Ahmed G. Hegazi

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the potential antibacterial activity of some Saudi Arabia honey against selected bacterial strains of medical importance. Materials and Methods: A total of 10 Saudi Arabia honey used to evaluate their antimicrobial activity against some antibiotic-resistant pathogenic bacterial strains. The bacterial strains were Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Results: The antibacterial activity of Saudi honey against five bacterial strains showed different levels of inhibition according to the type of honey. The overall results showed that the potential activity was differing according to the pathogen and honey type. Conclusion: It could be concluded that the Saudi honey inhibit the growth of bacterial strains and that honey can be used as complementary antimicrobial agent against selected pathogenic bacteria.

Temperature Effect on Rheological Behavior of Portuguese Honeys

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Afonso Maria João

2018-09-01

Full Text Available In the present work the temperature effect on rheological properties of Portuguese honeys was studied for the first time. Two unifloral honeys – heather and rosemary – and a polyflower honey were analyzed. All honeys showed flow independence over time and behaved as Newtonian fluids at the studied temperature and shear rate ranges. For all honeys it was found that the viscosity decreased with temperature and the rosemary honey was the one that always presented the lowest viscosity at 30°C (6120 mPa·s, 50°C (603 mPa·s and 70°C (145 mPa·s. The temperature dependence of viscosity was well described by the K0×eAT-B$K_0 \\times e^{{A \\over {T - B}}} $ equation. Nevertheless, good regression coefficients were also obtained when fitting the experimental data to the Arrhenius model, showing the rosemary honey to be less temperature sensitive. The results obtained in this study are of great interest to beekeepers and industrials that handle and prepare eatable honey-based products because they will be better informed about the best type of honey to use.

Mad Honey Disease

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Laurentiu Broscaru

2017-11-01

Full Text Available A 46-years old woman presented with acute onset of nausea, vomiting and prostration in the ER. She appeared ill and was poorly responsive to verbal stimuli. The physical examination showed a systolic blood pressure of 60 mmHg and a pulse of 40 bpm. ECG was notable for slight ST-elevations in the inferior leads. Right ventricular myocardial infarction with cardiogenic shock and bradycardia was suspected. Supportive therapy with catecholamines was initiated and a emergency coronary angiography was arranged. However, lab results showed normal troponin levels and a subsequent echocardiogram showed the absence of abnormal wall motions. By thorough history taking with the spouse it turned out that the patient had consumed a Turkish honey approximately an hour before the beginning of the symptoms. The patient made a full recovery within 24 hours with only supportive therapy. In retrospect the clinical presentation was highly indicative of poisoning with Grayanotoxins from a plant, Rhododendron, which is found as contaminant in some sorts of honey in the Black Sea area. A pollen analysis confirmed the presence of Rhododendron in a honey sample.  Historically this poisoning is mentioned over the millennia as mad honey disease. The ST-elevations in the ECG were a sign of early repolarization, a non-pathological finding.

Economic analysis of honey production in Edo State, Nigeria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This research work was carried out to analyze the economics of honey production in Edo State. The objectives of the study were to examine the demographic characteristics of honey production, assess the profitability of honey bee and the problems facing honey production .The list of honey farmers in the state was ...

Physiochemical characteristics of honey obtained from traditional ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Bheema

2002-09-14

Sep 14, 2002 ... There are about 201,000 bee colonies and 2,300 tones of honey production in a year (BoANRD, 2008). ..... to honey. 74/409/EEC, Official Journal of the European communities, NOL 221/14. ... Composition of American honey.

The effect of water contamination on the dew-point temperature scale realization with humidity generators

Science.gov (United States)

Vilbaste, M.; Heinonen, M.; Saks, O.; Leito, I.

2013-08-01

The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of contaminated water in the context of humidity generators. Investigation of different methods to determine the drop in dew-point temperature due to contamination and experiments on actual contamination rates are reported. Different methods for calculating the dew-point temperature effect from electrical conductivity and density measurements are studied with high-purity water and aqueous solutions of NaCl and LiCl. The outcomes of the calculation methods are compared with the results of direct humidity measurements. The results show that the often applied Raoult's law based calculation method is in good agreement with other methods. For studying actual contamination, water samples were kept in glass, plastic, copper and stainless-steel vessels for up to 13 months to investigate natural ionic and organic contamination in vessels with different wall materials. The amount of ionic contamination was found to be higher in copper and glass vessels than in stainless-steel and plastic vessels. The amount of organic contamination was found to be highest in the plastic vessel. In all the cases, however, the corresponding drop in dew-point temperature due to natural contamination was found to be below 0.1 mK. The largest rate of change of dew-point temperature was 26 µK/month. Thus, if proper cleanness is maintained in a humidity generator the effect of contamination of water in the saturator is insignificant compared with the major uncertainty components even in the most accurate generators today.

The distribution of Paenibacillus larvae spores in adult bees and honey and larval mortality, following the addition of American foulbrood diseased brood or spore-contaminated honey in honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindström, Anders; Korpela, Seppo; Fries, Ingemar

2008-09-01

Within colony transmission of Paenibacillus larvae spores was studied by giving spore-contaminated honey comb or comb containing 100 larvae killed by American foulbrood to five experimental colonies respectively. We registered the impact of the two treatments on P. larvae spore loads in adult bees and honey and on larval mortality by culturing for spores in samples of adult bees and honey, respectively, and by measuring larval survival. The results demonstrate a direct effect of treatment on spore levels in adult bees and honey as well as on larval mortality. Colonies treated with dead larvae showed immediate high spore levels in adult bee samples, while the colonies treated with contaminated honey showed a comparable spore load but the effect was delayed until the bees started to utilize the honey at the end of the flight season. During the winter there was a build up of spores in the adult bees, which may increase the risk for infection in spring. The results confirm that contaminated honey can act as an environmental reservoir of P. larvae spores and suggest that less spores may be needed in honey, compared to in diseased brood, to produce clinically diseased colonies. The spore load in adult bee samples was significantly related to larval mortality but the spore load of honey samples was not.

The Benefits of Honey in Holy Quran

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Abbasali Purbafrani

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Honey contains a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants. The vitamins found in honey include niacin, riboflavin and pantothenic acid; minerals present include calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and zinc. In addition honey contains a variety of flavonoids and phenolic acids which act as antioxidants, scavenging and eliminating free radicals. Honey has had a long history in human consumption, and is used in various foods and beverages as a sweetener and flavoring. It also has a role in religion and symbolism. Medicinal importance of honey has been documented in the world's oldest medical literatures, and since the ancient times, it has been known to possess antimicrobial property as well as wound-healing activity. More than 1,400 years ago, honey is described as a source of healing in the Quran and it is also mentioned as one of the foods of Paradise.

Microbiological decontamination of natural honey by irradiation

Science.gov (United States)

Migdał, W.; Owczarczyk, H. B.; K ȩdzia, B.; Hołderna-K ȩdzia, E.; Madajczyk, D.

2000-03-01

Degree of microbiological decontamination, organoleptic and physico-chemical properties of natural honeys were investigated after radiation treatment. Seven kinds of honeys were irradiated with the beams of 10 MeV electrons from a 10 kW linear accelerator "Elektronika 10-10" at the dose 10 kGy. It was shown, that after irradiation, the total count of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and moulds decrease by 99%. The antibiotic value in investigated honeys increased in turn from 1.67 to 2.67 after irradiation. Such factors and parameters of investigated honeys as their consistency, content of water and saccharose, acidity, the diastase and 5-HMF values were not changed significantly after irradiation. Decontamination by irradiation is a process which allows us to obtain high microbiological purity of honeys. It is especially needed, when honeys are used in surgical treatment of injuries and in nutrition of babies with food deficiency.

Microbiological decontamination of natural honey by irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Migdal, W.; Owczarczyk, H.B.; Kedzia, B.; Holderna-Kedzia, E.; Madajczyk, D.

2000-01-01

Degree of microbiological decontamination, organoleptic and physico-chemical properties of natural honeys were investigated after radiation treatment. Seven kinds of honeys were irradiated with the beams of 10 MeV electrons from a 10 kW linear accelerator ''Elektronika 10-10'' at the dose 10 kGy. It was shown, that after irradiation, the total count of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and moulds decrease by 99%. The antibiotic value in investigated honeys increased in turn from 1.67 to 2.67 after irradiation. Such factors and parameters of investigated honeys as their consistency, content of water and saccharose, acidity, the diastase and 5-HMF values were not changed significantly after irradiation. Decontamination by irradiation is a process which allows us to obtain high microbiological purity of honeys. It is especially needed, when honeys are used in surgical treatment of injuries and in nutrition of babies with food deficiency

What are the proteolytic enzymes of honey and what they do tell us? A fingerprint analysis by 2-D zymography of unifloral honeys.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rocco Rossano

Full Text Available Honey is a sweet and healthy food produced by honeybees (Apis mellifera L. from flower nectars. Using bidimensional zymography, we have detected the, until now unrevealed, proteolytic activities present in row honey samples. The resulting zymograms were specific for each type of the four unifloral honey under study, and enzymes were identified as serine proteases by the use of specific inhibitors. Further, using bidimensional electrophoresis, we have shown that honey proteases are able to degrade the major Royal Jelly proteins and in particular MRPJ-1, the protein that promotes queen differentiation in honeybees. Our findings open new perspectives for the better understanding of honeybee development, social behaviour and role in honey production. The now discovered honey proteases may influence honey properties and quality, and bidimensional zymograms might be useful to distinguish between different honey types, establish their age and floral origin, and allow honey certification.

What are the proteolytic enzymes of honey and what they do tell us? A fingerprint analysis by 2-D zymography of unifloral honeys.

Science.gov (United States)

Rossano, Rocco; Larocca, Marilena; Polito, Teresa; Perna, Anna Maria; Padula, Maria Carmela; Martelli, Giuseppe; Riccio, Paolo

2012-01-01

Honey is a sweet and healthy food produced by honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) from flower nectars. Using bidimensional zymography, we have detected the, until now unrevealed, proteolytic activities present in row honey samples. The resulting zymograms were specific for each type of the four unifloral honey under study, and enzymes were identified as serine proteases by the use of specific inhibitors. Further, using bidimensional electrophoresis, we have shown that honey proteases are able to degrade the major Royal Jelly proteins and in particular MRPJ-1, the protein that promotes queen differentiation in honeybees. Our findings open new perspectives for the better understanding of honeybee development, social behaviour and role in honey production. The now discovered honey proteases may influence honey properties and quality, and bidimensional zymograms might be useful to distinguish between different honey types, establish their age and floral origin, and allow honey certification.

International Comparison of the Export Competitiveness of Chinese Honey

OpenAIRE

Ma, Lunjiao

2009-01-01

Honey production and trade in the world are introduced. Total output of honey shows an increasing trend while the output of Chinese honey always ranks the first in the world. China, Argentina, Mexico are the major exporters of honey. In the year 2006, honey exports of China, Argentina and Mexico occupy 49.9% of the world's total export volume. International competitiveness of the three honey export countries are calculated, compared and analyzed by adopting the indices such as export price, i...

Neurological Effects of Honey: Current and Future Prospects

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Mohammad Mijanur Rahman

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Honey is the only insect-derived natural product with therapeutic, traditional, spiritual, nutritional, cosmetic, and industrial value. In addition to having excellent nutritional value, honey is a good source of physiologically active natural compounds, such as polyphenols. Unfortunately, there are very few current research projects investigating the nootropic and neuropharmacological effects of honey, and these are still in their early stages. Raw honey possesses nootropic effects, such as memory-enhancing effects, as well as neuropharmacological activities, such as anxiolytic, antinociceptive, anticonvulsant, and antidepressant activities. Research suggests that the polyphenol constituents of honey can quench biological reactive oxygen species and counter oxidative stress while restoring the cellular antioxidant defense system. Honey polyphenols are also directly involved in apoptotic activities while attenuating microglia-induced neuroinflammation. Honey polyphenols are useful in improving memory deficits and can act at the molecular level. Therefore, the ultimate biochemical impact of honey on specific neurodegenerative diseases, apoptosis, necrosis, neuroinflammation, synaptic plasticity, and behavior-modulating neural circuitry should be evaluated with appropriate mechanistic approaches using biochemical and molecular tools.

Two Novel Strains of Torulaspora delbrueckii Isolated from the Honey Bee Microbiome and Their Use in Honey Fermentation

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Joseph P. Barry

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Yeasts are ubiquitous microbes found in virtually all environments. Many yeast species can ferment sugar into ethanol and CO2, and humans have taken advantage of these characteristics to produce fermented beverages for thousands of years. As a naturally abundant source of fermentable sugar, honey has had a central role in such fermentations since Neolithic times. However, as beverage fermentation has become industrialized, the processes have been streamlined, including the narrow and almost exclusive usage of yeasts in the genus Saccharomyces for fermentation. We set out to identify wild honey- or honey-bee-related yeasts that can be used in honey fermentation. Here, we isolated two strains of Torulaspora delbrueckii from the gut of a locally collected honey bee. Both strains were able to ferment honey sugar into mead but failed to metabolize more than a modest amount of wort sugar in trial beer fermentations. Further, the meads fermented by the T. delbrueckii strains displayed better sensory characteristics than mead fermented by a champagne yeast. The combination of T. delbrueckii and champagne yeast strains was also able to rapidly ferment honey at an industrial scale. Thus, wild yeasts represent a largely untapped reservoir for the introduction of desirable sensory characteristics in fermented beverages such as mead.

Honey bee: a consumer’s point of view

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Zavodna Lucie Sara

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This article concerns the way bee products are perceived by customers. It is mainly focused on honey, which is considered the main output product of beekeeping. Beekeeping is a very popular activity in the Czech Republic. Based on current data there are over 48 thousand people engaged in beekeeping in the Czech Republic. Hand in hand with the increasing number of beekeepers the popularity of bee products - especially honey - among Czech consumers is also growing. Recently, the consumption of honey in the Czech Republic has been slightly increasing. A big problem today is that honey sold in Czech supermarkets is frequently falsified. At the same time, it is increasingly popular to buy honey directly from beekeepers. The aim of this research was to describe the situation about the honey market in the Czech Republic, and also to examine the relationship between consumers on the one hand, and honey/beekeepers on the other. We have also considered customer's trust in organic honey and honey sold in supermarket chains. Results show that consumers view bee products as generally healthy and prefer to buy bee products from a beekeeper because of greater convenience as locally sourced honey is perceived to be of higher quality. The majority of consumers agree with paying a higher price for a product of higher quality. The article confirmed the hypothesis that most people think that bee products sold by a beekeeper are healthier than those bought at ordinary shops.

Feasibility study of a novel dew point air conditioning system for China building application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, Xudong; Yang, Shuang; Duan, Zhiyin; Riffat, Saffa B. [School of the Built Environment, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD (United Kingdom)

2009-09-15

The paper investigated the feasibility of a novel dew point evaporative cooling for air conditioning of buildings in China regions. The issues involved include analyses of China weather conditions, investigation of availability of water for dew point cooling, and assessment of cooling capacity of the system within various regions of China. It is concluded that the dew point system is suitable for most regions of China, particularly northern and west regions of China where the climate is hot and dry during the summer season. It is less suitable for Guangzhou and Shanghai where climates are hot and humid. However, an air pre-treatment process involving a silica-gel dehumidification will enable the technology to be used for these humid areas. Lower humidity results in a higher difference between the dry bulb and dew point of the air, which benefits the system in terms of enhancing its cooling performance. Tap water has adequate temperature to feed the system for cooling and its consumption rate is in the range 2.6-3 litres per kWh cooling output. The cooling output of the system ranges from 1.1 to 4.3 W per m{sup 3}/h air flow rate in China, depending on the region where the system applies. For a unit with 2 kW of cooling output, the required air volume flow rate varies with its application location and is in the range 570-1800 m{sup 3}/h. For a 50 m{sup 2} building with 60 W/m{sup 2} cooling load, if the system operates at working hours, i.e., 09:00 to 17:00 h, its daily water consumption would be in the range of 60-70 litres. Compared with mild or humid climates, the dry and hot climates need less air volume flow rate and less water. (author)

Microbiological decontamination of natural honey by irradiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Migdal, W.; Owczarczyk, H.B.; Kedzia, B.; Holderna-Kedzia, E.; Madajczyk, D

2000-03-01

Degree of microbiological decontamination, organoleptic and physico-chemical properties of natural honeys were investigated after radiation treatment. Seven kinds of honeys were irradiated with the beams of 10 MeV electrons from a 10 kW linear accelerator ''Elektronika 10-10'' at the dose 10 kGy. It was shown, that after irradiation, the total count of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and moulds decrease by 99%. The antibiotic value in investigated honeys increased in turn from 1.67 to 2.67 after irradiation. Such factors and parameters of investigated honeys as their consistency, content of water and saccharose, acidity, the diastase and 5-HMF values were not changed significantly after irradiation. Decontamination by irradiation is a process which allows us to obtain high microbiological purity of honeys. It is especially needed, when honeys are used in surgical treatment of injuries and in nutrition of babies with food deficiency.

Multiobjective optimization in Gene Expression Programming for Dew Point

OpenAIRE

Shroff, Siddharth; Dabhi, Vipul

2013-01-01

The processes occurring in climatic change evolution and their variations play a major role in environmental engineering. Different techniques are used to model the relationship between temperatures, dew point and relative humidity. Gene expression programming is capable of modelling complex realities with great accuracy, allowing, at the same time, the extraction of knowledge from the evolved models compared to other learning algorithms. This research aims to use Gene Expression Programming ...

Physicochemical parameters of Amazon Melipona honey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ligia Bicudo de Almeida-Muradian

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Stingless bees produce a honey that is different from the Apis honey in terms of composition. There aren't enough data to establish quality control parameters for this product, mainly due to lack of research results. The aim of this work is to evaluate some physicochemical parameters that can be used for the characterization and for the quality control of the Meliponinae honey. Four different samples were collected in the Amazon region of Brazil in 2004 (Melipona compressipes manaoense bee and Melipona seminigra merribae bee. Honey analyses were performed as described by the official methods. The mean results were: moisture (30.13%, pH (3.65, acidity (24.57 mEq/kg, water activity (0.75, fructose (31.91%, glucose (29.30% and sucrose (0.19%. These results reinforce the need for a specific regulation for stingless bee honey. This will only be feasible when enough data is available to establish upper and lower limits for the physicochemical parameters used for quality control.

Determination of streptomycin residues in honey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monica Cristina Cara,

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Honey was the first sweet substance used in human food as a precursor sugar cane or beet. Honey production by bees is a complex process of transformation, from harvesting and ending with a striking honeycomb cells. Immediately after extraction, honey is always clear and liquid. This is due to the high content of fructose, which makes some items, such as locust always remain liquid. If the glucose is higher than that of fructose, honey will crystallize at temperatures below 18°C. Honey is easily susceptible to heat, so they should be stored at room temperature. Bees, like all living organisms, can become ill with various diseases. These, by mortality that occur among individuals of the colony, thereby reducing the number of bees and beefamilies are emptied and become unproductive. In many cases, it appears significant damage resulting in large losses for beekeepers. Prevention, detection and treatment of diseases with antibiotics is an extremely important factor in ensuring the health of bee.

Measurement and estimation of dew point for SNG. [Comparison of calculated and measured values

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Furuyama, Y.

1974-08-01

Toho Gas measured and estimated SNG dew points in high-pressure deliveries by calculating the theoretical values by the high-pressure gas-liquid equilibrium theory using the pressure-extrapolation method to reach K = 1, and the BWR method to estimate fugacity, then verifying these values experimentally. The experimental values were measured at 161.7 to 367.5 psi using the conventional static and circulation methods, in addition to a newly developed method consisting of circulating a known composition of gas mixtures, partially freezing them, and monitoring the dew point by observing the droplets on a mirror cooled by blowing liquid nitrogen. Good agreement was found between the calculated and the experimental values.

Antiviral Defense Mechanisms in Honey Bees

Science.gov (United States)

Brutscher, Laura M.; Daughenbaugh, Katie F.; Flenniken, Michelle L.

2015-01-01

Honey bees are significant pollinators of agricultural crops and other important plant species. High annual losses of honey bee colonies in North America and in some parts of Europe have profound ecological and economic implications. Colony losses have been attributed to multiple factors including RNA viruses, thus understanding bee antiviral defense mechanisms may result in the development of strategies that mitigate colony losses. Honey bee antiviral defense mechanisms include RNA-interference, pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP) triggered signal transduction cascades, and reactive oxygen species generation. However, the relative importance of these and other pathways is largely uncharacterized. Herein we review the current understanding of honey bee antiviral defense mechanisms and suggest important avenues for future investigation. PMID:26273564

Potential Role of Honey in Learning and Memory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zahiruddin Othman

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The composition and physicochemical properties of honey are variable depending on its floral source and often named according to the geographical location. The potential medicinal benefits of Tualang honey, a multifloral jungle honey found in Malaysia, have recently been attracting attention because of its reported beneficial effects in various diseases. This paper reviews the effects of honey, particularly Tualang honey, on learning and memory. Information regarding the effects of Tualang honey on learning and memory in human as well as animal models is gleaned to hypothesize its underlying mechanisms. These studies show that Tualang honey improves morphology of memory-related brain areas, reduces brain oxidative stress, increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF and acetylcholine (ACh concentrations, and reduces acetylcholinesterase (AChE in the brain homogenates. Its anti-inflammatory roles in reducing inflammatory trigger and microglial activation have yet to be investigated. It is hypothesized that the improvement in learning and memory following Tualang honey supplementation is due to the significant improvement in brain morphology and enhancement of brain cholinergic system secondary to reduction in brain oxidative damage and/or upregulation of BDNF concentration. Further studies are imperative to elucidate the molecular mechanism of actions.

Contaminant bacteria in traditional-packed honey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hening Tjaturina Pramesti

2007-03-01

Full Text Available Honey may be contaminated by microorganisms during its harvesting, processing, and packaging. Honey selected for clinical purposes must safe, sterile, and contain antimicrobial activity, so it must be evaluated using laboratory testing. The aim of this descriptive laboratory study was to isolate and identify the bacterial contaminant in the traditional-packed honey dealing with the use of honey for medical purposes. the colony forming units of honey sample cultured on blood agar were counted using Stuart bacterial colony counter. The suspected bacterial colonies were isolated and identified based on cultural morphology characteristics. The isolates of suspected bacterial colonies were stained according to Gram and Klein method and then were examined by the biochemical reaction. The results showed that there were two contaminant bacteria. Gram-positive cocci which were presumptively identified as coagulase-negative Staphylococci and gram-positive rods which were presumptively identified as Bacillus subtilis. In conclusion, the contaminant bacteria were regarded as low pathogen bacteria. The subtilin enzyme of B subtilis may cause an allergic reaction and coagulase-negative Staphylococci, Staphylococcus epidermidis is also an opportunist pathogen. Inevitably, for medical purposes, traditional-packed honey must be well filtered, water content above 18%, and standardized sterilization without loss of an antibacterial activity or change in properties.

Two Major Medicinal Honeys Have Different Mechanisms of Bactericidal Activity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kwakman, Paulus H. S.; te Velde, Anje A.; de Boer, Leonie; Vandenbroucke-Grauls, Christina M. J. E.; Zaat, Sebastian A. J.

2011-01-01

Honey is increasingly valued for its antibacterial activity, but knowledge regarding the mechanism of action is still incomplete. We assessed the bactericidal activity and mechanism of action of Revamil (R) source (RS) honey and manuka honey, the sources of two major medical-grade honeys. RS honey

Preparation of honey sample for tritium monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Bingru; Wang Chenlian; Wang Weihua

1989-01-01

The method of preparation of honey sample for tritium monitoring was described. The equipments consist of an air and honey supply system, a quartz combustor with CM-type monolithic combustion catalyst and a condensation system. In the equipments, honey sample was converted into cooling water by the distilling, cracking and carbonizing procedures for tritium counting. The recovery ratio is 99.0 ± 4.5 percent for tritiated water and 96.0 ± 2.0 for tritiated organic compounds. It is a feasible preparing method for the total tritium monitoring in honey sample

Automated and continuously operating acid dew point measuring instrument for flue gases

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reckmann, D.; Naundorf, G.

1986-06-01

Design and operation is explained for a sulfuric acid dew point indicator for continuous flue gas temperature control. The indicator operated successfully in trial tests over several years with brown coal, gas and oil combustion in a measurement range of 60 to 180 C. The design is regarded as uncomplicated and easy to manufacture. Its operating principle is based on electric conductivity measurement on a surface on which sulfuric acid vapor has condensed. A ring electrode and a PtRh/Pt thermal element as central electrode are employed. A scheme of the equipment design is provided. Accuracy of the indicator was compared to manual dew point sondes manufactured by Degussa and showed a maximum deviation of 5 C. Manual cleaning after a number of weeks of operation is required. Fly ash with a high lime content increases dust buildup and requires more frequent cleaning cycles.

A comparative study of compression-expansion type dehumidification systems to achieve low dew point air

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moon, Choon; Bansal, Pradeep

2009-01-01

This paper presents a theoretical feasibility study of three dehumidification systems to achieve air with dew points down to (-) 40 deg. C. The systems consist of compressors, heat exchangers, expanders and heaters. A thermodynamic model has been developed of the systems to study the effect of the compressor, expander, and heat recovery heat exchanger efficiency as a function of pressure ratio, net required work, quantity of condensed moisture, and system outlet dew point temperature. The analysis has revealed that the selection of a heat recovery heat exchanger is critical for an efficient dehumidification system, where compressor efficiency has the dominant effect on power consumption.

Using DNA Metabarcoding to Identify the Floral Composition of Honey: A New Tool for Investigating Honey Bee Foraging Preferences.

Science.gov (United States)

Hawkins, Jennifer; de Vere, Natasha; Griffith, Adelaide; Ford, Col R; Allainguillaume, Joel; Hegarty, Matthew J; Baillie, Les; Adams-Groom, Beverley

2015-01-01

Identifying the floral composition of honey provides a method for investigating the plants that honey bees visit. We compared melissopalynology, where pollen grains retrieved from honey are identified morphologically, with a DNA metabarcoding approach using the rbcL DNA barcode marker and 454-pyrosequencing. We compared nine honeys supplied by beekeepers in the UK. DNA metabarcoding and melissopalynology were able to detect the most abundant floral components of honey. There was 92% correspondence for the plant taxa that had an abundance of over 20%. However, the level of similarity when all taxa were compared was lower, ranging from 22-45%, and there was little correspondence between the relative abundance of taxa found using the two techniques. DNA metabarcoding provided much greater repeatability, with a 64% taxa match compared to 28% with melissopalynology. DNA metabarcoding has the advantage over melissopalynology in that it does not require a high level of taxonomic expertise, a greater sample size can be screened and it provides greater resolution for some plant families. However, it does not provide a quantitative approach and pollen present in low levels are less likely to be detected. We investigated the plants that were frequently used by honey bees by examining the results obtained from both techniques. Plants with a broad taxonomic range were detected, covering 46 families and 25 orders, but a relatively small number of plants were consistently seen across multiple honey samples. Frequently found herbaceous species were Rubus fruticosus, Filipendula ulmaria, Taraxacum officinale, Trifolium spp., Brassica spp. and the non-native, invasive, Impatiens glandulifera. Tree pollen was frequently seen belonging to Castanea sativa, Crataegus monogyna and species of Malus, Salix and Quercus. We conclude that although honey bees are considered to be supergeneralists in their foraging choices, there are certain key species or plant groups that are particularly

Using DNA Metabarcoding to Identify the Floral Composition of Honey: A New Tool for Investigating Honey Bee Foraging Preferences.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer Hawkins

Full Text Available Identifying the floral composition of honey provides a method for investigating the plants that honey bees visit. We compared melissopalynology, where pollen grains retrieved from honey are identified morphologically, with a DNA metabarcoding approach using the rbcL DNA barcode marker and 454-pyrosequencing. We compared nine honeys supplied by beekeepers in the UK. DNA metabarcoding and melissopalynology were able to detect the most abundant floral components of honey. There was 92% correspondence for the plant taxa that had an abundance of over 20%. However, the level of similarity when all taxa were compared was lower, ranging from 22-45%, and there was little correspondence between the relative abundance of taxa found using the two techniques. DNA metabarcoding provided much greater repeatability, with a 64% taxa match compared to 28% with melissopalynology. DNA metabarcoding has the advantage over melissopalynology in that it does not require a high level of taxonomic expertise, a greater sample size can be screened and it provides greater resolution for some plant families. However, it does not provide a quantitative approach and pollen present in low levels are less likely to be detected. We investigated the plants that were frequently used by honey bees by examining the results obtained from both techniques. Plants with a broad taxonomic range were detected, covering 46 families and 25 orders, but a relatively small number of plants were consistently seen across multiple honey samples. Frequently found herbaceous species were Rubus fruticosus, Filipendula ulmaria, Taraxacum officinale, Trifolium spp., Brassica spp. and the non-native, invasive, Impatiens glandulifera. Tree pollen was frequently seen belonging to Castanea sativa, Crataegus monogyna and species of Malus, Salix and Quercus. We conclude that although honey bees are considered to be supergeneralists in their foraging choices, there are certain key species or plant groups that

Comparative Study of Honey Consumption in Slovakia and Russia

OpenAIRE

Snezhanna Guziy; Peter Šedík; Elena Horská

2017-01-01

The current situation on the food market is influenced by various diet trends including eating healthy products. The honey consumption has an increasing tendency because more and more consumers consider honey as a healthy alternative to a refined sugar. The aim of this research paper was to identify consumption patterns regarding honey in terms of annual consumption, its frequency, volume of honey per purchase, consumption structure by family members and factors affecting consumers at honey p...

The dew point temperature as a criterion for optimizing the operating conditions of proton exchange membrane fuel cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berning, Torsten

2012-01-01

In this article an analytical method to calculate the dew point temperatures of the anode and cathode exit gas streams of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell is developed. The results of these calculations are used to create diagrams that show the dew point temperatures as function of the operat...... for conventional flow field plates. The diagrams presented here are created for completely dry inlet gases, but they can be easily corrected for a nonzero inlet relative humidity....

Irradiation of honey for food and medicinal purposes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Norimah Yusof; Zainon Othman; Salabiah Abd Majid

2002-01-01

Honey has been used as food and for its medicinal value for centuries. Even though its microbial content is usually low as its acidity and high viscosity can inhibit any microbial growth, some incidents of contamination with Clostridium spores were reported. Therefore, ionising radiation can be considered to decontaminate the pathogens or even sterilise (Pucuk daun, durian, gelam, bunga gelam and Asli) and three imported honeys (manuka Clement, Waitemata and Capilani Sweet Meadow). Results showed that the microbial count was 2.1 rather low in all honey hence membrane filtration method is more suitable than spread plate method to determine the microbial count in honey samples. The lowest microbial count was 2.1 counts/g for bunga gelam and the highest was 33.4 counts/g for capilano sweet in the sensory tests for taste, viscosity, colour and overall acceptance (P<0.05). Gamma irradiation at 25 kGy and 50 kGy (in gelam, pucuk daun, durian, manuka clement and waitemata) did not give any effect on the antibacterial property when the irradiated honey was added into the bacterial suspension of staphylococcus aureus. Heat at 50 degree C did not reduce the antibacterial property of irradiated honey. All local honeys showed antimicrobial indicated for its high medicinal value. The results show that gamma irradiation is useful to decontaminate honey from pathogenic contaminants or even to sterilise honey for safe use without any changes in its organoleptic and antibacterial property. (Author)

Honey

Science.gov (United States)

... from plants that have not been treated with pesticides. Honey is used for cough, diabetes, high levels ... Medications changed by the liver (Cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) substrates)Some medications are changed and broken down ...

Sensitivity of a soil-plant-atmosphere model to changes in air temperature, dew point temperature, and solar radiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luxmoore, R.J. (Oak Ridge National Lab.,TN); Stolzy, J.L.; Holdeman, J.T.

1981-01-01

Air temperature, dew point temperature and solar radiation were independently varied in an hourly soil-plant-atmosphere model in a sensitivity analysis of these parameters. Results suggested that evapotranspiration in eastern Tennessee is limited more by meteorological conditions that determine the vapor-pressure gradient than by the necessary energy to vaporize water within foliage. Transpiration and soil water drainage were very sensitive to changes in air and dew point temperature and to solar radiation under low atmospheric vapor-pressure deficit conditions associated with reduced air temperature. Leaf water potential and stomatal conductance were reduced under conditions having high evapotranspiration. Representative air and dew point temperature input data for a particular application are necessary for satisfactory results, whereas irradiation may be less well characterized for applications with high atmospheric vapor-pressure deficit. The effects of a general rise in atmospheric temperature on forest water budgets are discussed.

Determination of mineral, trace element, and pesticide levels in honey samples originating from different regions of Malaysia compared to manuka honey.

Science.gov (United States)

Moniruzzaman, Mohammed; Chowdhury, Muhammed Alamgir Zaman; Rahman, Mohammad Abdur; Sulaiman, Siti Amrah; Gan, Siew Hua

2014-01-01

The present study was undertaken to determine the content of six minerals, five trace elements, and ten pesticide residues in honeys originating from different regions of Malaysia. Calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn) were analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS), while sodium (Na) and potassium (K) were analyzed by flame emission spectrometry (FAES). Trace elements such as arsenic (As), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and cobalt (Co) were analyzed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) following the microwave digestion of honey. High mineral contents were observed in the investigated honeys with K, Na, Ca, and Fe being the most abundant elements (mean concentrations of 1349.34, 236.80, 183.67, and 162.31 mg/kg, resp.). The concentrations of the trace elements were within the recommended limits, indicating that the honeys were of good quality. Principal component analysis reveals good discrimination between the different honey samples. The pesticide analysis for the presence of organophosphorus and carbamates was performed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). No pesticide residues were detected in any of the investigated honey samples, indicating that the honeys were pure. Our study reveals that Malaysian honeys are rich sources of minerals with trace elements present within permissible limits and that they are free from pesticide contamination.

Stingless bee honey and its potential value: a systematic review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yaacob, M.,

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Modern science has found that most traditional practice of using stingless bee honey has great potential as an added value in modern medicine and considered to have a higher medicinal value than other bee species. However, due to the relatively low output of honey compared to other honey so, focus on this honey is limited. Hence, this systematic review provides the updated result on the potential value of stingless bee honey as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxicity and antimicrobial. The search strategy was developed in four databases (Scopus, Medline and Ovid, EMBASE and PubMed with the search terms "("honey" and "Kelulut", "honey" and "stingless bee", "honey" and "Trigona", "honey" and "pot honey", and "honey" and "Melipon"". The merged data was assessed using PRISMA guidelines and after the duplicates were removed, 1271 articles were segregated. Afterwards, 1232 articles were eliminated because they do not meet the inclusion criteria and 39 articles were reevaluated again for eligibility. Finally, after the evaluation process, only 26 of the articles were chosen for this review. The data of 26 articles of stingless bee honey were deliberated based on antioxidant properties, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxicity and analysis of antimicrobial activity. Three articles reported on antioxidant properties, one article on anti-inflammatory analysis, two articles on cytotoxicity analysis, and twenty articles on analysis of antimicrobial activity. Based on the feasible affirmation from the literature, stingless bee honey has an antioxidant capacity that able to decrease the ROS. ROS able to lead a variety of health problems thus stingless bee honey can be a dietary supplement to overcome this problem.

Development of honey hydrogel dressing for enhanced wound healing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yusof, Norimah; Ainul Hafiza, A.H.; Zohdi, Rozaini M.; Bakar, Md Zuki A.

2007-01-01

Radiation at 25 and 50 kGy showed no effect on the acidic pH of the local honey, Gelam, and its antimicrobial property against Staphylococcus aureus but significantly reduced the viscosity. Honey stored up to 2 years at room temperature retained all the properties studied. Radiation sterilized Gelam honey significantly stimulated the rate of burn wound healing in Sprague-Dawley rats as demonstrated by the increased rate of wound contraction and gross appearance. Gelam honey attenuates wound inflammation; and re-epithelialization was well advanced compared to the treatment using silver sulphadiazine (SSD) cream. To enhance further the use of honey in wound treatment and for easy handling, Gelam honey was incorporated into our hydrogel dressing formulation, which was then cross-linked and sterilized using electron beam at 25 kGy. Hydrogel with 6% of honey was selected based on the physical appearance

Study on dew point evaporative cooling system with counter-flow configuration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, J.; Thu, K.; Bui, T.D.; Wang, R.Z.; Ng, K.C.; Chua, K.J.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Numerical model for a dew point evaporative cooler verified with experiments. • Saturation point of the working air is independent of the inlet air conditions. • The intensity of cooling capacity and water evaporation are studied. • The overall heat transfer coefficient for the working air is analyzed. • The conditions to achieve sub-wet bulb cooling are examined. - Abstract: Dew point evaporative cooling has great potential as a disruptive process for sensible cooling of air below its entering wet bulb temperature. This paper presents an improved mathematical model for a single-stage dew point evaporative cooler in a counter-flow configuration. Longitudinal heat conduction and mass diffusion of the air streams, channel plate and water film, as well as the temperature difference between the plate and water film, are accounted for in the model. Predictions of the product air temperature are validated using three sets of experimental data within a discrepancy of 4%. The cooler’s heat and mass transfer process is analyzed in terms of its cooling capacity intensity, water evaporation intensity, and overall heat transfer coefficient along the channel. Parametric studies are conducted at different geometric and operating conditions. For the conditions evaluated, the study reveals that (1) the saturation point of the working air occurs at a fixed point regardless of the inlet air conditions, and it is mainly influenced by the working air ratio and channel height; (2) the intensity of the water evaporation approaches a minimum at 0.2 to 0.3 m from the entrance; (3) the wet channel can be separated into two zones, and the overall heat transfer coefficient is above 100 W/(m"2·K) after the temperature of water film becomes higher than the working air temperature.

New correlation of dew point temperature for gases with low H/sub 2/SO/sub 4/ content

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fieg, J.

1986-04-01

During the last years increased concern about pollution problems has encouraged the development of many methods to remove particulate and other undesirable substances from flue gases. These efforts have also brought renewed interest in aqueous sulfuric acid vapour-liquid equilibrium for predicting the flue gas dew point. This article presents the principal methods, contributing to solve the inherent problems and summarizes the available data and presents a new empirical correlation of the dew point as a function of the partial pressures of sulfuric acid and the water in the vapour.

Irradiation Effects on the Decontamination of Microorganisms in Honey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jo, Cheorun; Kim, Jae Kyung; Kang, Ho Jin; Lee Eun Young; Byun, Myung Woo

2005-09-01

Honey is usually contaminated with numerous microorganisms. Especially, the presence of the spore of Clostridium in honey is dangerous to infants and small children. To determine the effect of a gamma irradiation on the microorganisms in honey, our kinds of honeys (acacia flower, poly floral flower, native A, and native B) were irradiated (0, 5, and 10 kGy) and the total aerobic bacterial count, yeasts and molds, coliform, and Clostridium spp. were detected. In all the honeys, the coliform bacterial, yeast and molds counts were below. The limit of detection (< 101 cfu/g). Total aerobic bacterial and Clostridium spp counts ranged from 85 to 450 cfu/g and 0 to 450 cfu/g in the samples respectively. Acacia and poly floral flower honey were completely sterilized by a 5 kGy irradiation, and both the native honey A and B showed decreased populations of the total aerobic bacteria and Clostridium spp. with a 5 kGy irradiation. Therefore it is concluded that an irradiation treatment could be an effective tool to disinfect honey

Concentrations of neonicotinoid insecticides in honey, pollen and honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) in central Saskatchewan, Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Codling, Garry; Al Naggar, Yahya; Giesy, John P; Robertson, Albert J

2016-02-01

Neonicotinoid insecticides (NIs) and their transformation products were detected in honey, pollen and honey bees, (Apis mellifera) from hives located within 30 km of the City of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Clothianidin and thiamethoxam were the most frequently detected NIs, found in 68 and 75% of honey samples at mean concentrations of 8.2 and 17.2 ng g(-1) wet mass, (wm), respectively. Clothianidin was also found in >50% of samples of bees and pollen. Concentrations of clothianidin in bees exceed the LD50 in 2 of 28 samples, while for other NIs concentrations were typically 10-100-fold less than the oral LD50. Imidaclorpid was detected in ∼30% of samples of honey, but only 5% of pollen and concentrations were honey and pollen by bees over winter, during which worker bees live longer than in summer, suggested that, in some hives, consumption of honey and pollen during over-wintering might have adverse effects on bees. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Selective oxidation of dual phase steel after annealing at different dew points

Science.gov (United States)

Lins, Vanessa de Freitas Cunha; Madeira, Laureanny; Vilela, Jose Mario Carneiro; Andrade, Margareth Spangler; Buono, Vicente Tadeu Lopes; Guimarães, Juliana Porto; Alvarenga, Evandro de Azevedo

2011-04-01

Hot galvanized steels have been extensively used in the automotive industry. Selective oxidation on the steel surface affects the wettability of zinc on steel and the grain orientation of inhibition layer (Fe-Al-Zn alloy) and reduces the iron diffusion to the zinc layer. The aim of this work is to identify and quantify selective oxidation on the surface of a dual phase steel, and an experimental steel with a lower content of manganese, annealed at different dew points. The techniques employed were atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy. External selective oxidation was observed for phosphorus on steel surface annealed at 0 °C dp, and for manganese, silicon, and aluminum at a lower dew point. The concentration of manganese was higher on the dual phase steel surface than on the surface of the experimental steel. The concentration of molybdenum on the surface of both steels increased as the depth increased.

Phytochemical screening and antimicrobial activity of apiary honey ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Honey produced by honeybee (Apis mellifera) which is used in herbal medicine was examined for its chemical constituents and antimicrobial activity. The phytochemical analysis of honey showed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, steroids, reducing sugar and glycosides. Antimicrobial activity of honey on fresh ...

Medicinal and cosmetic uses of Bee's Honey - A review.

Science.gov (United States)

Ediriweera, E R H S S; Premarathna, N Y S

2012-04-01

Bee's honey is one of the most valued and appreciated natural substances known to mankind since ancient times. There are many types of bee's honey mentioned in Ayurveda. Their effects differ and 'Makshika' is considered medicinally the best. According to modern scientific view, the best bee's honey is made by Apis mellifera (Family: Apidae). In Sri Lanka, the predominant honey-maker bee is Apis cerana. The aim of this survey is to emphasize the importance of bee's honey and its multitude of medicinal, cosmetic and general values. Synonyms, details of formation, constitution, properties, and method of extraction and the usages of bee's honey are gathered from text books, traditional and Ayurvedic physicians of Western and Southern provinces, villagers of 'Kalahe' in Galle district of Sri Lanka and from few search engines. Fresh bee's honey is used in treatment of eye diseases, throat infections, bronchial asthma, tuberculosis, hiccups, thirst, dizziness, fatigue, hepatitis, worm infestation, constipation, piles, eczema, healing of wounds, ulcers and used as a nutritious, easily digestible food for weak people. It promotes semen, mental health and used in cosmetic purposes. Old bee's honey is used to treat vomiting, diarrhea, rheumatoid arthritis, obesity, diabetes mellitus and in preserving meat and fruits. Highly popular in cosmetic treatment, bee's honey is used in preparing facial washes, skin moisturizers, hair conditioners and in treatment of pimples. Bee's honey could be considered as one of the finest products of nature that has a wide range of beneficial uses.

Bee Alert: Africanized Honey Bee Facts

OpenAIRE

Lazaneo, Vincent

2002-01-01

Information on how to “bee prepared” for the movement of the Africanized honey bee into California. Includes tips on how to identify Africanized honey bees, bee-proofing your home, and what to do if stung.

RNAi and Antiviral Defense in the Honey Bee

Science.gov (United States)

Brutscher, Laura M.; Flenniken, Michelle L.

2015-01-01

Honey bees play an important agricultural and ecological role as pollinators of numerous agricultural crops and other plant species. Therefore, investigating the factors associated with high annual losses of honey bee colonies in the US is an important and active area of research. Pathogen incidence and abundance correlate with Colony Collapse Disorder- (CCD-) affected colonies in the US and colony losses in the US and in some European countries. Honey bees are readily infected by single-stranded positive sense RNA viruses. Largely dependent on the host immune response, virus infections can either remain asymptomatic or result in deformities, paralysis, or death of adults or larvae. RNA interference (RNAi) is an important antiviral defense mechanism in insects, including honey bees. Herein, we review the role of RNAi in honey bee antiviral defense and highlight some parallels between insect and mammalian immune systems. A more thorough understanding of the role of pathogens on honey bee health and the immune mechanisms bees utilize to combat infectious agents may lead to the development of strategies that enhance honey bee health and result in the discovery of additional mechanisms of immunity in metazoans. PMID:26798663

RNAi and Antiviral Defense in the Honey Bee

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura M. Brutscher

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Honey bees play an important agricultural and ecological role as pollinators of numerous agricultural crops and other plant species. Therefore, investigating the factors associated with high annual losses of honey bee colonies in the US is an important and active area of research. Pathogen incidence and abundance correlate with Colony Collapse Disorder- (CCD- affected colonies in the US and colony losses in the US and in some European countries. Honey bees are readily infected by single-stranded positive sense RNA viruses. Largely dependent on the host immune response, virus infections can either remain asymptomatic or result in deformities, paralysis, or death of adults or larvae. RNA interference (RNAi is an important antiviral defense mechanism in insects, including honey bees. Herein, we review the role of RNAi in honey bee antiviral defense and highlight some parallels between insect and mammalian immune systems. A more thorough understanding of the role of pathogens on honey bee health and the immune mechanisms bees utilize to combat infectious agents may lead to the development of strategies that enhance honey bee health and result in the discovery of additional mechanisms of immunity in metazoans.

Physicochemical properties of honey from Serbia in the period 2014-2016

Science.gov (United States)

Vranić, D.; Petronijević, R.; Đinović Stojanović, J.; Korićanac, V.; Babić Milijašević, J.; Milijašević, M.

2017-09-01

Honey is a viscous, aromatic, sweet food that is consumed and enjoyed by people around the world due to its unique nutritional and medicinal properties. The physicochemical parameters of natural honeys, such as moisture, reducing sugars, sucrose, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), free acidity, diastase activity, water-insoluble content and electrical conductivity are strictly defined and constitute the quality indicators which characterize individual honey varieties. The present study shows results of honey quality investigation from various regions of Serbia, which were evaluated according to the Serbian Regulation. A total of 372 honey samples (132 acacia honey, 221 blossom honey and 19 honeydew honey) were obtained from the Serbian market. All applied methods were performed according to the Harmonized Methods of the International Honey Commission. Summarizing the results presented, the most important parameters for detecting honey that was non-compliant with the regulation were HMF content along with diastase activity and sugar content. Results show that in 2014 and 2015, a great number of honey samples were of insufficient quality to satisfy regulatory requirements. In 2016, the situation on the Serbian honey market improved and became more under control.

Detection of honey adulteration using HPLC method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga Cwiková

2015-10-01

We have further assessed whether honey samples comply with legislative requirements relating to this product or consumer misleading practices take place. Our analysed samples often lacked indication whether it is a floral honey or honeydew honey; this information was missing in eight out of 21 samples. Samples 5 and 9 did not mention the name of manufacturer. Sample 10 did not mention the country of origin.

Determination of Mineral, Trace Element, and Pesticide Levels in Honey Samples Originating from Different Regions of Malaysia Compared to Manuka Honey

Science.gov (United States)

Moniruzzaman, Mohammed; Chowdhury, Muhammed Alamgir Zaman; Rahman, Mohammad Abdur; Sulaiman, Siti Amrah; Gan, Siew Hua

2014-01-01

The present study was undertaken to determine the content of six minerals, five trace elements, and ten pesticide residues in honeys originating from different regions of Malaysia. Calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn) were analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS), while sodium (Na) and potassium (K) were analyzed by flame emission spectrometry (FAES). Trace elements such as arsenic (As), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and cobalt (Co) were analyzed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) following the microwave digestion of honey. High mineral contents were observed in the investigated honeys with K, Na, Ca, and Fe being the most abundant elements (mean concentrations of 1349.34, 236.80, 183.67, and 162.31 mg/kg, resp.). The concentrations of the trace elements were within the recommended limits, indicating that the honeys were of good quality. Principal component analysis reveals good discrimination between the different honey samples. The pesticide analysis for the presence of organophosphorus and carbamates was performed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). No pesticide residues were detected in any of the investigated honey samples, indicating that the honeys were pure. Our study reveals that Malaysian honeys are rich sources of minerals with trace elements present within permissible limits and that they are free from pesticide contamination. PMID:24982869

Determination of Mineral, Trace Element, and Pesticide Levels in Honey Samples Originating from Different Regions of Malaysia Compared to Manuka Honey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammed Moniruzzaman

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The present study was undertaken to determine the content of six minerals, five trace elements, and ten pesticide residues in honeys originating from different regions of Malaysia. Calcium (Ca, magnesium (Mg, iron (Fe, and zinc (Zn were analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS, while sodium (Na and potassium (K were analyzed by flame emission spectrometry (FAES. Trace elements such as arsenic (As, lead (Pb, cadmium (Cd, copper (Cu, and cobalt (Co were analyzed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS following the microwave digestion of honey. High mineral contents were observed in the investigated honeys with K, Na, Ca, and Fe being the most abundant elements (mean concentrations of 1349.34, 236.80, 183.67, and 162.31 mg/kg, resp.. The concentrations of the trace elements were within the recommended limits, indicating that the honeys were of good quality. Principal component analysis reveals good discrimination between the different honey samples. The pesticide analysis for the presence of organophosphorus and carbamates was performed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC. No pesticide residues were detected in any of the investigated honey samples, indicating that the honeys were pure. Our study reveals that Malaysian honeys are rich sources of minerals with trace elements present within permissible limits and that they are free from pesticide contamination.

Honey and honey-based sugars partially affect reproductive trade-offs in parasitoids exhibiting different life-history and reproductive strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey, Jeffrey A; Essens, Tijl A; Las, Rutger A; van Veen, Cindy; Visser, Bertanne; Ellers, Jacintha; Heinen, Robin; Gols, Rieta

2017-04-01

Adult dietary regimes in insects may affect egg production, fecundity and ultimately fitness. This is especially relevant in parasitoid wasps where many species serve as important biological control agents of agricultural pests. Here, we tested the effect of honey and sugar diets on daily fecundity schedules, lifetime reproductive success and longevity in four species of parasitoid wasps when reared on their respective hosts. The parasitoid species were selected based on dichotomies in host usage strategies and reproductive traits. Gelis agilis and G. areator are idiobiont ecto-parasitoids that develop in non-growing hosts, feed on protein-rich host fluids to maximize reproduction as adults and produce small numbers of large eggs. Meteorus pulchricornis and Microplitis mediator are koinobiont endoparasitoids that develop inside the bodies of growing hosts, do not host-feed, and produce greater numbers of small eggs. Parasitoids were reared on diets of either pure honey (containing trace amounts of proteins), heated honey (with denatured proteins) and a honey-mimic containing sugars only. We hypothesized that the benefits of proteins in honey would enhance reproduction in the ectoparasitoids due to their high metabolic investment per egg, but not in the koinobionts. Pure honey diet resulted in higher lifetime fecundity in G. agilis compared with the honey-mimic, whereas in both koinobionts, reproductive success did not vary significantly with diet. Longevity was less affected by diet in all of the parasitoids, although there were variable trade-offs between host access and longevity in the four species. We argue that there are both trait-based and association-specific effects of supplementary nutrients in honey on reproductive investment and success in parasitoid wasps. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Honey constituents up-regulate detoxification and immunity genes in the western honey bee Apis mellifera.

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, Wenfu; Schuler, Mary A; Berenbaum, May R

2013-05-28

As a managed pollinator, the honey bee Apis mellifera is critical to the American agricultural enterprise. Recent colony losses have thus raised concerns; possible explanations for bee decline include nutritional deficiencies and exposures to pesticides and pathogens. We determined that constituents found in honey, including p-coumaric acid, pinocembrin, and pinobanksin 5-methyl ether, specifically induce detoxification genes. These inducers are primarily found not in nectar but in pollen in the case of p-coumaric acid (a monomer of sporopollenin, the principal constituent of pollen cell walls) and propolis, a resinous material gathered and processed by bees to line wax cells. RNA-seq analysis (massively parallel RNA sequencing) revealed that p-coumaric acid specifically up-regulates all classes of detoxification genes as well as select antimicrobial peptide genes. This up-regulation has functional significance in that that adding p-coumaric acid to a diet of sucrose increases midgut metabolism of coumaphos, a widely used in-hive acaricide, by ∼60%. As a major component of pollen grains, p-coumaric acid is ubiquitous in the natural diet of honey bees and may function as a nutraceutical regulating immune and detoxification processes. The widespread apicultural use of honey substitutes, including high-fructose corn syrup, may thus compromise the ability of honey bees to cope with pesticides and pathogens and contribute to colony losses.

Honey irradiation: effect on hydroxymethylfurfural content

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cova, M. C.; Narvaiz, Patricia

2011-01-01

Ionizing radiations can be used to inactivate thermo resistant microorganisms in honey, improving its hygienic and sanitary quality. 'American foulbrood' is a disease caused by the sporulated bacteria Paenibacillus larvae larvae which affects bees, diminishes honey production and impairs trade. Clostridium botulinum spores can also be present in honey and cause the disease in very young children. Considering that ionizing radiation can modify molecules, this work was undertaken to evaluate its effect on hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) content along storage time. HMF is an aldehyde produced as sugars degrade due to excessive heating and/or time, so it is regulated as a freshness indicator in honey. Two varieties of honey, one fluid and the other creamy, of a commercial high quality brand were packaged in polypropylene recipes and stored at room temperature for 14 months. Irradiation was carried out at the semi industrial cobalt-60 facility of the Ezeiza Atomic Centre, about 600,000 Ci of activity, at doses of 0, 10, 20 and 40 kilo Grays, dose rate: 10 kGy/h, dose uniformity:1.1. HMF values, measured according to White ´s spectrophotometric method, increased along storage time in every sample. Irradiation initially diminished HMF content irrespective of dose, trend which was maintained throughout the storage period in creamy honey. Instead, in fluid honey since the fourth month the slopes corresponding to the irradiated samples curves were greater than that of the control one, as a function of dose, rendering higher HMF values in the 40 kGy sample as compared with control since the 10 th storage month. Possibly the prevailing first irradiation effect during storage time is HMF breakdown, followed by enhanced synthesis. (author) [es

Antimicrobial properties of natural honey: a review of literature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aurongzeb, M.; Azim, M.K.

2011-01-01

Health benefits of honey have been reported in a variety of conditions including microbial infections, wound healing, inflammation, glucose tolerance and analgesia. Honey is a supersaturated sugar solution mainly comprised of D-fructose, D-glucose, sucrose, maltose and higher sugars (80% of solid mass). While other natural products i.e. alkaloids, flavonoids/isoflavones, glycosides, phenolics, peptides/proteins are present in minor quantities. A number of enzymes such as invertase, amylase and glucose oxidase have been found in honey. Antibacterial and antifungal activities of honey are well documented and characterized. These antimicrobial properties have been related to oligosaccharides, glycopeptides and peptides present in honey. Honey glucose oxidase provides a continuous and slow release of hydrogen peroxide at a level which is antibacterial but not tissue-damaging. Hydrogen peroxide produced by glucose oxidase plays important roles in inflammation, wound healing etc. The antimicrobial properties of honey have great potential for application in medicine as well as in food industry. (author)

Heritabilities and genetic correlations for honey yield, gentleness, calmness and swarming behaviour in Austrian honey bees

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brascamp, Evert; Willam, Alfons; Boigenzahn, Christian; Bijma, Piter; Veerkamp, Roel F.

2016-01-01

Heritabilities and genetic correlations were estimated for honey yield and behavioural traits in Austrian honey bees using data on nearly 15,000 colonies of the bee breeders association Biene Österreich collected between 1995 and 2014. The statistical models used distinguished between the genetic

Rheology of irradiated honey from Parana region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sabato, S.F. E-mail: sfsabato@ipen.br

2004-10-01

Viscosity characteristics can be governed by the molecular chain length of sugars present in the honey. Honey is essentially a mixture of sugar and water. When a physical treatment, as gamma radiation, is applied to food, some changes on its viscosity may occur. Viscosity is one of the important properties of honey and depends on water and sugar quantities. The objective of this work was to verify the rheological behavior of irradiated honey from Parana region in comparison to the unirradiated one. Each rheogram was measured at different shear rates that was increased to a certain value then immediately decreased to the starting point ('up and down curves'). These measurements were made for control and irradiated samples (5 and 10 kGy) in different temperatures (30 deg. C, 35 deg. C and 40 deg. C). The curves constructed with shear stress against shear rate presented linearity. Honey, irradiated and control, showed a Newtonian behavior and gamma radiation did not affect it.

Rheology of Indian Honey: Effect of Temperature and Gamma Radiation

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Sudhanshu Saxena

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Honey brands commonly available in Indian market were characterized for their rheological and thermal properties. Viscosity of all the honey samples belonging to different commercial brands was found to decrease with increase in temperature (5–40°C and their sensitivity towards temperature varied significantly as explained by calculating activation energy based on Arrhenius model and ranged from 54.0 to 89.0 kJ/mol. However, shear rate was not found to alter the viscosity of honey indicating their Newtonian character and the shear stress varied linearly with shear rate for all honey samples. Honey is known to contain pathogenic microbial spores and in our earlier study gamma radiation was found to be effective in achieving microbial decontamination of honey. The effect of gamma radiation (5–15 kGy on rheological properties of honey was assessed, and it was found to remain unchanged upon radiation treatment. The glass transition temperatures (Tg of these honey analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry varied from −44.1 to −54.1°C and remained unchanged upon gamma radiation treatment. The results provide information about some key physical properties of commercial Indian honey. Radiation treatment which is useful for ensuring microbial safety of honey does not alter these properties.

A new dewatering technique for stingless bees honey

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Ramli Ahmad Syazwan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available One of the problems faced in stingless bee honey storage is spoilage by the fermentation process occurs in honey due to its high water content. There are a few techniques available currently, but they are time consuming and there is excessive heat involved in the process. The temperature of the process must be kept low because excessive heat can deteriorate nutrition value and biochemical content in honey. Hence, a new method of honey dewatering was developed using a Low Temperature Vacuum Drying (LTVD with induced nucleation technique.The objective of this research is to investigate the performance of a LTVD with induced nucleation to reduce the water content in honey. First, the honey was placed in a pressure vessel, and then air was removed. Then, the honey was slightly heated at 30°C and the water content before and after the experiment was measured by a refractometer. The steps were repeated until the water content reached below 20%. It was found that the LTVD method improved the water removal rate significantly with an average of 0.15% of water content per minute. That is 3 times much faster than the conventional method of low temperature heating by Tabouret. Higher temperature during dewatering process improved the dewatering rate significantly. It can be concluded that LTVD is a promising option in tackling the high water content in stingless bee honey issue.

Physico-chemical studies on adulteration of honey in Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Lawal, R A; Lawal, A K; Adekalu, J B

2009-08-01

The extent of adulteration of honey samples from various geographical locations in Nigeria was evaluated. In order to ascertain the quality and extent of adulteration of the honey samples, the total titrable acidity, brix content, pH, colour, viscosity, moisture content, total solids, ash content, hydroxymethyl furfural and microbiological analysis were carried out. Honey samples from Akwa-Ibom, Ondo and Ogun had a high hydroxymethyl furfural with coliforms and total bacteria counts being absent, while honey samples from Shaki, Yola and Ibadan had a low hydroxymethyl furfural and some total viable counts were present in them. These results indicate that honey samples from Akwa-Ibom, Ondo and Ogun were completely free of adulteration. However, honey samples obtained from Shaki, Yola and Ibadan were discovered to have undergone some form of adulteration.

Immunomodulatory effects of honey cannot be distinguished from endotoxin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Timm, Michael; Bartelt, Stine; Hansen, Erik Wind

2008-01-01

in vitro effects of honey. Our results show that natural honeys induce interleukin-6 release from Mono Mac 6 cells as well as release of reactive oxygen species from all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) differentiated HL-60 cells. The natural honeys contained substantial amounts of endotoxin, and the responses...... observed in the cell based assays were similar to the responses induced by endotoxin alone. In addition, we determined that the immunomodulatory component present in the natural honeys was retained in the ultra filtrated fraction with a molecular weight greater than 20 kDa. The component was resistant...... to boiling and its immunomodulatory activity could be abrogated by the addition of polymyxin B. We speculate that the observed in vitro immunomodulatory effects of honey might solely be explained by the endotoxin content in the natural honeys....

Estimation of precipitable water from surface dew point temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdel Wahab, M.; Sharif, T.A.

1991-09-01

The Reitan (1963) regression equation which is of the form lnw=a+bT d has been examined and tested to estimate precipitable water content from surface dew point temperature at different locations. The study confirms that the slope of this equation (b) remains constant at the value of .0681 deg. C., while the intercept (a) changes rapidly with the latitude. The use of the variable intercept can improve the estimated result by 2%. (author). 6 refs, 4 figs, 3 tabs

Honey physicochemical properties of three species of the Brazilian Melipona.

Science.gov (United States)

Lage, Lorena G A; Coelho, Lívia L; Resende, Helder C; Tavares, Mara G; Campos, Lucio A O; Fernandes-Salomão, Tânia M

2012-09-01

Physicochemical analyses were carried out to evaluate 27 samples of honeys from three species of the Brazilian genus Melipona (M. capixaba, M. rufiventris and M. mondury) from Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais States. The parameters water activity (Aw), percentage of soluble solids (Brix %), pH, acidity (meq/Kg) and moisture (%) were evaluated. The honey characteristics obtained from these samples were very similar to the ones from other Melipona species. However, regarding the honey from Apis (honey bee), only the pH values were similar. The low pH value and the high acidity detected in Melipona honey are potential factors for increasing the honey shelf life because they do not provide favorable conditions for the microbial development. On the other hand, the high level of water activity favors the growth of microorganisms, especially yeast, which demands a more careful handled and storage. The observed differences between Melipona and Apis honey reinforce the need for specific quality settings for stingless bee honey.

Video Tracking Protocol to Screen Deterrent Chemistries for Honey Bees.

Science.gov (United States)

Larson, Nicholas R; Anderson, Troy D

2017-06-12

The European honey bee, Apis mellifera L., is an economically and agriculturally important pollinator that generates billions of dollars annually. Honey bee colony numbers have been declining in the United States and many European countries since 1947. A number of factors play a role in this decline, including the unintentional exposure of honey bees to pesticides. The development of new methods and regulations are warranted to reduce pesticide exposures to these pollinators. One approach is the use of repellent chemistries that deter honey bees from a recently pesticide-treated crop. Here, we describe a protocol to discern the deterrence of honey bees exposed to select repellent chemistries. Honey bee foragers are collected and starved overnight in an incubator 15 h prior to testing. Individual honey bees are placed into Petri dishes that have either a sugar-agarose cube (control treatment) or sugar-agarose-compound cube (repellent treatment) placed into the middle of the dish. The Petri dish serves as the arena that is placed under a camera in a light box to record the honey bee locomotor activities using video tracking software. A total of 8 control and 8 repellent treatments were analyzed for a 10 min period with each treatment was duplicated with new honey bees. Here, we demonstrate that honey bees are deterred from the sugar-agarose cubes with a compound treatment whereas honey bees are attracted to the sugar-agarose cubes without an added compound.

EFFECT OF DEW POINT OF ATMOSPHERE OF CGL’S ANNEALING FURNACES ON THE QUALITY OF GA COATING ON BAKE HARDENABLE STEEL

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Juliana Porto Guimarães

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The strip steel surface condition after continuous annealing of strip is extremely important to the quality of galvannealed coating (GA. The presence of oxides or precipitated can affect the reactions at the coating/substrate interface and decrease the zinc wettability on the steel surface, leading to various defects in the final product. To avoid oxidation of the material during continuous annealing, a protective atmosphere is used in the furnaces. Despite this atmosphere, it is possible the selective oxidation or precipitation of second phase particles, being the dew point of atmosphere one of the leading factors to reduce this occurrence. This study aims to evaluate the effect of the dew point on the quality of GA coatings applied to a bake hardenable steel. The continuous annealing under dew points of –60°C, 30°C and 0°C, as well as hot dip galvanizing, were performed in a Hot Dip Process Simulator. It is found that the dew point has a decisive influence on the amount, distribution and type of oxides formed, and the condition of –30°C provided the coating with less failures and better adhesion.

NUTRITIOUS – HEALING STRUCTURE OF SOME KINDS OF HONEY IN EASTERN CROATIA

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Zvonimir Tucak

2000-06-01

Full Text Available Honey as food and honey as medicine are for a long time in peoples use. The nutritious and healing substances are different, also of the honey-herbs which the bees visit. The analised kind of honey (Acacia, Flower honey, linden-honey showw a real richnes in healing and nutritious structure. The organoleptic and chemical features of the analised honey- types fit into the standards of Republic Croatia and the Europian Unit. The said exhibitors justificate the hitherto way of bee-keeping and the technology of honey-production.

Effects of leaf hair points of a desert moss on water retention and dew formation: implications for desiccation tolerance.

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, Ye; Zhang, Yuan Ming

2012-05-01

Leaf hair points (LHPs) are important morphological structures in many desiccation-tolerant mosses, but study of their functions has been limited. A desert moss, Syntrichia caninervis, was chosen for examination of the ecological effects of LHPs on water retention and dew formation at individual and population (patch) levels. Although LHPs were only 4.77% of shoot weight, they were able to increase absolute water content (AWC) by 24.87%. The AWC of samples with LHPs was always greater than for those without LHPs during dehydration. The accumulative evaporation ratio (AER) showed an opposite trend. AWC, evaporation ratio and AER of shoots with LHPs took 20 min longer to reach a completely dehydrated state than shoots without LHPs. At the population level, dew formation on moss crusts with LHPs was faster than on crusts without LHPs, and the former had higher daily and total dew amounts. LHPs were able to improve dew amounts on crusts by 10.26%. Following three simulated rainfall events (1, 3 and 6 mm), AERs from crusts with LHPs were always lower than from crusts without LHPs. LHPs can therefore significantly delay and reduce evaporation. We confirm that LHPs are important desiccation-tolerant features of S. caninervis at both individual and population levels. LHPs greatly aid moss crusts in adapting to arid conditions.

Antibiotic, Pesticide, and Microbial Contaminants of Honey: Human Health Hazards

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Noori Al-Waili

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Agricultural contamination with pesticides and antibiotics is a challenging problem that needs to be fully addressed. Bee products, such as honey, are widely consumed as food and medicine and their contamination may carry serious health hazards. Honey and other bee products are polluted by pesticides, heavy metals, bacteria and radioactive materials. Pesticide residues cause genetic mutations and cellular degradation and presence of antibiotics might increase resistant human or animal's pathogens. Many cases of infant botulisms have been attributed to contaminated honey. Honey may be very toxic when produced from certain plants. Ingestion of honey without knowing its source and safety might be problematic. Honey should be labeled to explore its origin, composition, and clear statement that it is free from contaminants. Honey that is not subjected for analysis and sterilization should not be used in infants, and should not be applied to wounds or used for medicinal purposes. This article reviews the extent and health impact of honey contamination and stresses on the introduction of a strict monitoring system and validation of acceptable minimal concentrations of pollutants or identifying maximum residue limits for bee products, in particular, honey.

Effects of Engineered Wettability on the Efficiency of Dew Collection.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerasopoulos, Konstantinos; Luedeman, William L; Ölçeroglu, Emre; McCarthy, Matthew; Benkoski, Jason J

2018-01-31

Surface wettability plays an important role in dew collection. Nucleation is faster on hydrophilic surfaces, while droplets slide more readily on hydrophobic surfaces. Plants and animals in coastal desert environments appear to overcome this trade-off through biphilic surfaces with patterned wettability. In this study, we investigate the effects of millimeter-scale wettability patterns, mimicking those of the Stenocara beetle, on the rate of water collection from humid air. The rate of water collection per unit area is measured as a function of subcooling (ΔT = 1, 7, and 27 °C) and angle of inclination (from 10° to 90°). It is then compared for superbiphilic, hydrophilic, hydrophobic, and surperhydrophobic surfaces. For large subcooling, neither wettability nor tilt angle has a significant effect because the rate of condensation is so great. For 1 °C subcooling and large angles, hydrophilic surfaces perform best because condensation is the rate-limiting step. For low angles of inclination, superhydrophobic samples are best because droplet sliding is the rate-limiting step. Superbiphilic surfaces, in contrast to their superior fog collecting capabilities, generally collected dew at the slowest rate due to their inherent contact angle hysteresis. Theoretical considerations suggest that this finding may apply more generally to surfaces with patterned wettability.

Bubble-point and dew-point equation for binary refrigerant mixture R22-R142b

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liancheng Tan; Zhongyou Zhao; Yonghong Duan (Xi' an Jiaotong Univ., Xi' an (China). Dept. of Power Machinery Engineering)

1992-01-01

A bubble-point and dew-point equation (in terms either of temperature or of pressure is suggested for the refrigerant mixture R22-R142b), which is regarded as one of the alternatives to R12. This equation has been examined with experimental data. A modified Rackett equation for the calculation of the bubble-point volume is also proposed. Compared with the experimental data, the rms errors in the calculated values of the bubble-point temperature, the dew-point temperature, and the bubble-point volume are 1.093%, 0.947%, and 1.120%, respectively. The calculation covers a wide range of temperatures and pressures, even near the critical point. It is shown how the equations are extrapolated to calculate other binary refrigerant mixtures. (author)

Phytochemical fingerprints of lime honey collected in serbia.

Science.gov (United States)

Gašić, Uroš; Šikoparija, Branko; Tosti, Tomislav; Trifković, Jelena; Milojković-Opsenica, Dušanka; Natić, Maja; Tešić, Živoslav

2014-01-01

Composition of phenolic compounds and the sugar content were determined as the basis for characterization of lime honey from Serbia. Particular attention was given to differences in phytochemical profiles of ripe and unripe lime honey and lime tree nectar. Melissopalynological analysis confirmed domination of Tilia nectar in all analyzed samples. Phenolic acids, abscisic acid, flavonoids, and flavonoid glycosides were determined by means of ultra-HPLC coupled with a hybrid mass spectrometer (UHPLC-OrbiTrap). Sugar content was determined using high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with amperometric detection. Similar phenolic compounds characterized unripe and ripe honeys, while the lime tree nectar profile showed notable differences. Compared to lime tree nectar, a high amount of chrysin, pinocembrin, and galangin were detected in both ripe and unripe lime honey. Fructose and glucose were the major constituents of all investigated samples, and amounts were within the limits established by European Union legislation. Sucrose content in the nectar sample was up to two-fold higher when compared to all honey samples. Isomaltose and gentiobiose with turanose content were different in analyzed production stages of lime honey.

The antibacterial activity of honey derived from Australian flora.

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Julie Irish

Full Text Available Chronic wound infections and antibiotic resistance are driving interest in antimicrobial treatments that have generally been considered complementary, including antimicrobially active honey. Australia has unique native flora and produces honey with a wide range of different physicochemical properties. In this study we surveyed 477 honey samples, derived from native and exotic plants from various regions of Australia, for their antibacterial activity using an established screening protocol. A level of activity considered potentially therapeutically useful was found in 274 (57% of the honey samples, with exceptional activity seen in samples derived from marri (Corymbia calophylla, jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata and jellybush (Leptospermum polygalifolium. In most cases the antibacterial activity was attributable to hydrogen peroxide produced by the bee-derived enzyme glucose oxidase. Non-hydrogen peroxide activity was detected in 80 (16.8% samples, and was most consistently seen in honey produced from Leptospermum spp. Testing over time found the hydrogen peroxide-dependent activity in honey decreased, in some cases by 100%, and this activity was more stable at 4 °C than at 25 °C. In contrast, the non-hydrogen peroxide activity of Leptospermum honey samples increased, and this was greatest in samples stored at 25 °C. The stability of non-peroxide activity from other honeys was more variable, suggesting this activity may have a different cause. We conclude that many Australian honeys have clinical potential, and that further studies into the composition and stability of their active constituents are warranted.

Tropilaelaps mite: an emerging threat to European honey bee.

Science.gov (United States)

Chantawannakul, Panuwan; Ramsey, Samuel; vanEngelsdorp, Dennis; Khongphinitbunjong, Kitiphong; Phokasem, Patcharin

2018-04-01

The risk of transmission of honey bee parasites has increased substantially as a result of trade globalization and technical developments in transportation efficacy. Great concern over honey bee decline has accelerated research on newly emerging bee pests and parasites. These organisms are likely to emerge from Asia as it is the only region where all 10 honey bee species co-occur. Varroa destructor, an ectoparasitic mite, is a classic example of a pest that has shifted from A. cerana, a cavity nesting Asian honey bee to A. mellifera, the European honey bee. In this review, we will describe the potential risks to global apiculture of the global expansion of Tropilaelaps mercedesae, originally a parasite of the open-air nesting Asian giant honey bee, compared to the impact of V. destructor. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of Different Growth Stages and Dew Period Length on Disease Development of Alternaria alternata as a Biological Control Agent for Convolvulus arvensis

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E Zeidali

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Field bindweed is an important perinial weed of agricultural crops word-wide. There are plant pathogen fungus which could cause necrotic spots on the leaves and stems of convolvulus arvensis under natural coditions. In order to evaluate the effects of weed growth stage and length of dew period on disease development causes by Aletrnaria alternata and Fusarium sp. two expriments were performed in the greenhouse based on a completely randomized design in factorial arrangement with four replications during 2006-2007. Spore concentration for both experiments was 107 spores per ml of distilled water. In the first experiment, treatments were different growth stages of field bindweed (cotyledon, 4-leaf, 6-leaf, 9-11-leaf stages. Results showed that disease development in the fungus of A. alternata was higher than Fusarium sp. The most susceptable growth stage of field bindweed plants to A. alternata was 2-4-leave stage. The second expriment was performed in order to study the effect of dew period length (6, 12, 24 and 48 hour dew periods on disease development at 4-leaf growth stage of field bindweed. The maximum disease development and minimum weed dry weight were observed with application of the fungus of A. alternata at dew periods of 24 and 48 hour, however, plant damage was also observed with a length of 6 hours dew period.

Physiology and biochemistry of honey bees

Science.gov (United States)

Despite their tremendous economic importance, honey bees are not a typical model system for studying general questions of insect physiology. This is primarily due to the fact that honey bees live in complex social settings which impact their physiological and biochemical characteristics. Not surpris...

Swimming of the Honey Bees

Science.gov (United States)

Roh, Chris; Gharib, Morteza

2016-11-01

When the weather gets hot, nursing honey bees nudge foragers to collect water for thermoregulation of their hive. While on their mission to collect water, foragers sometimes get trapped on the water surface, forced to interact with a different fluid environment. In this study, we present the survival strategy of the honey bees at the air-water interface. A high-speed videography and shadowgraph were used to record the honey bees swimming. A unique thrust mechanism through rapid vibration of their wings at 60 to 150 Hz was observed. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. CBET-1511414; additional support by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. DGE-1144469.

The honey industry in COMESA: Opportunities and challenges ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In terms of trade, only about 31.2 % of global honey production entered international trade in the same year. Whereas, the total natural honey production in Africa in 2013 was only 10.2% (169,306.00 tones) of which, 1.55 % entered international trade. The total honey production from COMESA Member States in 2013 was ...

Honey Bee Infecting Lake Sinai Viruses.

Science.gov (United States)

Daughenbaugh, Katie F; Martin, Madison; Brutscher, Laura M; Cavigli, Ian; Garcia, Emma; Lavin, Matt; Flenniken, Michelle L

2015-06-23

Honey bees are critical pollinators of important agricultural crops. Recently, high annual losses of honey bee colonies have prompted further investigation of honey bee infecting viruses. To better characterize the recently discovered and very prevalent Lake Sinai virus (LSV) group, we sequenced currently circulating LSVs, performed phylogenetic analysis, and obtained images of LSV2. Sequence analysis resulted in extension of the LSV1 and LSV2 genomes, the first detection of LSV4 in the US, and the discovery of LSV6 and LSV7. We detected LSV1 and LSV2 in the Varroa destructor mite, and determined that a large proportion of LSV2 is found in the honey bee gut, suggesting that vector-mediated, food-associated, and/or fecal-oral routes may be important for LSV dissemination. Pathogen-specific quantitative PCR data, obtained from samples collected during a small-scale monitoring project, revealed that LSV2, LSV1, Black queen cell virus (BQCV), and Nosema ceranae were more abundant in weak colonies than strong colonies within this sample cohort. Together, these results enhance our current understanding of LSVs and illustrate the importance of future studies aimed at investigating the role of LSVs and other pathogens on honey bee health at both the individual and colony levels.

Honey Bee Infecting Lake Sinai Viruses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katie F. Daughenbaugh

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Honey bees are critical pollinators of important agricultural crops. Recently, high annual losses of honey bee colonies have prompted further investigation of honey bee infecting viruses. To better characterize the recently discovered and very prevalent Lake Sinai virus (LSV group, we sequenced currently circulating LSVs, performed phylogenetic analysis, and obtained images of LSV2. Sequence analysis resulted in extension of the LSV1 and LSV2 genomes, the first detection of LSV4 in the US, and the discovery of LSV6 and LSV7. We detected LSV1 and LSV2 in the Varroa destructor mite, and determined that a large proportion of LSV2 is found in the honey bee gut, suggesting that vector-mediated, food-associated, and/or fecal-oral routes may be important for LSV dissemination. Pathogen-specific quantitative PCR data, obtained from samples collected during a small-scale monitoring project, revealed that LSV2, LSV1, Black queen cell virus (BQCV, and Nosema ceranae were more abundant in weak colonies than strong colonies within this sample cohort. Together, these results enhance our current understanding of LSVs and illustrate the importance of future studies aimed at investigating the role of LSVs and other pathogens on honey bee health at both the individual and colony levels.

Influence of feeding bee colonies on colony strenght and honey authenticity

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Andreja KANDOLF BOROVŠAK

2015-12-01

Full Text Available For the natural development of bee colonies, there is the need for appropriate nutrition. Lack of natural honey flow must be supplemented by feeding bee colonies with sugar syrups or candy paste. This supplementary feeding encourages brood breeding and forage activity, whereby stronger colonies collect more honey. Sugar syrups can cause honey adulteration, which is more frequent with the reversing of the brood combs with the bee food, with the combs moved from the brood chamber to the upper chamber. Authentication of honey from the standpoint of the presence of sugar syrup is very complex, because there is no single method by which honey adulteration can be reliably confirmed. Feeding the colonies in spring should result in stronger colonies and hence the collection of more honey in the brood chambers. The objective of the present study was to determine whether this has effects also on honey authenticity, and to discover a simple method for detection of honey adulteration. The colonies were fed with candy paste that had added yeast and blue dye, to provide markers for detection of honey adulteration. The strength of the colonies and quantity of honey in the brood chambers were monitored. The results of the analysis of stable isotope and activity of foreign enzymes were compared with the results of yeast quantity and colour of the honey (absorbance, L*, a*, b* parameters. Detection of yeast in the honey samples and presence of colour as a consequence of added dye appear to be appropriate methods to follow honey adulteration, and further studies are ongoing.

VIS/NIR imaging application for honey floral origin determination

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Minaei, Saeid; Shafiee, Sahameh; Polder, Gerrit; Moghadam-Charkari, Nasrolah; Ruth, van Saskia; Barzegar, Mohsen; Zahiri, Javad; Alewijn, Martin; Kuś, Piotr M.

2017-01-01

Nondestructive methods are of utmost importance for honey characterization. This study investigates the potential application of VIS-NIR hyperspectral imaging for detection of honey flower origin using machine learning techniques. Hyperspectral images of 52 honey samples were taken in

Detection and quantification of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in antibacterial medical honeys.

Science.gov (United States)

Cramer, Luise; Beuerle, Till

2012-12-01

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in antibacterial honey for wound care ranging from minor abrasions and burns to leg ulcers and surgical wounds. On the other hand, several recent studies demonstrated that honey for human consumption was contaminated with natural occurring, plant derived pyrrolizidine alkaloids.1,2-Unsaturated pyrrolizidine alkaloids are a group of secondary plant metabolites that show developmental, hepato-, and geno-toxicity as well as carcinogenic effects in animal models and in in vitro test systems. Hence, it was of particular interest to analyze the pyrrolizidine alkaloid content of medical honeys intended for wound care.19 different medical honey samples and/or batches were analyzed by applying a recently established pyrrolizidine alkaloid sum parameter method. 1,2-Unsaturated pyrrolizidine alkaloids were converted into the common necin backbone structures and were analyzed and quantified by GC-MS in the selected ion monitoring mode.All but one medical honey analyzed were pyrrolizidine alkaloid positive. The results ranged from 10.6 µg retronecine equivalents per kg to 494.5 µg retronecine equivalents/kg medical honey. The average pyrrolizidine alkaloid content of all positive samples was 83.6 µg retronecine equivalents/kg medical honey (average of all samples was 79.3 µg retronecine equivalents/kg medical honey). The limit of detection was 2.0 µg retronecine equivalents/kg medical honey, while the limit of quantification was 6.0 µg retronecine equivalents/kg medical honey (S/N > 7/1).Based on the data presented here and considering the fact that medical honeys can be applied to open wounds, it seems reasonable to discuss the monitoring of 1,2-unsaturated pyrrolizidine alkaloids in honey intended for wound treatment. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Antimutagenic and antibacterial properties of honey and effect of radiation hygienization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saxena, Sudhanshu; Gautam, Satyendra

2015-01-01

As mutation is the well known mechanism of neoplastic induction, therefore foods having bioactive compounds with potential to combat mutagenesis are of immense significance. Although honey is a well known natural functional food with associated health supporting quality attributes, there are limited reports with respect to its antimutagenic potential and the effect of floral type on the same. Antimutagenicity or the ability to prevent neoplastic inductions is being considered as an effective strategy to combat mutagen associated diseases. Therefore different regional Indian honeys varying in natural floral types procured were evaluated for their comparative antimutagenicity using a novel E. coli based forward mutation detection assay where mutation(s) in rpoB gene abolishes its interaction with rifampicin and thus confers rifampicin resistant mutator phenotype (RifR) to E. coli cells. Honey displayed wide variation in their ability to prevent induced mutagenesis and among 24 honey samples collected, 'Karanj' honey (Pongammia pinnata) displayed prominent (∼ 80%) antimutagenicity. Besides, honeys were also evaluated for their comparative antibacterial activity against various bacteria such as S. typhimurium, S. aureus, P. syringae etc. Surprisingly, honey of same floral type differed in their antibacterial potentials. Although honey is acidic in nature, the acidity of honey was not found to be the contributing factor of antibacterial activity. Instead, in almost all the cases the antibacterial activity was attributed to the peroxide component of honey. Besides, gamma radiation treatment was also standardized to ensure microbial safety of honey as it may contain burden of pathogenic microbial spores. Radiation (15 kGy) treatment of honey did not affect its antimutagenicity and antibacterial activity. Thus, the current findings provide credible evidence supporting health protective effects of honey and its retention in radiation hygienized honey. (author)

Blue light enhances the antimicrobial activity of honey against Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Science.gov (United States)

Orlandi, Viviana Teresa; Bolognese, Fabrizio; Barbieri, Paola

2018-02-01

Pseudomonas aeruginosa may be isolated from skin wounds of burn patients, bedsore and diabetic ulcers. The healing of wounds is often impaired by the intrinsic antibiotic resistance, the tolerance to many antimicrobials and the ability to form biofilm of this opportunistic pathogen. Finding new topical treatments to combine with antibiotics is thus essential. Among natural products, the antimicrobial properties of honeys have been known for millennia. In this study honey and visible light have been combined to control the growth of P. aeruginosa PAO1. The irradiation by a broad spectrum light source of bacteria inoculated onto 2 % w/v fir and forest honeydew (HD) honeys caused a killing effect that the honeys alone or the light alone did not show. This antimicrobial activity was light energy-dose and honey-concentration dependent. Among the tested honeys, the fir and forest HD honeys were the most efficient ones. In particular, the irradiation by blue LED (λmax = 466 nm) yielded good rates of killing, that were significantly higher in comparison to irradiation alone and honey alone. Interestingly, a similar effect was obtained by plating bacteria on blue LED pre-irradiated HD honeys. The combined use of honey and blue light was also successful in inhibiting the biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa. The blue LED irradiation of PAO1 administered with 10 % w/v forest HD honey significantly enhanced the inhibition of biofilm formation in comparison to dark incubated honey.

Investigation of Primary Dew-Point Saturator Efficiency in Two Different Thermal Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Zvizdic, D.; Heinonen, M.; Sestan, D.

2015-08-01

The aim of this paper is to describe the evaluation process of the performance of the low-range saturator (LRS), when exposed to two different thermal environments. The examined saturator was designed, built, and tested at MIKES (Centre for Metrology and Accreditation, Finland), and then transported to the Laboratory for Process Measurement (LPM) in Croatia, where it was implemented in a new dew-point calibration system. The saturator works on a single-pressure-single-pass generation principle in the dew/frost-point temperature range between and . The purpose of the various tests performed at MIKES was to examine the efficiency and non-ideality of the saturator. As a test bath facility in Croatia differs from the one used in Finland, the same tests were repeated at LPM, and the effects of different thermal conditions on saturator performance were examined. Thermometers, pressure gauges, an air preparation system, and water for filling the saturator at LPM were also different than those used at MIKES. Results obtained by both laboratories indicate that the efficiency of the examined saturator was not affected either by the thermal conditions under which it was tested or by equipment used for the tests. Both laboratories concluded that LRS is efficient enough for a primary realization of the dew/frost-point temperature scale in the range from to , with flow rates between and . It is also shown that a considerable difference of the pre-saturator efficiency, indicated by two laboratories, did not have influence to the overall performance of the saturator. The results of the research are presented in graphical and tabular forms. This paper also gives a brief description of the design and operation principle of the investigated low-range saturator.

Antigiardial activity of glycoproteins and glycopeptides from Ziziphus honey.

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Mohammed, Seif Eldin A; Kabashi, Ahmed S; Koko, Waleed S; Azim, M Kamran

2015-01-01

Natural honey contains an array of glycoproteins, proteoglycans and glycopeptides. Size-exclusion chromatography fractionated Ziziphus honey proteins into five peaks with molecular masses in the range from 10 to >200 kDa. The fractionated proteins exhibited in vitro activities against Giardia lamblia with IC50 values ≤ 25 μg/mL. Results indicated that honey proteins were more active as antiprotozoal agents than metronidazole. This study indicated the potential of honey proteins and peptides as novel antigiardial agents.

HONEYDEW HONEY: CORRELATIONS BETWEEN CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY AND ANTIBACTERIAL EFFECT

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OTILIA BOBIS

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Selected physico-chemical parameters, total polyphenols, flavonoids, antioxidant and antibacterial activity of honeydew honey samples from Romanian were determined. Regarding the chemical composition, analysed honey samples framed in this type of honey, phenolic content, determined as gallic acid equivalents, presented a mean value of 116.45mg GAE/100 g honey. Total flavonoid content expressed as quercetin equivalents, was 1.53 mg in honeydew honey. Antioxidant activity expressed as % inhibition of a solution of DPPH, ranged between 47.84 and 62.99%. The concentration of honey that inhibit with 50% the DPPH solution was established to be 16.16%. 10 strains of Staphylococcus aureus presented different inhibition percentages when were treatred with a solution of honey. In conclusion, Honeydew honey could be recommended to complement other polyphenol source in human diet and also used in medical treatment.

Investigation on the Energy Saving Potential of Using a Novel Dew Point Cooling System in Data Centres

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Yin Bi

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract: Information technology (IT has brought significant changes in people’s lives. As an important part of the IT industry, data centres (DCs have been rapidly growing in both the number and size over the past 40 years. Around 30% to 40% of electricity consumption in DCs is used for space cooling, thus leading to very inefficient DC operation. To identify ways to reduce the energy consumption for space cooling and increase the energy efficiency of DCs’ operation, a dedicated investigation into the energy usage in DCs has been undertaken and a novel high performance dew point cooling system was introduced into a DC operational scheme. Based on the cooling load in DCs, a case study was carried out to evaluate the energy consumptions and energy usage effectiveness when using the novel dew point cooling system in different scales of DCs in various climates. It was found that by using the novel dew point cooling system, for 10 typical climates a DC can have a much lower power usage effectiveness (PUE of 1.10 to 1.22 compared to that of 1.7 to 3.7 by using existing traditional cooling systems, leading to significantly increased energy efficiency of the DC operation. In addition, the energy performance by managing the cooling air supply at the different levels in DCs, i.e., room, row and rack level, was simulated by using a dynamic computer model. It was found that cooling air supply at rack level can provide a higher energy efficiency in DCs. Based on the above work, the energy saving potential in DCs was conducted by comparing DCs using an the novel dew point cooling system and the optimum management scheme for the cooling air supply to that using traditional air cooling systems and the same supply air management. Annual electricity consumptions for the two cases were given. It was found that by using the novel dew point cooling system and optimum management system for the cooling air supply, an 87.7~91.6% electricity consumption saving for

Dew point vs bubble point : a misunderstood constraint on gravity drainage processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nenninger, J. [N-Solv Corp., Calgary, AB (Canada); Gunnewiek, L. [Hatch Ltd., Mississauga, ON (Canada)

2009-07-01

This study demonstrated that gravity drainage processes that use blended fluids such as solvents have an inherently unstable material balance due to differences between dew point and bubble point compositions. The instability can lead to the accumulation of volatile components within the chamber, and impair mass and heat transfer processes. Case studies were used to demonstrate the large temperature gradients within the vapour chamber caused by temperature differences between the bubble point and dew point for blended fluids. A review of published data showed that many experiments on in-situ processes do not account for unstable material balances caused by a lack of steam trap control. A study of temperature profiles during steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) studies showed significant temperature depressions caused by methane accumulations at the outside perimeter of the steam chamber. It was demonstrated that the condensation of large volumes of purified solvents provided an efficient mechanism for the removal of methane from the chamber. It was concluded that gravity drainage processes can be optimized by using pure propane during the injection process. 22 refs., 1 tab., 18 figs.

Unsteady-state analysis of a counter-flow dew point evaporative cooling system

KAUST Repository

Lin, J.

2016-07-19

Understanding the dynamic behavior of the dew point evaporative cooler is crucial in achieving efficient cooling for real applications. This paper details the development of a transient model for a counter-flow dew point evaporative cooling system. The transient model approaching steady conditions agreed well with the steady state model. Additionally, it is able to accurately predict the experimental data within 4.3% discrepancy. The transient responses of the cooling system were investigated under different inlet air conditions. Temporal temperature and humidity profiles were analyzed for different transient and step responses. The key findings from this study include: (1) the response trend and settling time is markedly dependent on the inlet air temperature, humidity and velocity; (2) the settling time of the transient response ranges from 50 s to 300 s when the system operates under different inlet conditions; and (3) the average transient wet bulb effectiveness (1.00–1.06) of the system is observed to be higher than the steady state wet bulb effectiveness (1.01) for our range of study. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd

Attitudes towards honey among Italian consumers: A choice experiment approach.

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Cosmina, Marta; Gallenti, Gianluigi; Marangon, Francesco; Troiano, Stefania

2016-04-01

Honey is becoming increasingly popular with consumers for its nutritional benefits as well as many other functions. The objective of this article is to determine which factors influence consumers' purchase intentions and to assess the importance of certain honey characteristics to enable identification of the constituents of an ideal honey profile. This information will lead to satisfaction of consumers' preferences and formulation of marketing strategies that support honey makers. We applied a choice experiment to the Italian honey market to define the preferences and the willingness to pay for key characteristics of the product. A face-to-face questionnaire survey was conducted in 2014 (January-July) among Italian consumers; it was completed by 427 respondents. A latent class model was estimated and four classes were identified, with different preferences, illustrating that respondents seem to be heterogeneous honey consumers. Results suggest the "organic" attribute was more important than others factors, such as the place where the honey was produced (landscape), but less important than the country of origin; local Italian honey was preferred to foreign honey. Respondents showed a higher willingness to pay (WTP) for honey from their country of origin versus the production method used. Our results suggest that while organic beekeeping might be an important strategy for diversification, if suitable communication is not taken into consideration, the added value of the production method might not be perceived by consumers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Floral markers of strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) honey.

Science.gov (United States)

Tuberoso, Carlo I G; Bifulco, Ersilia; Caboni, Pierluigi; Cottiglia, Filippo; Cabras, Paolo; Floris, Ignazio

2010-01-13

Strawberry tree honey, due to its characteristic bitter taste, is one of the most typical Mediterranean honeys, with Sardinia being one of the largest producers. According to specific chemical studies, homogentisic acid was identified as a possible marker of this honey. This work, based on HPLC-DAD-MS/MS analysis of strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.) honeys, previously selected by sensory evaluation and melissopalynological analysis, showed that, in addition to the above-mentioned acid, there were other high levels of substances useful for the botanical classification of this unifloral honey. Two of these compounds were isolated and identified as (+/-)-2-cis,4-trans-abscisic acid (c,t-ABA) and (+/-)-2-trans,4-trans-abscisic acid (t,t-ABA). A third compound, a new natural product named unedone, was characterized as an epoxidic derivative of the above-mentioned acids. Structures of c,t-ABA, t,t-ABA, and unedone were elucidated on the basis of extensive 1D and 2D NMR experiments, as well as HPLC-MS/MS and Q-TOF analysis. In selected honeys the average amounts of c,t-ABA, t,t-ABA, and unedone were 176.2+/-25.4, 162.3+/-21.1, and 32.9+/-7.1 mg/kg, respectively. Analysis of the A. unedo nectar confirmed the floral origin of these compounds found in the honey. Abscisic acids were found in other unifloral honeys but not in such high amount and with a constant ratio of about 1:1. For this reason, besides homogentisic acid, these compounds could be used as complementary markers of strawberry tree honey.

Physico-Chemical Evaluation of Honey Fortified with Oleaginous Seeds

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Ariana Bianca Velciov

2014-11-01

Full Text Available This research followed to achieve some natural-fortified food, based on honey and oleaginous fruits. Honey and oleaginous fruits are extremely valuable for human diet. With their rich nutrient content, new products obtained by mixing honey with seeds may be considered both traditional food with high nutritional value as well as fortified food. The samples were constituted from acacia flowers honey bought directly from the producer, to which were added various quantities of oleaginous fruits (seeds. Thus, we obtained 3 different types of fortified honey, using pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and hemp seeds. Samples obtained were stored in appropriate conditions. From these samples, were made analytical tests: ascorbic acid and humidity.

Antiacanthamoebic properties of natural and marketed honey in Pakistan

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Farzana Abubakar Yousuf

2016-11-01

Conclusions: This study shows that natural honey has antiacanthamoebic properties and possesses higher flavonoid, phenolic and antioxidant properties compared with the marketed honey. These findings are of concern to the public, health officials, and to the manufacturers regarding production of honey for medical applications.

Wild bees enhance honey bees’ pollination of hybrid sunflower

Science.gov (United States)

Greenleaf, Sarah S.; Kremen, Claire

2006-01-01

Pollinators are required for producing 15–30% of the human food supply, and farmers rely on managed honey bees throughout the world to provide these services. Yet honey bees are not always the most efficient pollinators of all crops and are declining in various parts of the world. Crop pollination shortages are becoming increasingly common. We found that behavioral interactions between wild and honey bees increase the pollination efficiency of honey bees on hybrid sunflower up to 5-fold, effectively doubling honey bee pollination services on the average field. These indirect contributions caused by interspecific interactions between wild and honey bees were more than five times more important than the contributions wild bees make to sunflower pollination directly. Both proximity to natural habitat and crop planting practices were significantly correlated with pollination services provided directly and indirectly by wild bees. Our results suggest that conserving wild habitat at the landscape scale and altering selected farm management techniques could increase hybrid sunflower production. These findings also demonstrate the economic importance of interspecific interactions for ecosystem services and suggest that protecting wild bee populations can help buffer the human food supply from honey bee shortages. PMID:16940358

Wild bees enhance honey bees' pollination of hybrid sunflower.

Science.gov (United States)

Greenleaf, Sarah S; Kremen, Claire

2006-09-12

Pollinators are required for producing 15-30% of the human food supply, and farmers rely on managed honey bees throughout the world to provide these services. Yet honey bees are not always the most efficient pollinators of all crops and are declining in various parts of the world. Crop pollination shortages are becoming increasingly common. We found that behavioral interactions between wild and honey bees increase the pollination efficiency of honey bees on hybrid sunflower up to 5-fold, effectively doubling honey bee pollination services on the average field. These indirect contributions caused by interspecific interactions between wild and honey bees were more than five times more important than the contributions wild bees make to sunflower pollination directly. Both proximity to natural habitat and crop planting practices were significantly correlated with pollination services provided directly and indirectly by wild bees. Our results suggest that conserving wild habitat at the landscape scale and altering selected farm management techniques could increase hybrid sunflower production. These findings also demonstrate the economic importance of interspecific interactions for ecosystem services and suggest that protecting wild bee populations can help buffer the human food supply from honey bee shortages.

Phenolic acid composition and antioxidant properties of Malaysian honeys.

Science.gov (United States)

Khalil, M I; Alam, N; Moniruzzaman, M; Sulaiman, S A; Gan, S H

2011-08-01

The phenolic acid and flavonoid contents of Malaysian Tualang, Gelam, and Borneo tropical honeys were compared to those of Manuka honey. Ferric reducing/antioxidant power assay (FRAP) and the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activities were also quantified. All honey extracts exhibited high phenolic contents (15.21 ± 0.51- 42.23 ± 0.64 mg/kg), flavonoid contents (11.52 ± 0.27- 25.31 ± 0.37 mg/kg), FRAP values (892.15 ± 4.97- 363.38 ± 10.57 μM Fe[II]/kg), and high IC₅₀ of DPPH radical-scavenging activities (5.24 ± 0.40- 17.51 ± 0.51 mg/mL). Total of 6 phenolic acids (gallic, syringic, benzoic, trans-cinnamic, p-coumaric, and caffeic acids) and 5 flavonoids (catechin, kaempferol, naringenin, luteolin, and apigenin) were identified. Among the Malaysian honey samples, Tualang honey had the highest contents of phenolics, and flavonoids, and DPPH radical-scavenging activities. We conclude that among Malaysian honey samples, Tualang honey is the richest in phenolic acids, and flavonoid compounds, which have strong free radical-scavenging activities. © 2011 Institute of Food Technologists®

Honey in modern wound care: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Vandamme, L; Heyneman, A; Hoeksema, H; Verbelen, J; Monstrey, S

2013-12-01

Honey, known for centuries as a topical treatment for a wide range of wounds, has recently known a revival in modern wound care. The objective of this systematic review is to evaluate the available evidence and the role of honey in contemporary wound care. The search strategy was developed in the databases PubMed and ISI Web of Science. Fifty-five studies of any design, evaluating the use of honey in human burns, ulcers and other wounds, written in English, French, German or Dutch were eligible for inclusion. In all three wound categories honey seems to be a dressing with wound healing stimulating properties. In burns there is also evidence for its antibacterial capacity. In general, honey is also been mentioned to have deodorizing, debridement, anti-inflammatory and wound pain reducing properties, although the evidence for these properties is rather limited. Many of the included studies have methodological problems, and the quality of certain studies is low, making it difficult to formulate conclusive guidelines. This review reveals several gaps in the research of honey in modern wound care, and recommendations are suggested for future research. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Antibacterial activity of different honeys against pathogenic bacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Voidarou, C; Alexopoulos, A; Plessas, S; Karapanou, A; Mantzourani, I; Stavropoulou, E; Fotou, K; Tzora, A; Skoufos, I; Bezirtzoglou, E

2011-12-01

To study the antimicrobial activity of honey, 60 samples of various botanical origin were evaluated for their antimicrobial activities against 16 clinical pathogens and their respective reference strains. The microbiological quality of honeys and the antibiotic susceptibility of the various isolates were also examined. The bioassay applied for determining the antimicrobial effect employs the well-agar diffusion method and the estimation of minimum active dilution which produces a 1mm diameter inhibition zone. All honey samples, despite their origin (coniferous, citrus, thyme or polyfloral), showed antibacterial activity against the pathogenic and their respective reference strains at variable levels. Coniferous and thyme honeys showed the highest activity with an average minimum dilution of 17.4 and 19.2% (w/v) followed by citrus and polyfloral honeys with 20.8 and 23.8% respectively. Clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica subsp. Enterica, Streptococcus pyogenes, Bacillus cereus and Bacillus subtilis were proven to be up to 60% more resistant than their equal reference strains thus emphasizing the variability in the antibacterial effect of honey and the need for further research. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Physicochemical study of some types of Algerian honeys

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Djahida. Nabti

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The modern bee-keeping proposes various types of honeys of floral and geographical origin, of very varied savor and aspect. It is often the only source of sugar of the most withdrawn indigenous populations of the tropical forests. Good for health, honey is also for the environment. The present manuscript is to determine its physicochemical characteristics, six types of samples were collected in various areas of the East of Algeria. These honeys are analyzed for the determination of the pH, the water content, electric conductivity, the ashes content, acidity, and the content of hydroxyl methylfurfural (HMF, the index of diastase (I.D. The results showed that there were differences of a honeys samples to the other and they which they all answer almost the international norms. The physicochemical analyzes studied is to control quality of Algerian honey who is considered an indicator of the environmental pollution.

Detecting Adulteration in Lotus Honey Using a Machine Olfactory System

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M Hajinezhad

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Introduction Honey is a supersaturated sugar and viscose solution taken from the nectar of flowers, collected and modified by honeybees. Many producers of honey add some variety of sugars in honey that make difficulties with detection of adulterated and pure honey. Flavor is one of the most important parameters in the classification of honey samples and the smell emitted by the honey depending on the different flowers and constituents that could be different. This causes using an electronic nose system to detect honey adulteration. Materials and Methods Honey samples used in this study were lotus honey that was supplied from a market in Karaj city, Alborz province, Iran. Adulterated honey, along with percentages of fraud (by weight of zero, 20, 35 and 50 percent, was prepared by mixing sugar syrup. Each group of samples, nine times were tested by the electronic nose system. The proposed system, consists of six metal oxide semiconductor sensors, sensor chamber, sample chamber, data acquisition systems, power supply, electric valves, and pumps. Electronic nose is planned for three-phase system baseline correction, the smell of sample injection and cleaning of the sensor and sample chambers with clean air (Oxygen. Responses of the sensors were collected and stored in 420 seconds by a data acquisition system and LabView ver 2012 software. We used fractional method in this study, in order to improve the quality of the information available and to optimize the array output before passing it on to the pattern recognition system. Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA, Principal Component Analysis (PCA and Artificial neural network (ANN were the methods used for analyzing and recognizing pattern of electronic nose signals. Data processing was carried out using Microsoft Excel, neuralsolution 5 and Unscrambler X 10.3 (CAMO AS, Norway. Results and Discussion PCA Results PCA reduces the complexity of the data-set and is performed with no information on the

Honey, an unexplored topical wound dressing agent in Nigerian ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper presents an overview of honey as a wound dressing agent, its mechanism of action, selected cases of wounds managed with honey and a survey of veterinarians' perception and usage of honey for wound management in Nigeria. Structured questionnaires were administered to veterinary practitioners ...

Enantioselective analysis of chloramphenicol residues in honey samples by chiral LC-MS/MS and results of a honey survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Rimkus, Gerhard G; Hoffmann, Dirk

2017-06-01

Chloramphenicol (CAP) is a broad-spectrum antibiotic used widely in both human and veterinary medication. Since 1994, CAP has not been authorised for use in food-producing animals in the European Union due to several adverse effects. A minimum required performance level (MRPL) of 0.3 µg kg - 1 was established in 2003. The CAP molecule contains two asymmetric centres, thus in total four para-CAP stereoisomers exist. Only the RR-CAP enantiomer is bioactive, having significant antimicrobial activity. For the first time a chiral LC-MS/MS method is reported to identify and quantify the four CAP enantiomers at residue levels in honey samples. The method was validated at two concentration levels. The decision limits (CCα) and detection capabilities (CCß) were well below 0.3 µg kg - 1 , with limits of quantification (LOQs) between 0.08 and 0.12 µg kg - 1 for all four enantiomers. The method provides a sensitive and reliable analysis of CAP enantiomers in honey, and proved its robustness during the daily routine analyses of numerous honey samples. In an internal honey survey, in total 40 honey samples from different geographical regions with identified CAP residues at or above the MRPL were reanalysed by chiral LC-MS/MS. In nine honey samples only the bioactive RR-CAP was detected as anticipated. However, in all other 31 honey samples the non-bioactive SS-CAP was also identified and quantified unambiguously. In 10 of these samples, mixtures of RR- and SS-CAP were analysed, and in 21 samples only the SS-CAP enantiomer, with concentrations up to 2.2 µg kg - 1 . Most of these samples are honeys from Ukraine and Eastern Europe. This is the first report of SS-CAP residues in food samples. The potential sources for these findings are discussed and the need of further systematic studies emphasised. It is recommended to examine in more depth the toxicological profile of the individual CAP stereoisomers.

Honey as a topical treatment for wounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Jull, Andrew B; Cullum, Nicky; Dumville, Jo C; Westby, Maggie J; Deshpande, Sohan; Walker, Natalie

2015-03-06

Honey is a viscous, supersaturated sugar solution derived from nectar gathered and modified by the honeybee, Apis mellifera. Honey has been used since ancient times as a remedy in wound care. Evidence from animal studies and some trials has suggested that honey may accelerate wound healing. The objective of this review was to assess the effects of honey compared with alternative wound dressings and topical treatments on the of healing of acute (e.g. burns, lacerations) and/or chronic (e.g. venous ulcers) wounds. For this update of the review we searched the Cochrane Wounds Group Specialised Register (searched 15 October 2014); The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2014, Issue 9); Ovid MEDLINE (1946 to October Week 1 2014); Ovid MEDLINE (In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations 13 October 2014); Ovid EMBASE (1974 to 13 October 2014); and EBSCO CINAHL (1982 to 15 October 2014). Randomised and quasi-randomised trials that evaluated honey as a treatment for any sort of acute or chronic wound were sought. There was no restriction in terms of source, date of publication or language. Wound healing was the primary endpoint. Data from eligible trials were extracted and summarised by one review author, using a data extraction sheet, and independently verified by a second review author. All data have been subsequently checked by two more authors. We identified 26 eligible trials (total of 3011 participants). Three trials evaluated the effects of honey in minor acute wounds, 11 trials evaluated honey in burns, 10 trials recruited people with different chronic wounds including two in people with venous leg ulcers, two trials in people with diabetic foot ulcers and single trials in infected post-operative wounds, pressure injuries, cutaneous Leishmaniasis and Fournier's gangrene. Two trials recruited a mixed population of people with acute and chronic wounds. The quality of the evidence varied between different comparisons and

Effect of dew point on the formation of surface oxides of twinning-induced plasticity steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Yunkyum; Lee, Joonho; Shin, Kwang-Soo; Jeon, Sun-Ho; Chin, Kwang-Geun

2014-01-01

The surface oxides of twinning-induced plasticity (TWIP) steel annealed at 800 °C for 43 s were investigated using transmission electron microscopy. During the annealing process, the oxygen potential was controlled by adjusting the dew point in a 15%H 2 –N 2 gas atmosphere. It was found that the type of surface oxides formed and the thickness of the oxide layer were determined by the dew point. In a gas mixture with a dew point of − 20 °C, a MnO layer with a thickness of ∼ 100 nm was formed uniformly on the steel surface. Under the MnO layer, a MnAl 2 O 4 layer with a thickness of ∼ 15 nm was formed with small Mn 2 SiO 4 particles that measured ∼ 70 nm in diameter. Approximately 500 nm below the MnAl 2 O 4 layer, Al 2 O 3 was formed at the grain boundaries. On the other hand, in a gas mixture with a dew point of − 40 °C, a MnAl 2 O 4 layer with a thickness of ∼ 5 nm was formed on most parts of the surface. On some parts of the surface, Mn 2 SiO 4 particles were formed irregularly up to a thickness of ∼ 50 nm. Approximately 200 nm below the MnAl 2 O 4 layer, Al 2 O 3 was found at the grain boundaries. Thermodynamic calculations were performed to explain the experimental results. The calculations showed that when a O2 > ∼ 1.26 × 10 −28 , MnO, MnAl 2 O 4 , and Mn 2 SiO 4 can be formed together, and the major oxide is MnO. When a O2 is in the range of 1.26 × 10 −28 –2.51 × 10 −31 , MnO is not stable but MnAl 2 O 4 is the major oxide. When a O2 < ∼ 2.51 × 10 −31 , only Al 2 O 3 is stable. Consequently, the effective activity of oxygen is considered the dominant factor in determining the type and shape of surface oxides of TWIP steel. - Highlights: • The surface oxides of TWIP steel annealed at 800 °C were investigated using TEM. • The surface oxides were determined by the dew point during the annealing process. • The activity of oxygen is the major factor determining the oxides of TWIP steel

The habitat disruption induces immune-suppression and oxidative stress in honey bees

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Morimoto, Tomomi; Kojima, Yuriko; Toki, Taku; Komeda, Yayoi; Yoshiyama, Mikio; Kimura, Kiyoshi; Nirasawa, Keijiro; Kadowaki, Tatsuhiko

2011-01-01

The honey bee is a major insect used for pollination of many commercial crops worldwide. Although the use of honey bees for pollination can disrupt the habitat, the effects on their physiology have never been determined. Recently, honey bee colonies have often collapsed when introduced in greenhouses for pollination in Japan. Thus, suppressing colony collapses and maintaining the number of worker bees in the colonies is essential for successful long-term pollination in greenhouses and recycling of honey bee colonies. To understand the physiological states of honey bees used for long-term pollination in greenhouses, we characterized their gene expression profiles by microarray. We found that the greenhouse environment changes the gene expression profiles and induces immune-suppression and oxidative stress in honey bees. In fact, the increase of the number of Nosema microsporidia and protein carbonyl content was observed in honey bees during pollination in greenhouses. Thus, honey bee colonies are likely to collapse during pollination in greenhouses when heavily infested with pathogens. Degradation of honey bee habitat by changing the outside environment of the colony, during pollination services for example, imposes negative impacts on honey bees. Thus, worldwide use of honey bees for crop pollination in general could be one of reasons for the decline of managed honey bee colonies. PMID:22393496

Effect of honey on oxidation, chlorination and nitration by purified equine myeloperoxidase

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Saad Aissat

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Objective: To evaluate the antioxidant effect of honey using two classical methods generally used, and for the first time to test the effect of honey on the oxidation, chlorination and nitration by purified equine myeloperoxidase (MPO. Methods: The antioxidant activity of three Algerian honey samples (nectar honey, mixed honey and honeydew honey was evaluated by two classical methods, the ferric- reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP assay and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH radical-scavenging capacity. Results: Honeydew honey had the highest reducing power and DPPH radical-scavenging activity, whereas nectar honey showed the lowest reducing power and DPPH radical-scavenging activity. All honey samples showed a significant inhibitory effect on the chlorination activity of equine MPO, but honeydew honey was the weakest inhibitor. The three samples were poorly inhibitor on the MPO oxidation and nitration activities, except for nectar honey that exerted an inhibitory effect at the highest tested concentration of 10%. These later results seem to contradict those obtained with DPPH and FRAP. Conclusions: The antioxidant capacity of honey is mainly due to the phenolic compounds and flavonoids it contained. It has been suggested that MPO might be involved in the antioxidant, not pro-oxidant, activity of phenolic compounds.

Honey Do Franchising Group, Inc. Information Sheet

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Honey Do Franchising Group, Inc., a/k/a The Honey Do Service, Inc. (the Company) is located in Bristol, Virginia. The settlement involves renovation activities conducted at properties constructed prior to 1978, located in Bristol, Virginia.

Effects of natural honey on polymicrobial culture of various human pathogens

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Al-Waili, Faiza S.; Akmal, Mohammed; Ali, Amjed; Salom, Khelod Y.; Al Ghamdi, Ahmad A.

2012-01-01

Introduction Honey has a wide range of antimicrobial activity. All previous studies have considered honey's effect on a single microbe. The present study investigated activity of honey towards a high dose of single or polymicrobial culture. Material and methods 10 µl specimens of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Streptococcus pyogenes (S. pyogenes), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Candida albicans (C. albicans) were cultured in 10 ml of 10-100% (wt/v) honey diluted in broth. Six types of polymicrobial microbial cultures were prepared by culturing the isolates with each other onto broth (control) and broth containing various concentrations of honey (10-100% wt/v). Microbial growth was assessed on solid plate media after 24 h incubation. Results Honey (30-70%) prevents growth of 10 µl specimens of all the isolates. Greater reduction in growth of E. coli was observed when cultured with S. aureus. Culturing of S. aureus with S. pyogenes, C. albicans, or E. coli increased its sensitivity to honey. S. aureus and S. pyogenes increased sensitivity of C. albicans to honey while E. coli and C. albicans decreased sensitivity of S. pyogenes. Conclusions It might be concluded that honey prevents and inhibits growth of single and polymicrobial pathogenic cultures. Polymicrobial culture affects growth of the isolates and increases their sensitivity to honey. PMID:24904656

Experimental study on dew point corrosion characteristics of the heating surface in a 65 t/h biomass-fired circulating fluidized bed boiler

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Yungang; Ma, Haidong; Liang, Zhiyuan; Chen, Heng; Zhao, Qinxin; Jin, Xin

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Dew point corrosion and ash deposit tests in a biomass-fired boiler were performed. • The XRD, XRF and SEM methods were used to analyze corrosion samples. • The deposits were made up of ash deposit layer, coupling layer and corrosion layer. • The metal matrix simultaneously confronted chlorine corrosion and oxygen corrosion. - Abstract: The dew point corrosion characteristics of the heating surface in a 65 t/h biomass-fired circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler were experimentally studied. The cross-sectional morphology and composition of the ash deposition were analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence spectrum (XRF), respectively. The results showed that the test tube surface was covered by ash deposit layer, coupling layer and corrosion layer. The ash deposit layer and the coupling layer were prone to spall off together. The coupling layer consists of partial ash and corrosion products. The corrosion layer was mainly composed of chlorides (FeCl_3, FeCl_2, and FeOCl) and oxides (FeOOH, Fe_2O_3). With the increase of the tube wall temperature, the corrosion depth decreased dramatically and the dew point corrosion was alleviated efficiently. The metal matrix simultaneously suffered from chlorine corrosion and oxygen corrosion. As the tube wall temperature was above water dew point, the main corrosion mode was oxygen corrosion. As the tube wall temperature was below water dew point, the main corrosion mode was chlorine corrosion.

Determination of the dew point and the frost point below 0 degrees C making use of the beta-ray backscattering and the electric conductivity on the narrow surface of insulated layer.

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Matsumoto, S; Kobayashi, H

1979-10-15

It is necessary to distinguish between the dew point and the frost point below 0 degrees C. The freezing of the dew and the melting of the frost are respectively detected by the rapid decrease and the increase of the conduction current on the narrow surface of insulated layer made of epoxy, 0.5 mm in width and 10 mm in length, on which the dew deposits. The dew point -9 degrees C and the frost point -8 degrees C in the humidity 21% at the temperature 13 degrees C are clearly distinguished in this method.

Detection of plant microRNAs in honey.

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Angelo Gismondi

Full Text Available For the first time in the literature, our group has managed to demonstrate the existence of plant RNAs in honey samples. In particular, in our work, different RNA extraction procedures were performed in order to identify a purification method for nucleic acids from honey. Purity, stability and integrity of the RNA samples were evaluated by spectrophotometric, PCR and electrophoretic analyses. Among all honey RNAs, we specifically revealed the presence of both plastidial and nuclear plant transcripts: RuBisCO large subunit mRNA, maturase K messenger and 18S ribosomal RNA. Surprisingly, nine plant microRNAs (miR482b, miR156a, miR396c, miR171a, miR858, miR162a, miR159c, miR395a and miR2118a were also detected and quantified by qPCR. In this context, a comparison between microRNA content in plant samples (i.e. flowers, nectars and their derivative honeys was carried out. In addition, peculiar microRNA profiles were also identified in six different monofloral honeys. Finally, the same plant microRNAs were investigated in other plant food products: tea, cocoa and coffee. Since plant microRNAs introduced by diet have been recently recognized as being able to modulate the consumer's gene expression, our research suggests that honey's benefits for human health may be strongly correlated to the bioactivity of plant microRNAs contained in this matrix.

Research on an antioxidant capacity of honeys

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Elżbieta Hołderna-Kędzia

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Human organism is exposed to harmful action of free radicals which are produced as well endogenically as egzogenically. The oxidation activity of free radicals can lead to the conversion of systemic biomolecules. As a consequence, there is a threat of, many severe diseases. Antioxidative agents which occur in natural products (also in honey raise a possibility of protection against the harmful action of above mentioned radicals. Polyphenolic compounds - flavonoids, phenolic acids and ascorbic acid - are the most important antioxidative agents. The research of many authors proves that honey, given orally, shows an antioxidative activity. The level of antioxidative agents in serum after the consumption of honey is high and surpasses the antioxidative activity of tea. Dark honeys (honeydew and heather have considerably higher antioxidative activity in comparison to light ones (acacia, lime, polyfloral.

Honey: A Skin Graft Fixator Convenient for Both Patient and Surgeon.

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Maghsoudi, Hemmat; Moradi, Sohrab

2015-12-01

Skin grafts can be used effectively to cover burn injuries. A critical element of this treatment is the adherence of the graft to the wound bed. Honey has been shown to increase the adherence of skin grafts to wound beds and have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects and increase healing rate of wounds. We therefore devised a clinical trial to determine the effect of honey on skin graft fixation in burn injuries. Sixty patients were included in this study (in 30 patients, graft was fixed with medical honey, and in 30 patients, it was fixed with dressing or suturing). All patients in two groups were evaluated for infection, graft loss, graft contraction, severity of pain, and need for re-operation. The most common cause of burn was kerosene. Honey significantly decreased infection rate on fifth day and reduced the patient pain. The mean hospital stay was shorter in honey group. Contraction of graft was significantly less in honey group. Honey has strong adhesive properties for skin graft fixation. Medical honey is a natural material, not synthetic. For this reason, we can advise the application of medical honey for the fixation of split thickness skin graft.

Characterization of Turkish honeys regarding of physicochemical properties, and their adulteration analysis

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Şeyda KIVRAK

Full Text Available Abstract This work was conducted to evaluate the quality of 54 honey samples from eighteen different origins from Turkey. Physicochemical properties were examined according to AOAC methods, total phenolic and flavonoid contents by a spectrophotometric method and authenticity of honeys by Combustion Module - Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CM-CRDS. The microscopic analysis of honey sediment (mellissopalynology was carried out to identify and count the pollen to provide qualitative indicators to confirm botanical origin. The moisture, electrical conductivity and free acidity of honeys ranged from 15.56 to 18.39%, 0.143 to 2.006 mS.cm-1, 16.05 meq.kg-1 and 34.10 meq.kg-1, respectively. Diastase activity of sideritis honey was found highest. Honeys showed HMF level below 40 mg.kg-1. The highest proline was determined in thyme honey. The results showed that honeys contained eminent amounts of phenolics and flavonoids. δ13C values of honeys were more negative than -23.5‰. The C4% sugar ratios were lower than 7% value. The lowest glucose-fructose content was observed in eucalyptus, cedar and pine honey samples. The results obtained for physicochemical characteristics, total phenolic and flavonoid contents an authenticity analysis of Turkish honeys indicate a good quality level, adequate processing, good maturity and freshness. The discrimination between honey types was achieved by PCA.

Honey Quality as Affected by Handling, Processing and Marketing Channels in Uganda

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Nabakabya, D.

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The factors that affect honey quality in Uganda were surveyed in 120 beekeeping households. Honey was sampled from supermarkets, hawkers and stall markets along four transects across Kampala, the capital. Honey quality parameters assessed were diastase number (DN, free acidity (FA, moisture content (MC, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF, and water insoluble solids (WIS. Honey was mostly harvested from basket and grass hives. Pressing, boiling and straining were popular honey processing methods. Honey quality was mainly compromised by harvesting immature honey, bad extraction methods and contamination by extraneous materials. Constraints to beekeeping were lack of appropriate equipment (52%, inadequate farmer skills, bad weather and vermin. Honey brands differed (P< 0.05 in DN, most failed the Uganda and Codex Alimentarius standards, and 20% met European Union HMF and DN standards. Correlation was observed between HMF vs. DN (r= 0.94; MC vs. FA (r= 0.56. Supermarket honey (4.65 was more superior (P< 0.05 in DN than stall markets (1.93, and hawkers (2.3. Similarly, WIS levels differed (P< 0.05 between honeys from supermarkets (0.08, stall markets (3.0 and hawkers (3.15. All honeys met MC standards, while DN and WIS were major shortcomings. Farmer training and extension in proper honey harvesting, handling and processing should be strengthened. Quality monitoring at all levels should be emphasized.

Development of Bioclimatic Design Tool for Oman Using Dry Bulb and Dew Point Temperatures Open Database

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Nasser Al-Azri

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Bioclimatic charts are used by engineers and architects in implementing passive cooling systems and architectural optimization with respect to natural air conditioning. Conventionally, the development of these charts is based on the availability of typical meteorological year which requires a record of meteorological data that are rarely available in sufficient amounts. Bioclimatic charts in Oman were developed earlier by the authors for limited locations based on the available typical meteorological years. Using dry bulb and dew point temperatures only, bioclimatic charts are developed for Adam, Buraimi, Ibra, Muscat, Nizwa, Rustaq, Saiq, Salalah, Suhar and Sur. These charts are better representative of bioclimatic trends since their development is mainly based on the relevant parameters, namely dry bulb temperature and dew point.

Draught regulator with control flap lowers dew point, keeps stacks dry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dreizler, U.; Dreizler, W.

1982-11-30

Draught regulators for auxiliary air are particularly important in older stacks operated with new boilers and burners. Owing to better ventilation during burner operation and standstill, the dew point of flue gases will be lowered so that water vapour condensation will be prevented. Postfitting of draught regulators will also help in stacks already damaged by condensation water. The draught regulator has a control flap for better control of auxiliary air supply.

Climate change: impact on honey bee populations and diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Le Conte, Y; Navajas, M

2008-08-01

The European honey bee, Apis mellifera, is the most economically valuable pollinator of agricultural crops worldwide. Bees are also crucial in maintaining biodiversity by pollinating numerous plant species whose fertilisation requires an obligatory pollinator. Apis mellifera is a species that has shown great adaptive potential, as it is found almost everywhere in the world and in highly diverse climates. In a context of climate change, the variability of the honey bee's life-history traits as regards temperature and the environment shows that the species possesses such plasticity and genetic variability that this could give rise to the selection of development cycles suited to new environmental conditions. Although we do not know the precise impact of potential environmental changes on honey bees as a result of climate change, there is a large body of data at our disposal indicating that environmental changes have a direct influence on honey bee development. In this article, the authors examine the potential impact of climate change on honey bee behaviour, physiology and distribution, as well as on the evolution of the honey bee's interaction with diseases. Conservation measures will be needed to prevent the loss of this rich genetic diversity of honey bees and to preserve ecotypes that are so valuable for world biodiversity.

On the antibacterial effects of manuka honey: mechanistic insights

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Roberts AEL

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Aled Edward Lloyd Roberts,* Helen Louise Brown,* Rowena Eleri Jenkins Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff, Wales, UK *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR is an increasing clinical problem precipitated by the inappropriate use of antibiotics in the later parts of the 20th Century. This problem, coupled with the lack of novel therapeutics in the development pipeline, means AMR is reaching crisis point, with an expected annual death rate of ten million people worldwide by 2050. To reduce, and to potentially remedy this problem, many researchers are looking into natural compounds with antimicrobial and/or antivirulence activity. Manuka honey is an ancient antimicrobial remedy with a good track record against a wide range of nosocomial pathogens that have increased AMR. Its inhibitory effects are the result of its constituent components, which add varying degrees of antimicrobial efficacy to the overall activity of manuka honey. The antimicrobial efficacy of manuka honey and some of its constituent components (such as methylglyoxal and leptosperin are known to bestow some degree of antimicrobial efficacy to manuka honey. Despite growing in vitro evidence of its antimicrobial efficacy, the in vivo use of manuka honey (especially in a clinical environment has been unexpectedly slow, partly due to the lack of mechanistic data. The mechanism by which manuka honey achieves its inhibitory efficacy has recently been identified against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, with both of these contrasting organisms being inhibited through different mechanisms. Manuka honey inhibits S. aureus by interfering with the cell division process, whereas P. aeruginosa cells lyse in its presence due to the reduction of a key structural protein. In addition to these inhibitory effects, manuka honey is known to reduce virulence, motility, and biofilm formation. With this

Characterization of Lavandula spp. Honey Using Multivariate Techniques.

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Estevinho, Leticia M; Chambó, Emerson Dechechi; Pereira, Ana Paula Rodrigues; Carvalho, Carlos Alfredo Lopes de; Toledo, Vagner de Alencar Arnaut de

2016-01-01

Traditionally, melissopalynological and physicochemical analyses have been the most used to determine the botanical origin of honey. However, when performed individually, these analyses may provide less unambiguous results, making it difficult to discriminate between mono and multifloral honeys. In this context, with the aim of better characterizing this beehive product, a selection of 112 Lavandula spp. monofloral honey samples from several regions were evaluated by association of multivariate statistical techniques with physicochemical, melissopalynological and phenolic compounds analysis. All honey samples fulfilled the quality standards recommended by international legislation, except regarding sucrose content and diastase activity. The content of sucrose and the percentage of Lavandula spp. pollen have a strong positive association. In fact, it was found that higher amounts of sucrose in honey are related with highest percentage of pollen of Lavandula spp.. The samples were very similar for most of the physicochemical parameters, except for proline, flavonoids and phenols (bioactive factors). Concerning the pollen spectrum, the variation of Lavandula spp. pollen percentage in honey had little contribution to the formation of samples groups. The formation of two groups regarding the physicochemical parameters suggests that the presence of other pollen types in small percentages influences the factor termed as "bioactive", which has been linked to diverse beneficial health effects.

Application of a two-sinker densimeter for phase-equilibrium measurements: A new technique for the detection of dew points and measurements on the (methane + propane) system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McLinden, Mark O.; Richter, Markus

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A new technique for detecting dew points in fluid mixtures is described. • The method makes use of a two-sinker densimeter. • The technique is based on a quantitative measurement of sample mass adsorbed onto the surface of the densimeter sinkers. • The dew-point density and dew-point pressure are determined with low uncertainty. • The method is applied to the (methane + propane) system and compared to traditional methods. - Abstract: We explore a novel method for determining the dew-point density and dew-point pressure of fluid mixtures and compare it to traditional methods. The (p, ρ, T, x) behavior of three (methane + propane) mixtures was investigated with a two-sinker magnetic suspension densimeter over the temperature range of (248.15–293.15) K; the measurements extended from low pressures into the two-phase region. The compositions of the gravimetrically prepared mixtures were (0.74977, 0.50688, and 0.26579) mole fraction methane. We analyzed isothermal data by: (1) a “traditional” analysis of the intersection of a virial fit of the (p vs. ρ) data in the single-phase region with a linear fit of the data in the two-phase region; and (2) an analysis of the adsorbed mass on the sinker surfaces. We compared these to a traditional isochoric experiment. We conclude that the “adsorbed mass” analysis of an isothermal experiment provides an accurate determination of the dew-point temperature, pressure, and density. However, a two-sinker densimeter is required.

Gelam (Melaleuca spp.) Honey-Based Hydrogel as Burn Wound Dressing

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Mohd Zohdi, Rozaini; Abu Bakar Zakaria, Zuki; Yusof, Norimah; Mohamed Mustapha, Noordin; Abdullah, Muhammad Nazrul Hakim

2012-01-01

A novel cross-linked honey hydrogel dressing was developed by incorporating Malaysian honey into hydrogel dressing formulation, cross-linked and sterilized using electron beam irradiation (25 kGy). In this study, the physical properties of the prepared honey hydrogel and its wound healing efficacy on deep partial thickness burn wounds in rats were assessed. Skin samples were taken at 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after burn for histopathological and molecular evaluations. Application of honey hydrogel dressings significantly enhanced (P < 0.05) wound closure and accelerated the rate of re-epithelialization as compared to control hydrogel and OpSite film dressing. A significant decrease in inflammatory response was observed in honey hydrogel treated wounds as early as 7 days after burn (P < 0.05). Semiquantitative analysis using RT-PCR revealed that treatment with honey hydrogel significantly (P < 0.05) suppressed the expression of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1α, IL-1β, and IL-6). The present study substantiates the potential efficacy of honey hydrogel dressings in accelerating burn wound healing. PMID:21941590

Detection of Spiroplasma melliferum in honey bee colonies in the US.

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Zheng, Huo-Qing; Chen, Yan Ping

2014-06-01

Spiroplasma infections in honey bees have been reported in Europe and Asia quite recently, due to intensive studies on the epidemiology of honey bee diseases. The situation in the US is less well analyzed. Here, we examined the honey bee colonies in Beltsville, MD, where Spiroplasmamelliferum was originally reported and found S. melliferum infection in honey bees. Our data showed high variation of S. melliferum infection in honey bees with a peak prevalence in May during the course of one-year study period. The colony prevalence increased from 5% in February to 68% in May and then decreased to 25% in June and 22% in July. Despite that pathogenicity of spiroplasmas in honey bee colonies remains to be determined, our results indicated that spiroplasma infections need to be included for the consideration of the impacts on honey bee health. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Study of the influence of the cool-down speed at the dew-point level of the readings of the dew-point temperature; Untersuchungen zum Einfluss der Abkuehlgeschwindigkeit am Taupunktspiegel auf Messwerte der Taupunkttemperatur

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bogoya, J.D. [Univ. Nacional de Colombia (Colombia); Mueller, C. [Inst. fuer Technische Thermodynamik und Kaeltetechnik, Univ. Karlsruhe (Germany); Oellrich, L.R. [Inst. fuer Technische Thermodynamik und Kaeltetechnik, Univ. Karlsruhe (Germany)

1995-09-01

The impact of the cool-down speed at the dew-point mirror on the behaviour of the readings of dew-point temperature of nitrogen-water mixtures has been investigated with the focus on mixtures with low water content. For this purpose a commercial dew-point mirror was equipped with a refrigerating device in order to cool the mirror surface. Moreover a data acquisition system was connected for the measurement of the rates of cooling. Via a control valve in the refrigerant cycle rates of cooling of about 1 to 35 C/min could be chosen. With a saturation system saturation conditions could be varied in the pressure range from 5 to 90 bar and in the temperature range from +10 to -15 C. The measuring instrument was continuously supplied with the gas mixture. The measurements were carried out under constant volume flow of the carrier gas. The results are discussed. (orig.) [Deutsch] Der Einfluss der Abkuehlgeschwindigkeit am Taupunktspiegel auf die Lage der Messwerte der Taupunkttemperaturen von Stickstoff/Wasser-Gemischen wurde speziell im Bereich niedriger Wassergehalte untersucht. Dazu wurde ein kommerzieller Taupunktspiegel zur Kuehlung der Spiegeloberflaeche mit einer Kaeltemaschine ausgestattet und eine Messwerterfassung, mit der Abkuehlgeschwindigkeiten ermittelt werden konnte, angeschlossen. Ueber ein Regelventil im Kaeltemittelkreislauf konnten Abkuehlgeschwindigkeiten von ca. 1 bis 35 C/min eingestellt werden. Ueber eine Saettigungsanlage wurden Saettigungsbedingungen im Druckbereich von 5 bis 90 bar und im Temperaturbereich von +10 bis -15 C variiert und das Messgeraet kontinuierlich mit Gasgemisch versorgt. Die Messungen wurden bei konstantem Volumenstrom des Traegergases durchgefuehrt. Die Messergebisse werden diskutiert. (orig.)

Melissopalynological and volatile analysis of honeys from Corsican Arbutus unedo habitat.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yin; Battesti, Marie-José; Costa, Jean; Paolini, Julien

2014-10-01

Thirty Corsican "autumn maquis" honeys were characterized by the typical combination of autumnal taxa: Arbutus unedo, Hedera helix, Smilax aspera, Rosmarinus officinalis, and two Asteraceae pollen forms. Corsican origin was characterized by the diversity of the taxa's biogeographical origins and significant presence of Castanea sativa and Quercus sp. Volatile fractions of "autumn maquis" honeys were dominated by isophorone and 3,4,5-trimethylphenol. The latter is reported in A. unedo honey for the first time. Otherwise, both A. unedo flower and "autumn maquis" honeys exhibited high contents of isophorone derivatives. H. helix honey exhibited phenylacetaldehyde, benzyl nitrile, 3-hydroxy-4-phenylbutan-2-one and nonanal as major compounds, which were scarcely represented in the studied "autumn maquis" honey samples.

Development of ultra low dew-point clean air generator; Cho tei roten seijo kuki hassei sochi no kaihatsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nishimura, H.; Okamura, N. [Takasago thermal Engineering Co., Ltd., Kanagawa (Japan)

2000-05-10

To reduce the manufacturing cost of semiconductors, some systems have been proposed that use a cheap and high purity Clean Dry Air (CDA). CDA can reduce process step such as wafer cleaning, because CDA flow in stocker prevents the wafer surface from adsorbing of moisture and organic impurities. We have already optimized a two-stage rotary dehumidifier and have conducted a study of methods for cheaply manufacturing air that has a low dew-point of -70 degree C to -50 degree C. We have further developed the method in which a dry dehumidifier is used, and developed an ultra low dew-point air generator. The air generator is a three-stage rotary dehumidifier in which a further stage is added to the two-stage rotary dehumidifier. The main component of the rotors is metal silicate. The air generator can supply dry air with a dew-point of -110 degree C. or less, in which the concentration in all gaseous contaminants is far below 1 ppb. We made a trial calculation of the manufacturing cost, and an average cost of 0.25 yen/m{sup 3} was obtained. (author)

The Impact of Pesticides on Honey Bees and Hence on Humans

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Antonina Jivan

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Bee crisis is threatening global food security, given the fact that one third of global agricultural production relies on pollination, especially that of honey bees. Despite their importance for human being, honey bees die with alarming speed. In recent years, in Europe and America, due to pollution, pesticides and neglect there was registered an unprecedented rate of disappearance of honey bees. Einstein's theory, the fact that once the bees cease to exist, humanity has only four years to extinction, seems now truer than ever. Thus, the issue has gained a tone of maximum urgency; the bee crisis can entirely shatter the world food security, already affected by the economic crisis. There are plenty of factors that could cause honey bee population decline: disease, parasites, climatic factors (high temperature, drought or decrease in the diversity of honey flora. It may sometimes happen that the beekeeper himself causes the poisoning of his honey bees, use inappropriate products which should protect the honey bees. It is therefore possible to imagine a multi-factorial explanation of problems encountered by honey bees and to underestimate the key role of pesticides. Considering these, a review of the impact of pesticides on honey bees should not be superfluous.

A case of acute hepatitis following mad honey ingestion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fatma Sari Dogan

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Acute hepatitis is characterized by liver inflammation and liver cell necrosis. The most frequently observed underlying cause thereof is viruses, but various other causes, such as alcohol, medication, or toxins may also lead thereto.In this paper, a case of acute hepatitis presenting with bradycardia, hypotension, and a prominent increase in liver enzymes following mad honey ingestion is discussed. Since there are only few cases of acute hepatitis following mad honey ingestion in the literature, we want to present this subject matter. Keywords: Mad honey poisoning, Mad honey intoxication, Bradycardia, Hypotension, Acute hepatitis

Honey: an effective regenerative medicine product in wound management.

Science.gov (United States)

Martinotti, Simona; Bucekova, Marcela; Majtan, Juraj; Ranzato, Elia

2018-05-10

Honey has successfully been used in treatment of a broad spectrum of injuries including burns and non-healing wounds. It acts as antibacterial and anti-biofilm agent with anti/pro-inflammatory properties. However, besides these traditional properties, recent evidence suggests that honey is also an immunomodulator in wound healing and contains several bee and plant-derived components that may speed up the wound healing and tissue regeneration process. Identifying their exact mechanism of action allows better understanding of honey healing properties and promotes its wider translation into clinical practice. This review will discuss the physiological basis for the use of honey in wound management, its current clinical uses, as well as the potential role of honey bioactive compounds in dermal regenerative medicine and tissue re-modelling. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

An automated microlysimeter to study dew formation and evaporation in arid and semiarid regions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heusinkveld, B.G.; Berkowicz, S.M.; Jacobs, A.F.G.; Holtslag, A.A.M.; Hillen, W.C.A.M.

2006-01-01

The development of a simple and low-cost portable weighing microlysimeter that makes use of a load cell for automated recording and for studying daily dew formation, rate of accumulation, and subsequent evaporation in arid or semiarid regions during rainless seasons is presented. The sampling cup is

Functional properties of honey supplemented with bee bread and propolis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kowalski, S; Makarewicz, M

2017-11-01

The aim of this work was characterisation of functional properties of honey enriched with propolis and beebread. In first step of experiment, soft propolis extract (SPEx) was obtained by extraction of propolis with ethanol. SPEx (0.25 to 1.0% w/w) as well as beebread (5 to 15% w/w) were implemented into natural honey. Fortified honeys were investigated in terms of total phenolic content, radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power, also their effects on the micro-organisms growth was examined. It was found that beebread had the most significant influence on antioxidant properties. On the other hand, all tested honeys showed antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli but not against Micrococcus luteus. Honeys with 1% of propolis addition were the most effective in this case. Research has indicated that for antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of honey, it is beneficial to enrich it in both beebread and propolis.

Isolation of 62 kda protein with antioxidant properties from natural honey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohammed, S.E.A.R.

2014-01-01

Fourteen natural honey samples from Libya, Sudan and Pakistan were evaluated for their antioxidant activity by employing 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical assay. The scavenging activity of honey samples were in the range of 18-32% when compared to control. A 62 kDa protein was isolated from honey by gel filtration chromatography followed by reverse phase HPLC showed significant radical scavenging activity. The research pointed out the antioxidative role of honey proteins and possibility of their contribution to the therapeutic value of the natural honey. (author)

Current knowledge of detoxification mechanisms of xenobiotic in honey bees.

Science.gov (United States)

Gong, Youhui; Diao, Qingyun

2017-01-01

The western honey bee Apis mellifera is the most important managed pollinator species in the world. Multiple factors have been implicated as potential causes or factors contributing to colony collapse disorder, including honey bee pathogens and nutritional deficiencies as well as exposure to pesticides. Honey bees' genome is characterized by a paucity of genes associated with detoxification, which makes them vulnerable to specific pesticides, especially to combinations of pesticides in real field environments. Many studies have investigated the mechanisms involved in detoxification of xenobiotics/pesticides in honey bees, from primal enzyme assays or toxicity bioassays to characterization of transcript gene expression and protein expression in response to xenobiotics/insecticides by using a global transcriptomic or proteomic approach, and even to functional characterizations. The global transcriptomic and proteomic approach allowed us to learn that detoxification mechanisms in honey bees involve multiple genes and pathways along with changes in energy metabolism and cellular stress response. P450 genes, is highly implicated in the direct detoxification of xenobiotics/insecticides in honey bees and their expression can be regulated by honey/pollen constitutes, resulting in the tolerance of honey bees to other xenobiotics or insecticides. P450s is also a key detoxification enzyme that mediate synergism interaction between acaricides/insecticides and fungicides through inhibition P450 activity by fungicides or competition for detoxification enzymes between acaricides. With the wide use of insecticides in agriculture, understanding the detoxification mechanism of insecticides in honey bees and how honeybees fight with the xenobiotis or insecticides to survive in the changing environment will finally benefit honeybees' management.

An automatic dew-point hygrometer making use of beta-ray backscattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsumoto, Sigeaki; Kobayashi, Hisanobu

1981-01-01

A proportional control system was employed on this hygrometer. The hygrometer was used in a box in which the temperature and the humidity were constantly regulated. The range of measured dew-point was from -26 0 C to 60 0 C in the atmospheric temperature of 0 0 C to 60 0 C, that was the relative humidity of 12% to 100%, and the accuracy of the measurement was +-1 0 C. (author)

76 FR 2655 - Honey From Argentina: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-14

...., Alimentos Naturales-Natural Foods, Alma Pura, Bomare S.A., CAA, El Mana S.A., Interrupcion S.A., Mielar.... The products covered are natural honey, artificial honey containing more than 50 percent natural honey by weight, preparations of natural honey containing more than 50 percent natural honey by weight, and...

KEY COMPARISON: Final report of APMP.T-K6 (original name APMP-IC-1-97): Comparison of humidity measurements using a dew point meter as a transfer standard

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Wang; Takahashi, C.; Hussain, F.; Hong, Yi; Nham, H. S.; Chan, K. H.; Lee, L. T.; Chahine, K.

2007-01-01

This APMP key comparison of humidity measurements using a dew point meter as a transfer standard was carried out among eight national metrology institutes from February 1999 to January 2001. The NMC/SPRING, Singapore was the pilot laboratory and a chilled mirror dew point meter offered by NMIJ was used as a transfer standard. The transfer standard was calibrated by each participating institute against local humidity standards in terms of frost and dew point temperature. Each institute selected its frost/dew point temperature calibration points within the range from -70 °C to 20 °C frost/dew point with 5 °C step. The majority of participating institutes measured from -60 °C to 20 °C frost/dew point and a simple mean evaluation was performed in this range. The differences between the institute values and the simple means for all participating institutes are within two standard deviations from the mean values. Bilateral equivalence was analysed in terms of pair difference and single parameter Quantified Demonstrated Equivalence. The results are presented in the report. Main text. To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database kcdb.bipm.org/. The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCT, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA).

Wärtsilä turbocharger wash and dew point controller integration

OpenAIRE

Perälä, Antti

2013-01-01

There are two separate control cabinets used in Wärtsilä marine solutions, Turbocharger Wash Control and the Dew Point Control. The cabinets contain similar PLCs with I/O-cards needed in the system and touch screen for monitoring and controlling purposes. The purpose of the thesis was to find and implement a solution for integration of the control cabinets. The advantages of the integration are savings in material, space in the engine room and amount of work. The aim of the project was to cre...

Effect of dew point on the formation of surface oxides of twinning-induced plasticity steel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Yunkyum [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea University, Anam-Dong, Seongbuk-Gu, Seoul 136–713 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Joonho, E-mail: joonholee@korea.ac.kr [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea University, Anam-Dong, Seongbuk-Gu, Seoul 136–713 (Korea, Republic of); Shin, Kwang-Soo [Research Institute of Industrial Science and Technology, Pohang 790–600 (Korea, Republic of); Jeon, Sun-Ho; Chin, Kwang-Geun [POSCO Technical Research Laboratories, Gwangyang 545–090 (Korea, Republic of)

2014-03-01

The surface oxides of twinning-induced plasticity (TWIP) steel annealed at 800 °C for 43 s were investigated using transmission electron microscopy. During the annealing process, the oxygen potential was controlled by adjusting the dew point in a 15%H{sub 2}–N{sub 2} gas atmosphere. It was found that the type of surface oxides formed and the thickness of the oxide layer were determined by the dew point. In a gas mixture with a dew point of − 20 °C, a MnO layer with a thickness of ∼ 100 nm was formed uniformly on the steel surface. Under the MnO layer, a MnAl{sub 2}O{sub 4} layer with a thickness of ∼ 15 nm was formed with small Mn{sub 2}SiO{sub 4} particles that measured ∼ 70 nm in diameter. Approximately 500 nm below the MnAl{sub 2}O{sub 4} layer, Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} was formed at the grain boundaries. On the other hand, in a gas mixture with a dew point of − 40 °C, a MnAl{sub 2}O{sub 4} layer with a thickness of ∼ 5 nm was formed on most parts of the surface. On some parts of the surface, Mn{sub 2}SiO{sub 4} particles were formed irregularly up to a thickness of ∼ 50 nm. Approximately 200 nm below the MnAl{sub 2}O{sub 4} layer, Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} was found at the grain boundaries. Thermodynamic calculations were performed to explain the experimental results. The calculations showed that when a{sub O2} > ∼ 1.26 × 10{sup −28}, MnO, MnAl{sub 2}O{sub 4}, and Mn{sub 2}SiO{sub 4} can be formed together, and the major oxide is MnO. When a{sub O2} is in the range of 1.26 × 10{sup −28}–2.51 × 10{sup −31}, MnO is not stable but MnAl{sub 2}O{sub 4} is the major oxide. When a{sub O2} < ∼ 2.51 × 10{sup −31}, only Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} is stable. Consequently, the effective activity of oxygen is considered the dominant factor in determining the type and shape of surface oxides of TWIP steel. - Highlights: • The surface oxides of TWIP steel annealed at 800 °C were investigated using TEM. • The surface oxides were determined by the dew point

Essential and toxic element concentrations in monofloral honeys from southern Croatia.

Science.gov (United States)

Bilandžić, Nina; Tlak Gajger, Ivana; Kosanović, Marina; Čalopek, Bruno; Sedak, Marija; Solomun Kolanović, Božica; Varenina, Ivana; Luburić, Đurđica Božić; Varga, Ines; Đokić, Maja

2017-11-01

The concentrations of 24 elements in seven honey types (multifloral, heather, common heather, bearberry, sage, mandarin orange-blossom and honeydew) collected in southern Mediterranean regions of Croatia were determined using ICP-MS. Significant differences were found in the concentrations of Ag, As, Ba, Cu, Co, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, Se, Sb, U and Th (p<0.05, all) among honeys. The highest element concentrations were determined in honeydew honeys, with the exception of multifloral (Ca, Cr, Mo, Se), common heather (Mg, Na), bearberry (Ba, Fe, Pb) and sage (Ag) honeys. Among the floral honeys, the highest concentrations were found in multifloral honey (Al, As, Be, Ca, Cr, Mn, Mo, Ni, Se, Th and U), common heather (Co, K, Mg, Na, V), sage (Ag, Cd, Cu), and bearberry (Ba, Fe, Pb, Sb, Zn). The results contribute to the evidence supporting the role of botanical origin on the elemental composition of honey. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigation of some factors related to antibacterial activity of Saudi honey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Brahim, Jehan Saud Rashid

2006-01-01

Honey was found to have a curing effect on bacterial species known to cause wound infections. The aim of this research was to study some of the factors related to the antibacterial activity of a Saudi Honey. Honey samples from different floral sources, geographic locations and production season were used. The tested organisms presented both gram positive and gram negative bacteria causing wound infection. A zone of complete inhibition of all bacterial species was observed with honey types Samra (S-W), Samra (W-S), Saha (W-S), Samra (S-S), Sidir (S-W) and a larger zone of partial inhibition of growth was observed in all tested honey types. It can be concluded that osmolarity is involved in the antibacterial activity of the honey. Acidity might be regarded as being of primary importance. On the other hand, hydrogen peroxide was found to play a major role in the bacterial activity of honey. (author)

Assessing Patterns of Admixture and Ancestry in Canadian Honey Bees

Science.gov (United States)

Canada has a large beekeeping industry comprised of 8483 beekeepers managing 672094 23 colonies. Canadian honey bees, like all honey bees in the New World, originate from centuries of importation of predominately European honey bees, but their precise ancestry remains unknown. There have been no i...

Parasite pressures on feral honey bees (Apis mellifera sp..

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catherine E Thompson

Full Text Available Feral honey bee populations have been reported to be in decline due to the spread of Varroa destructor, an ectoparasitic mite that when left uncontrolled leads to virus build-up and colony death. While pests and diseases are known causes of large-scale managed honey bee colony losses, no studies to date have considered the wider pathogen burden in feral colonies, primarily due to the difficulty in locating and sampling colonies, which often nest in inaccessible locations such as church spires and tree tops. In addition, little is known about the provenance of feral colonies and whether they represent a reservoir of Varroa tolerant material that could be used in apiculture. Samples of forager bees were collected from paired feral and managed honey bee colonies and screened for the presence of ten honey bee pathogens and pests using qPCR. Prevalence and quantity was similar between the two groups for the majority of pathogens, however feral honey bees contained a significantly higher level of deformed wing virus than managed honey bee colonies. An assessment of the honey bee race was completed for each colony using three measures of wing venation. There were no apparent differences in wing morphometry between feral and managed colonies, suggesting feral colonies could simply be escapees from the managed population. Interestingly, managed honey bee colonies not treated for Varroa showed similar, potentially lethal levels of deformed wing virus to that of feral colonies. The potential for such findings to explain the large fall in the feral population and the wider context of the importance of feral colonies as potential pathogen reservoirs is discussed.

Parasite pressures on feral honey bees (Apis mellifera sp.).

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Catherine E; Biesmeijer, Jacobus C; Allnutt, Theodore R; Pietravalle, Stéphane; Budge, Giles E

2014-01-01

Feral honey bee populations have been reported to be in decline due to the spread of Varroa destructor, an ectoparasitic mite that when left uncontrolled leads to virus build-up and colony death. While pests and diseases are known causes of large-scale managed honey bee colony losses, no studies to date have considered the wider pathogen burden in feral colonies, primarily due to the difficulty in locating and sampling colonies, which often nest in inaccessible locations such as church spires and tree tops. In addition, little is known about the provenance of feral colonies and whether they represent a reservoir of Varroa tolerant material that could be used in apiculture. Samples of forager bees were collected from paired feral and managed honey bee colonies and screened for the presence of ten honey bee pathogens and pests using qPCR. Prevalence and quantity was similar between the two groups for the majority of pathogens, however feral honey bees contained a significantly higher level of deformed wing virus than managed honey bee colonies. An assessment of the honey bee race was completed for each colony using three measures of wing venation. There were no apparent differences in wing morphometry between feral and managed colonies, suggesting feral colonies could simply be escapees from the managed population. Interestingly, managed honey bee colonies not treated for Varroa showed similar, potentially lethal levels of deformed wing virus to that of feral colonies. The potential for such findings to explain the large fall in the feral population and the wider context of the importance of feral colonies as potential pathogen reservoirs is discussed.

Impacts of Austrian Climate Variability on Honey Bee Mortality

Science.gov (United States)

Switanek, Matt; Brodschneider, Robert; Crailsheim, Karl; Truhetz, Heimo

2015-04-01

Global food production, as it is today, is not possible without pollinators such as the honey bee. It is therefore alarming that honey bee populations across the world have seen increased mortality rates in the last few decades. The challenges facing the honey bee calls into question the future of our food supply. Beside various infectious diseases, Varroa destructor is one of the main culprits leading to increased rates of honey bee mortality. Varroa destructor is a parasitic mite which strongly depends on honey bee brood for reproduction and can wipe out entire colonies. However, climate variability may also importantly influence honey bee breeding cycles and bee mortality rates. Persistent weather events affects vegetation and hence foraging possibilities for honey bees. This study first defines critical statistical relationships between key climate indicators (e.g., precipitation and temperature) and bee mortality rates across Austria, using 6 consecutive years of data. Next, these leading indicators, as they vary in space and time, are used to build a statistical model to predict bee mortality rates and the respective number of colonies affected. Using leave-one-out cross validation, the model reduces the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) by 21% with respect to predictions made with the mean mortality rate and the number of colonies. Furthermore, a Monte Carlo test is used to establish that the model's predictions are statistically significant at the 99.9% confidence level. These results highlight the influence of climate variables on honey bee populations, although variability in climate, by itself, cannot fully explain colony losses. This study was funded by the Austrian project 'Zukunft Biene'.

Effects of Honey Addition on Antioxidative Properties of Different Herbal Teas

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Toydemir Gamze

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Tea and herbal infusions are among the major contributors of phenolic compounds, specifically flavonoids, in our daily diet. Honey is another antioxidant-rich food that is widely used as a natural sweetener. In this work, the effects of honey addition on antioxidant properties of different herbal teas were investigated. For this purpose, 2 different types of honey (flower and pine honey were added into 9 different herbal teas (melissa, green tea, rosehip, sage, echinacea, fennel, linden, daisy, and ginger at 4 different temperatures (55°C, 65°C, 75°C, and 85°C, and the changes in the content of total pheolics, total flavonoids, and total antioxidant capacity were determined. The total phenolic content and the total antioxidant capacity of the honey-added-tea samples were found to be increased (up to 57% for both, especially with pine honey and at higher temperatures of honey addition. The findings of this study supported the use of honey as a natural sweetener in tea in order to be able to benefit from the health-enhancing antioxidative properties of these two promising food products.

THE SACCHARIDE PROFILE OF POLISH HONEYS DEPENDING ON THEIR BOTANICAL ORIGIN

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Zielińska S.

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Thirty honey samples (18 monofloral, 6 multifloral and 6 honeydew were collected directly from apiaries localized in the South-Eastern Poland. Monosaccharide profiles (glucose/fructose ratio in honey were examined by HPLC method with ELSD-detection. The results were compared with other parameters used in honey sugar analysis, i.e. a level of reducing sugars measured by Lane-Eynon, sugar extract (refractometric, specific rotation angle and glucose content determined with Reflectoquant® test (Merck. Moreover, some physicochemical parameters such as: water content, free acids and HMF content by White method were tested. The content of monosaccharides determined by HPLC (as sum of glucose and fructose and Lane-Eynon methods were compared (r=0.83 and changed from 68% in rape honey to 78% on average in goldenrod honey. All studied honeys showed the ratio of fructose/glucose above 1.5. The measurement of the specific optical rotation allowed to distinguish nectar (- and honeydew (+ honey, but due to the heterogeneity of the results, they could not be used for identification of the floral honeys. The results of reflectometric test for glucose level were positively correlated with values measured by HPLC method (r=0.73.

Development of sample preparation method for honey analysis using PIXE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saitoh, Katsumi; Chiba, Keiko; Sera, Koichiro

2008-01-01

We developed an original preparation method for honey samples (samples in paste-like state) specifically designed for PIXE analysis. The results of PIXE analysis of thin targets prepared by adding a standard containing nine elements to honey samples demonstrated that the preparation method bestowed sufficient accuracy on quantitative values. PIXE analysis of 13 kinds of honey was performed, and eight mineral components (Si, P, S, K, Ca, Mn, Cu and Zn) were detected in all honey samples. The principal mineral components were K and Ca, and the quantitative value for K accounted for the majority of the total value for mineral components. K content in honey varies greatly depending on the plant source. Chestnuts had the highest K content. In fact, it was 2-3 times that of Manuka, which is known as a high quality honey. K content of false-acacia, which is produced in the greatest abundance, was 1/20 that of chestnuts. (author)

Prolonged preconditioning with natural honey against myocardial infarction injuries.

Science.gov (United States)

Eteraf-Oskouei, Tahereh; Shaseb, Elnaz; Ghaffary, Saba; Najafi, Moslem

2013-07-01

Potential protective effects of prolonged preconditioning with natural honey against myocardial infarction were investigated. Male Wistar rats were pre-treated with honey (1%, 2% and 4%) for 45 days then their hearts were isolated and mounted on a Langendorff apparatus and perfused with a modified Krebs-Henseleit solution during 30 min regional ischemia fallowed by 120 min reperfusion. Two important indexes of ischemia-induced damage (infarction size and arrhythmias) were determined by computerized planimetry and ECG analysis, respectively. Honey (1% and 2%) reduced infarct size from 23±3.1% (control) to 9.7±2.4 and 9.5±2.3%, respectively (Phoney (1%) significantly reduced (PHoney (1% and 2%) also significantly decreased number of ventricular ectopic beats (VEBs). In addition, incidence and duration of reversible ventricular fibrillation (Rev VF) were lowered by honey 2% (Phoney produced significant reduction in the incidences of VT, total and Rev VF, duration and number of VT. The results showed cardioprotective effects of prolonged pre-treatment of rats with honey following myocardial infarction. Maybe, the existence of antioxidants and energy sources (glucose and fructose) in honey composition and improvement of hemodynamic functions may involve in those protective effects.

WILD HONEY INTOXICATION: CASE REPORT

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Munire Babayigit

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Wild honey intoxication (WHI is a rare disease that results from consuming honey produced by Rhododendron polen feeded bees. WHI develops due to grayanotoxin (GT that it contains. WHI might present with mild symptoms of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and neurological systems or might also present in a life threatining form with AV block and cardiovascular collaps. In this report we aimed to present clinical presentation and treatment of a case of WHI. [J Contemp Med 2013; 3(3.000: 197-199

Wound healing with honey - a randomised controlled trial

African Journals Online (AJOL)

and calculate the cost-effectiveness of the honey used. Design and ... Natural honey is extremely cost- effective. ... surrounding wound infection, genital or malignant ulcers, wounds ... body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and.

Cell culture techniques in honey bee research

Science.gov (United States)

Cell culture techniques are indispensable in most if not all life science disciplines to date. Wherever cell culture models are lacking scientific development is hampered. Unfortunately this has been and still is the case in honey bee research because permanent honey bee cell lines have not yet been...

PRELIMINARY CONTRIBUTION TO THE CHARACTERIZATION OF COMMERCIAL UNIFLORAL HONEY SAMPLES BY MELISSOPALYNOLOGY ANALYSIS

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Nicoleta IANOVICI

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Melissopalynology (pollen analysis of honey is an indispensable method to authenticate honey origin and characteristics. It is very effective to determine and control the geographical origin of honeys and it also provides information about other important quality aspects. Melissopalynologists are challenged not only to identify the pollen found in honey but also decide what to do with the presence of pollen grains that are represented in the honey spectra. Pollen analyses of honey can also determine important information about honeybees such as foraging ecology, habitat and vegetation visited, changes in food sources and habitat composition. The advantages of a pollen analysis is that all, or most, nectar sources involved are recognised, and if quantitative data are available, their relationship to each component, or to the dominant source, can be determined. Pollen spectra gave consistent results for the same type of honey from different areas. The large variety of meliferous sources (223 enable in Romania to produce characteristic type of honeys. The interest in the production of unifloral honeys is a higher consumer preference for some honey varieties leading to a commercial interest of the beekeepers. In six sample of commercial unifloral honey, 16 pollen types were identified. These honeys are not especially rich in pollen types and compares with many honeys characteristic of Europe. Plantago pollen grains are irregularly found in these honeys, as elsewhere, although their numbers in any one sample are insignificant. The presence of this pollen type is considered accidental, especially as numbers are always low. Comparison of results from samples extracted by different methods is impossible, for absolute pollen content may vary greatly.

Traditional and Modern Uses of Natural Honey in Human Diseases: A Review

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Tahereh Eteraf-Oskouei

2013-06-01

Full Text Available   Honey is a by-product of flower nectar and the upper aero-digestive tract of the honey bee, which is concentrated through a dehydration process inside the bee hive. Honey has a very complex chemical composition that varies depending on the botanical source. It has been used both as food and medicine since ancient times. Human use of honey is traced to some 8000 years ago as depicted by Stone Age paintings. In addition to important role of natural honey in the traditional medicine, during the past few decades, it was subjected to laboratory and clinical investigations by several research groups and it has found a place in modern medicine. Honey has been reported to have an inhibitory effect on around 60 species of bacteria, some species of fungi and viruses. Antioxidant capacity of honey is important in many disease conditions and is due to a wide range of compounds including phenolics, peptides, organic acids, enzymes, and Maillard reaction products. Honey has also been used in some gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, inflammatory and neoplastic states. This review covers the composition, physico-chemical properties and the most important uses of natural honey in human diseases.

Impact of floral sources and processing on the antimicrobial activities of different unifloral honeys

Science.gov (United States)

Elbanna, Khaled; Attalla, Khaled; Elbadry, Medhat; Abdeltawab, Awad; Gamal-Eldin, Hosny; Ramadan, Mohamed Fawzy

2014-01-01

Objective To study in vitro antibacterial activity and physicochemical properties of three unifloral honeys (citrus, clover and cotton honeys), and to study the impacts of storage, dilution with water (33%, w/v) and autoclaving (121 °C for 15 min) on honeys characteristics. Methods Honey samples from monofloral sources including citrus (Citrus spp.), Egyptian clover (Trifolium alexandrium) and cotton (Gossypium vitifolium) were obtained during three successive seasons (2010-2012). Physicochemical properties and antimicrobial activities of different honey samples were studies. Results In honey samples stored for 12 or 24 month, colour, hydroxymethyl furfural and acidity increased, while refractive index, water activity, total soluble solids, electrical conductivity and pH remained relatively unaffected, but H2O2 values decreased. Types of honey exhibited various degrees of antibacterial activity against different indicator bacteria, wherein the highest antibacterial activity was recorded for clover honey followed by citrus and cotton honeys, respectively. Different species of bacteria were differed in their sensitivity to honey, wherein Salmonella enteritidis was the most sensitive followed by Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli, respectively. Storage up to 24 months at room temperature slightly reduced the antibacterial activity. The reduction levels were about 2.6% and 4.6% after 12 and 24 months, respectively. Diluting honeys with water increased the antibacterial activity by ca. 8.3%, while autoclaving decreased the antibacterial activity by ca. 13.5%. The relative contribution of the peroxide and non-peroxide components in the total antibacterial activity of fresh honeys was investigated. The antibacterial activity of honeys was mainly attributed to non-peroxide antibacterial agents, wherein their contribution was ca. 88%, while the contribution of H2O2 was only 12%. The contribution of the thermostable antibacterial components

77 FR 72385 - Honey From China; Determination

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-05

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation No. 731-TA-893 (Second Review)] Honey From China... U.S.C. 1675(c)), that revocation of the antidumping duty order on honey from China would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury to an industry in the United States within a...

Honeydew Honeys: A Review on the Characterization and Authentication of Botanical and Geographical Origins.

Science.gov (United States)

Pita-Calvo, Consuelo; Vázquez, Manuel

2018-03-21

The commercial interest in honeydew honeys (from the secretions of plants or the excretions of plant-sucking insects found on plants) is increasing because of their higher therapeutic properties compared with those of most blossom honeys (from nectar). However, honeydew honeys have been less studied than blossom honeys. In this work, studies carried out to characterize and authenticate honeydew honeys by their botanical and geographical origins have been reviewed. The identification of honey origins has been approached by two ways: by the analysis of chemical markers and by the development of analytical methodologies combined with multivariate analyses. Some compounds have been suggested as specific botanical markers of several honeydew honeys, such as quercitol and trans-oak lactone for oak honey, 2-aminoacetophenone and propylanisol for holm oak honey, and 1-chloro-octane and tridecane for pine honey. The presence of 3-carene and an unidentified compound in samples was proposed as a way discriminate between Greek and Turkish pine honeys. Chemometric analyses have been applied on chemical compositions and on physicochemical, microscopic, and spectral parameters and have proved to be valuable methods for authenticating honeydew honeys. Analytical methods based on spectral information are suitable for the routine control of honeydew-honey origins because they are fast and require easy sample preparations.

Estimation of precipitable water at different locations using surface dew-point

Science.gov (United States)

Abdel Wahab, M.; Sharif, T. A.

1995-09-01

The Reitan (1963) regression equation of the form ln w = a + bT d has been examined and tested to estimate precipitable water vapor content from the surface dew point temperature at different locations. The results of this study indicate that the slope b of the above equation has a constant value of 0.0681, while the intercept a changes rapidly with latitude. The use of the variable intercept technique can improve the estimated result by about 2%.

TFOS DEWS II Tear Film Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Willcox, Mark D P; Argüeso, Pablo; Georgiev, Georgi A; Holopainen, Juha M; Laurie, Gordon W; Millar, Tom J; Papas, Eric B; Rolland, Jannick P; Schmidt, Tannin A; Stahl, Ulrike; Suarez, Tatiana; Subbaraman, Lakshman N; Uçakhan, Omür Ö; Jones, Lyndon

2017-07-01

The members of the Tear Film Subcommittee reviewed the role of the tear film in dry eye disease (DED). The Subcommittee reviewed biophysical and biochemical aspects of tears and how these change in DED. Clinically, DED is characterized by loss of tear volume, more rapid breakup of the tear film and increased evaporation of tears from the ocular surface. The tear film is composed of many substances including lipids, proteins, mucins and electrolytes. All of these contribute to the integrity of the tear film but exactly how they interact is still an area of active research. Tear film osmolarity increases in DED. Changes to other components such as proteins and mucins can be used as biomarkers for DED. The Subcommittee recommended areas for future research to advance our understanding of the tear film and how this changes with DED. The final report was written after review by all Subcommittee members and the entire TFOS DEWS II membership. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Polyphenols as Possible Markers of Botanical Origin of Honey.

Science.gov (United States)

Gašić, Uroš M; Milojković-Opsenica, Dušanka M; Tešić, Živoslav Lj

2017-07-01

In recent years, the botanical and geographical origin of food has become an important topic in the context of food quality and safety, as well as consumer protection, in accordance with international standards. Finding chemical markers, especially phytochemicals, characteristic for some kind of food is the subject of interest of a significant number of researchers in the world. This paper is focused on the use of polyphenols as potential markers for the determination of botanical origin of honey. It includes a review of the polyphenols present in various honey samples and the methods for their separation and identification. Special emphasis in this paper is placed on the identification of honey polyphenols using advanced LC-MS techniques in order to find specific markers of botanical origin of honey. In this regard, this study gives an overview of the literature that describes the use of LC-MS techniques for the isolation and determination of honey polyphenols. This review focuses on the research performed in the past two decades.

Neural networks applied to discriminate botanical origin of honeys.

Science.gov (United States)

Anjos, Ofélia; Iglesias, Carla; Peres, Fátima; Martínez, Javier; García, Ángela; Taboada, Javier

2015-05-15

The aim of this work is develop a tool based on neural networks to predict the botanical origin of honeys using physical and chemical parameters. The managed database consists of 49 honey samples of 2 different classes: monofloral (almond, holm oak, sweet chestnut, eucalyptus, orange, rosemary, lavender, strawberry trees, thyme, heather, sunflower) and multifloral. The moisture content, electrical conductivity, water activity, ashes content, pH, free acidity, colorimetric coordinates in CIELAB space (L(∗), a(∗), b(∗)) and total phenols content of the honey samples were evaluated. Those properties were considered as input variables of the predictive model. The neural network is optimised through several tests with different numbers of neurons in the hidden layer and also with different input variables. The reduced error rates (5%) allow us to conclude that the botanical origin of honey can be reliably and quickly known from the colorimetric information and the electrical conductivity of honey. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of natural honeys of different origin

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Miartina Fikselová

2014-10-01

Full Text Available To examine the antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of 15 natural honeys, honey samples were collected from different locations of Slovakia, Poland and Serbia. For antimicrobial activity determination honey solutions were prepared at three concentrations: 50, 25 and 12.5 % (by mass per volume. The potential antimicrobial activity of  selected samples against four species of bacteria (Escherichia coli CCM 3988, Pseudomonas aeroginosa CCM 1960, Staphylococcus epidermis CCM 4418, Bacillus cereus CCM 2010 and two species of yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae CCM 8191, Candida albicans CCM 8216 was studied using the disc diffusion method. After incubation, the zones of inhibition of the growth of the microorganisms around the disks were measured. The strongest antimicrobial activity was shown at honey samples of 50 % concentration against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeroginosa and Staphylococcus epidermis. Against Saccharomyces cerevisae and Candida albicans very low (at 50 %, 25 % concentration or zero antifugal (at 12.5 % concentration activity was determined. From the results obtained it was shown the variable ability of honey samples to scavenge stable free radical DPPH. TEACDPPH values ranged between 0.1-1.0 mmol.kg-1. As the antioxidative best source buckwheat honey was manifested and the lowest antioxidant activity was shown at acacia honey.

Honey ointment': a natural remedy of skin wound infections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tasleem, S.; Naqvi, S.B.S.; Hashimi, K.

2011-01-01

Background: Honey is a gift of nature, principally identified and valued to possess antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity and has been used as a natural remedy of wounds since ancient times. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of honey against micro-organisms, to formulate a honey ointment and to evaluate the efficacy of such ointment by conducting clinical trials on skin wound infection. Methods: This experimental study was conducted at Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Karachi and Out-patient Department of Dermatology, Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi from November 2009 to October 2010. The antimicrobial activity of Pakistani floral sources (Trachysperm copticum, Acacia nilotica species indica, Zizyphus) honey samples was investigated by disc diffusion method against freshly isolated wound infecting bacteria (Staphylococci aureus, Staphylococci epidermidis, Streptococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris and Candida albicans), and Staphylococci aureus ATCC 6538, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9022, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Candida albican ATCC 15146. An ointment containing 20% active antimicrobial honey was formulated. The efficacy of such ointment was evaluated by passing thought clinical trials. A total number of 27 patients (23 skin wound infection, and 4 diabetic foot ulcer) were involved in the study. Thin layer of newly formulated honey ointment on gauze were applied two to three times per day till complete healing. Results: In microbiological assay the honey samples were found to exhibit a very promising antimicrobial activity against all the micro-organisms tested. In clinical trial very significant results (99.15%) healing was observed in skin wound infections cases with mean healing time of 5.86 (2-20) days, and 95% diabetic foot ulcers healed with the mean healing time of 20 (8-40) days. Conclusion: Newly formulated

THE EVOLUTION OF HONEY PRODUCTION IN ROMANIA BETWEEN 2000 AND 2011

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Teodor MIERLIŢĂ

2014-04-01

Full Text Available In many European Union countries, the beekeeping sector is in decline due to the decrease of the agricultural land areas, pesticides and bee diseases. However, there are countries where honey production is augmenting. Romania is among the countries where honey production has considerably increased over the last decade. The scope of this paper is to show the honey production evolution in Romania between 2000 and 2011 and is based on the statistics provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Rural Development.The data has been produced with the help of following metrics and indicators: the number of beekeepers, the number of bee families, honey consumption, honey price and honey production. During the mentioned period, the total number of bees has grown continuously with a maximum for 2011 at 1.2 million of bee families. Honey production also increased from 11.746 tons for the year 2000 to 24.700 tons for 2011. Therefore we can conclude that Romania is among the countries with a well-developed beekeeping industry, due to several factors: the high number of bee families available for farming, the quantity and quality of honey production, the diversity of bee farming and the results of scientific research and human resources’level of work qualification.

Sensing the water content of honey from temperature-dependent electrical conductivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, Wenchuan; Liu, Yi; Zhu, Xinhua; Zhuang, Hong

2011-01-01

In order to predict the water content in honey, electrical conductivity was measured on blossom honey types milk-vetch, jujube and yellow-locust with the water content of 18–37% between 5 and 40 °C. The regression models of electrical conductivity were developed as functions of water content and temperature. The results showed that increases in either water content or temperature resulted in an increase in the electrical conductivity of honey with greater changes at higher water content and/or higher temperature. The linear terms of water content and temperature, a quadratic term of water content, and the interaction effect of water content and temperature had significant influence on the electrical conductivity of honey (p < 0.0001). Regardless of blossom honey type, the linear coefficient of the determination of measured and calculated electrical conductivities was 0.998 and the range error ratio was larger than 100. These results suggest that the electrical conductivity of honey might be used to develop a detector for rapidly predicting the water content in blossom honey

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in floral honeys of tropical Ghana: a health risk assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Letsyo, Emmanuel; Jerz, Gerold; Winterhalter, Peter; Dübecke, Arne; von der Ohe, Werner; von der Ohe, Katharina; Beuerle, Till

2017-12-01

There is a vast amount of information about the nutritional and medicinal properties of honey as a result of its numerous benefits. However, honeys have been found to be contaminated with hepatotoxic and carcinogenic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) on account of bees foraging on PA-containing plants. This study deals with the analysis of PAs in tropical honeys emanating from different agro-ecological zones of Ghana in order to assess its potential health risk. PAs of 48 honey samples were analysed using high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS). The results show that a total of 85% of the honeys from various agro-ecological zones were PA positive including all honeys from supermarkets. The highest concentration of PAs was 2639 μg kg -1 , while the average PA concentration of the samples was 283 μg kg -1 . The study also found Chromolaena odorata pollens in majority of the honeys, thus indicating the plant as major source of PA contamination of honeys in the tropical regions.

Studies on the antioxidant properties of Tualang honey of Malaysia ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Honey has been used since ancient times for its nutritional as well as curative properties. Tualang honey is collected from wild honey bees' hives on Tualang trees found in the Malaysian rain forest. It has been used traditionally for the treatment of various diseases, where its therapeutic value has partly been related to its ...

Comparative Study of Honey Collected from Different Flora of Algeria

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... 0.324± 0.116 mS/cm and 0.141± 0.065%, respectively. The mean color was 81 ± 72 mm Pfund. The majority of honey samples test results (moisture content, electric conductivity and acidity) levels were within the acceptable range of world honey standards. Keywords: Apis mellifera, biochemical characters, unifloral honey ...

Evaluation of four apicultural products for hive colonization by honey ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Four apicultural products (honey, bee wax, slum gum and propolis) were evaluated for their potentials to attract the African honey bee (Apis mellifera adansonii) colony into artificial hives and their effect on infestation by apicultural insect pests. Ten grammes each of propolis, bee wax and slum gum and 10 ml of honey were ...

DETERMINING COSTS-RETURNS PROFITABILITY IN HONEY MARKETING IN CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

OpenAIRE

Adinya, I.B; Ayuk, E.A; Akpet, S.O; Agiopu, B.F

2017-01-01

This study examined costs-returns profitability in honey marketing in Cross River State. Honey contains 29 percent of protein, 19 percent of amino acid, vitamins and minerals for bodybuilding. Honey mixed with aloe vera gel is use for cure of dandruff and rapid hair growth. This mixture could also help to prevent hair breakage. Honey pollen enhances vitality and brings about a longer life span. Data were obtained from a random sample of 120 honey marketers in the study area by means of struct...

Characterization of Multifloral Honeys of Pervari Region with Different Properties

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Mehmet Emre EREZ

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The quality of honey from Pervari region was almost known by all over the country in Turkey. This study was undertaken to determine (i physico-chemical parameters, (ii antimicrobial analysis and (iii pollen estimation method with expert computer system obtained from three different sites of Pervari region (Siirt/Turkey. For physico-chemical parameters; moisture, free acidity, diastase activity, hydroxyl methyl furfural (HMF, invert sugar, ash, commercial glucose and proline analysis were examined. For anti-microbial analysis disc dilution method were studied on six different bacteria species. For pollen analysis; different and new expert computer system was used for comparison of pollen of plants and honey samples. The aim of the study was to evaluate the properties of multi floral honey determined from three different locations in the same region and the way to understand to which plants were visited by the bees with comparing of pollen grains of flowers and honey by using the expert computer system. Honey samples of Pervari region were of acceptable quality based on recommended criteria of Turkish Food Codex and International Honey Commission.

Study on dew point evaporative cooling system with counter-flow configuration

KAUST Repository

Lin, J.

2015-12-18

Dew point evaporative cooling has great potential as a disruptive process for sensible cooling of air below its entering wet bulb temperature. This paper presents an improved mathematical model for a single-stage dew point evaporative cooler in a counter-flow configuration. Longitudinal heat conduction and mass diffusion of the air streams, channel plate and water film, as well as the temperature difference between the plate and water film, are accounted for in the model. Predictions of the product air temperature are validated using three sets of experimental data within a discrepancy of 4%. The cooler’s heat and mass transfer process is analyzed in terms of its cooling capacity intensity, water evaporation intensity, and overall heat transfer coefficient along the channel. Parametric studies are conducted at different geometric and operating conditions. For the conditions evaluated, the study reveals that (1) the saturation point of the working air occurs at a fixed point regardless of the inlet air conditions, and it is mainly influenced by the working air ratio and channel height; (2) the intensity of the water evaporation approaches a minimum at 0.2 to 0.3m from the entrance; (3) the wet channel can be separated into two zones, and the overall heat transfer coefficient is above 100W/(m2·K) after the temperature of water film becomes higher than the working air temperature.

Microbiological assessment of honey in México.

Science.gov (United States)

Vázquez-Quiñones, Carlos Ramón; Moreno-Terrazas, Rúben; Natividad-Bonifacio, Iván; Quiñones-Ramírez, Elsa Irma; Vázquez-Salinas, Carlos

Honey is a product used as a natural sweetener and in several regions of Mexico and other countries it is also used as a therapeutic agent. Microbiological contamination of honey can occur during its extraction and handling. Due to the use and consumption of honey we highlighted here the importance of the assessment of its microbiological quality. One thousand nine hundred twenty samples obtained from 8 honey-producing states from Mexico were analyzed. From these samples, 40.5% (777/1920) did not comply with the NMX-036-NORMEX-2006 specification. Forty five percent (777/1920) of the samples did not comply with the mesophilic aerobic microorganism specification, neither did 17% (327/1920) of the samples with the specification for molds and 18.1% (348/1920) with the specification for yeasts. With regard to coliform bacteria, the samples contained less than 3 NMP/g. Two percent of the samples contained lactic acid bacteria (LAB), Clostridium perfringens was observed in amounts of more than 100CFU/g. None of the samples from the different states contained more than 100CFU/g of Staphylococcus aureus; Salmonella spp. was absent in all samples. It is important to avoid contamination sources and implement good hygienic practices in order to maintain and improve the quality of Mexican honeys since a large percentage of them are intended for export. If these honeys are intended for therapeutic use, it is necessary to ensure that they comply with all quality parameters and to apply specific treatments that guarantee the removal of any pathogen that may represent a risk to the patients's health. Copyright © 2017 Asociación Argentina de Microbiología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Reprint of "Attitudes towards honey among Italian consumers: A choice experiment approach".

Science.gov (United States)

Cosmina, Marta; Gallenti, Gianluigi; Marangon, Francesco; Troiano, Stefania

2016-11-01

Honey is becoming increasingly popular with consumers for its nutritional benefits as well as many other functions. The objective of this article is to determine which factors influence consumers' purchase intentions and to assess the importance of certain honey characteristics to enable identification of the constituents of an ideal honey profile. This information will lead to satisfaction of consumers' preferences and formulation of marketing strategies that support honey makers. We applied a choice experiment to the Italian honey market to define the preferences and the willingness to pay for key characteristics of the product. A face-to-face questionnaire survey was conducted in 2014 (January-July) among Italian consumers; it was completed by 427 respondents. A latent class model was estimated and four classes were identified, with different preferences, illustrating that respondents seem to be heterogeneous honey consumers. Results suggest the "organic" attribute was more important than others factors, such as the place where the honey was produced (landscape), but less important than the country of origin; local Italian honey was preferred to foreign honey. Respondents showed a higher willingness to pay (WTP) for honey from their country of origin versus the production method used. Our results suggest that while organic beekeeping might be an important strategy for diversification, if suitable communication is not taken into consideration, the added value of the production method might not be perceived by consumers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Presence and Effects of Chemical Toxin on Feeding of Cowpea ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

These varieties along with one susceptible variety (Tvu.76(Prima) were used for conducting two experiments together to find out the presence of a chemical and their role in aphid's feeding and survival. Comparative studies of the number of honey dew drops produced on varieties used in the experiment, and the reaction of ...

137Cs Behaviour in Chestnut Honey From Northwestern Croatia Two Decades After Chernobyl Accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rozmaric Macefat, M.; Rogic, M.; Nodilo, M.; Barisic, D.; Svecnjak, L.; Bubalo, D.; Popijac, M.; Kezic, N.

2011-01-01

Covering the large area in nectar gathering process and searching for food, honey bees yield a unique random composite sample incorporated in honey. Thus, honey represents an excellent media for studying behaviour of bioavailable elements as well as environmental pollutants. Caesium, a product of nuclear weapon testing and Chernobyl nuclear accident, still present in soils, is transferred to plants by plant uptake. It has already been established that chestnut honey can be used as a bioindicator for monitoring 137Cs many years after the Chernobyl accident. The aim of this study was to determine whether the chestnut honey is suitable for monitoring environmental pollution with 137Cs two decades after the contamination event. Chestnut honey from northwest Croatia has been analysed during the period from 2004 to 2008, for activity concentrations of 137Cs and 40K. Honey samples were collected mechanically by extracting honey from combs. Based on the pollen analysis (> 85 % of chestnut pollen grains) and measured electrical conductivity of honey (> 0.8 mS cm -1 ), honey has been identified as unifloral chestnut honey (Castanea sativa Mill.). 137Cs and 40K activity concentrations have been determined by gamma spectrometry. Decrease of 137Cs activity in chestnut honey was approximated by linear equation. The activity concentration of 137Cs in chestnut honey decreases very slowly over the time as opposed to the activity concentrations of 40K that are more or less equable. Thus, chestnut honey can be used as a good bioindicator for 137Cs even two decades after the Chernobyl accident. (author)

Honey feeding protects kidney against cisplatin nephrotoxicity through suppression of inflammation.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamad, Rania; Jayakumar, Calpurnia; Ranganathan, Punithavathi; Mohamed, Riyaz; El-Hamamy, Mahmoud M I; Dessouki, Amina A; Ibrahim, Abdelazim; Ramesh, Ganesan

2015-08-01

Cisplatin is a highly effective chemotherapeutic drug used to treat a wide variety of solid tumors. However, its use was limited due its dose-limiting toxicity to the kidney. Currently, there are no therapies available to treat or prevent cisplatin nephrotoxicity. Honey is a naturally occurring complex liquid and widely used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine to treat many illnesses. However, its effect on cisplatin nephrotoxicity is unknown. To determine the role of honey in cisplatin nephrotoxicity, animals were pretreated orally for a week and then cisplatin was administered. Honey feeding was continued for another 3 days. Our results show that animals with cisplatin-induced kidney dysfunction, as determined by increased serum creatinine, which received honey feeding had less kidney dysfunction. Improved kidney function was associated with better preservation of kidney morphology in honey-treated group as compared to the cisplatin alone-treated group. Interestingly, honey feeding significantly reduced cisplatin-induced tubular epithelial cell death, immune infiltration into the kidney as well as cytokine and chemokine expression and excretion as compared to cisplatin treated animals. Western blot analysis shows that cisplatin-induced increase in phosphorylation of NFkB was completely suppressed with honey feeding. In conclusion, honey feeding protects the kidney against cisplatin nephrotoxicity through suppression of inflammation and NFkB activation. © 2015 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Bees’ Honey Attenuation of Metanil-Yellow-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Rats

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Abdulrahman L. Al-Malki

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The present study aims to investigate the protective effect of bees’ honey against metanil-yellow-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Rats were divided into 7 groups: control group; three groups treated with 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg metanil yellow, and three groups treated with metanil yellow plus 2.5 mg·kg-1·day-1 bees’ honey for 8 weeks. The obtained data showed that the antioxidant/anti-inflammatory activity of bees’ honey reduced the oxidative stress in the liver tissue and downregulated the inflammatory markers. In addition, the elevated levels of AGE and the activated NF-κB in the metanil-yellow-treated animals were significantly attenuated. Moreover, the levels of TNF-α and IL-1β were significantly attenuated as a result of bees’ honey administration. Furthermore, the histopathological examination of the liver showed that bees’ honey reduced fatty degeneration, cytoplasmic vacuolization, and necrosis in metanil-yellow-treated rats. In conclusion, the obtained data suggest that bees’ honey has hepatoprotective effect on acute liver injuries induced by metanil-yellow in vivo, and the results suggested that the effect of bees’ honey against metanil yellow-induced liver damage is related to its antioxidant/anti-inflammatory properties which attenuate the activation of NF-κB and its controlled genes like TNF-α and IL-1β.

Saccharide breakdown and fermentation by the honey bee gut microbiome.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Fredrick J; Rusch, Douglas B; Stewart, Frank J; Mattila, Heather R; Newton, Irene L G

2015-03-01

The honey bee, the world's most important agricultural pollinator, relies exclusively on plant-derived foods for nutrition. Nectar and pollen collected by honey bees are processed and matured within the nest through the activities of honey bee-derived microbes and enzymes. In order to better understand the contribution of the microbial community to food processing in the honey bee, we generated a metatranscriptome of the honey bee gut microbiome. The function of the microbial community in the honey bee, as revealed by metatranscriptome sequencing, resembles that of other animal guts and food-processing environments. We identified three major bacterial classes that are active in the gut (γ-Proteobacteria, Bacilli and Actinobacteria), all of which are predicted to participate in the breakdown of complex macromolecules (e.g. polysaccharides and polypeptides), the fermentation of component parts of these macromolecules, and the generation of various fermentation products, such as short-chain fatty acids and alcohol. The ability of the microbial community to metabolize these carbon-rich food sources was confirmed through the use of community-level physiological profiling. Collectively, these findings suggest that the gut microflora of the honey bee harbours bacterial members with unique roles, which ultimately can contribute to the processing of plant-derived food for colonies. © 2014 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Comparative Study of Honey Consumption in Slovakia and Russia

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Snezhanna Guziy

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The current situation on the food market is influenced by various diet trends including eating healthy products. The honey consumption has an increasing tendency because more and more consumers consider honey as a healthy alternative to a refined sugar. The aim of this research paper was to identify consumption patterns regarding honey in terms of annual consumption, its frequency, volume of honey per purchase, consumption structure by family members and factors affecting consumers at honey purchase. The primary data was obtained from a questionnaire survey, which was conducted in Slovakia on the sample of 316 respondents as well as in Russia on the sample of 309 respondents. For a deeper analyses several assumptions were formulated where dependencies between demographic factors (age, education and income, and annual consumption by using Chi-Square Test of Independence and Cramer´V coefficient, as well as, differences in factors affecting consumers at honey purchase by using Friedman test have been statistically tested. Based on the results it was found out that, the majority of Slovak consumers make honey reserves and prefer to buy 1 kg per purchase while the majority of Russian consumers purchase honey if necessary and prefer to buy 0.5 or 2 - 5 kg per purchase. Honey is generally consumed by all family members in both countries. The mostimportant factors for Slovak consumers was the country of origin (2.59 followed by taste (3.51, type (3.97 and price (4.18, while the least important factors were the size of packaging (6.70 and the design of packaging (6.80. For Russian consumers the most important factors werethe type (2.97, design of packaging (3.13, price (3.28 and taste (3.61 while the least important factors were the size of packaging (6.98, brand (6.50 and the country of origin (6.50. The majority of consumers in both countries consume from 2 to 5 kg annually and the only significant dependence was confirmed in case of respondents

chemical profiles of honeys originating from different floral sources

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2015-02-05

Feb 5, 2015 ... FLORAL SOURCES AND GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS EXAMINED BY A ... quality honeys retail for premium prices, but these honeys are increasingly being counterfeited ... distinguish between two floral sources in Malaysia.

Application of FTIR spectroscopy for analysis of the quality of honey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kędzierska-Matysek Monika

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Every kind of honey is a very precious natural product which is made by Mellifera bees species. The chemical composition of honey depends on its origin or mode of production. Honey consists essentially of different sugars, predominantly fructose and glucose. There are also non – sugar ingredients like proteins and amino acids, as well as some kind of enzymes, such as: invertase, amylase, glucose oxidase, catalase and phosphatase. The fact that honey is one of the oldest medicine known worldwide is remarkable. Scientists all over the world have been trying to improve analytical methods as well as to implement new ones in order to reaffirm the high quality of honey the benefits of which may be distracted or disturbed. There are many methods and popular analytical techniques, including as follows: mass spectroscopy and molecular spectroscopy (especially FTIR spectroscopy. The infrared spectroscopy technique is one of the most common analytical methods which are used to analyse honey nowadays. The main aim of the task was to use ATR-FTIR infrared spectroscopy to compare selected honey samples as well as typical sequences coming out from certain functional groups in the analysed samples.

Analysis of points of dew and contents of humidity of gassy mixtures N2-H2 O and CH4 H2 O

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bedoya M, D; Muller, C; Oellrich, L R

1995-01-01

The actual knowledge of the exact water content in saturated gas mixtures still is incomplete, especially in the high pressure and low temperature region. Hence, dew point measurements with nitrogen - water and methane-water mixtures were performed; at pressures of 3 and 6 MPa and temperatures from 258 K to 288 K. The dew points were determined with the dew point mirror method and the water content by means of the Karl-Fischer-titration. The experimental values were compared to correlations from the literature. The approach by Sharma-Campbell resulted in the best description of the system nitrogen - water. For temperatures below 273 K the assumption of ideal behavior proved to be sufficient for the system methane-water, whereas for temperatures above 273 K calculations with the two-parameter corresponding states principle in combination with a fugacity correction turned out to be the best

Development of the High-Temperature Dew-Point Generator Over the Past 15 Years

Science.gov (United States)

Bosma, R.; Nielsen, J.; Peruzzi, A.

2017-10-01

At VSL a humidity generator was designed and constructed in the early 1990s. This generator was of the re-circulating-single-pressure type. Over the years, the generator has been thoroughly revised and several critical components have been replaced. Among others the pre-saturator and the change from re-circulation to single-pass mode. Validating experiments showed that the range of the new setup could be extended from 70 {°}C to 95 {°}C dew-point temperature, and the last modification allows an uncertainty of 0.048 {°}C (k = 2) at the maximum temperature. In 2009 the setup was used in the Euramet-T-K8 humidity intercomparison at temperatures up to 95 {°}C. In the period from 2003 to 2015, four state-of-the-art chilled mirror hygrometers were regularly calibrated with the generator. One of these was also calibrated with the primary dew-point standards of several other European National Metrology Institutes, which made it possible to link the VSL generator to the generators used in these institutes. An analysis of the results of these calibrations shows an agreement in calibration capabilities within 0.01 {°}C with PTB and NPL.

Unique Pattern of Protein-Bound Maillard Reaction Products in Manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) Honey.

Science.gov (United States)

Hellwig, Michael; Rückriemen, Jana; Sandner, Daniel; Henle, Thomas

2017-05-03

As a unique feature, honey from the New Zealand manuka tree (Leptospermum scoparium) contains substantial amounts of dihydroxyacetone (DHA) and methylglyoxal (MGO). Although MGO is a reactive intermediate in the Maillard reaction, very little is known about reactions of MGO with honey proteins. We hypothesized that the abundance of MGO should result in a particular pattern of protein-bound Maillard reaction products (MRPs) in manuka honey. A protein-rich high-molecular-weight fraction was isolated from 12 manuka and 8 non-manuka honeys and hydrolyzed enzymatically. By HPLC-MS/MS, 8 MRPs, namely, N-ε-fructosyllysine, N-ε-maltulosyllysine, carboxymethyllysine, carboxyethyllysine (CEL), pyrraline, formyline, maltosine, and methylglyoxal-derived hydroimidazolone 1 (MG-H1), were quantitated. Compared to non-manuka honeys, the manuka honeys were characterized by high concentrations of CEL and MG-H1, whereas the formation of N-ε-fructosyllysine was suppressed, indicating concurrence reactions of glucose and MGO at the ε-amino group of protein-bound lysine. Up to 31% of the lysine and 8% of the arginine residues, respectively, in the manuka honey protein can be modified to CEL and MG-H1, respectively. CEL and MG-H1 concentrations correlated strongly with the MGO concentration of the honeys. Manuka honey possesses a special pattern of protein-bound MRPs, which might be used to prove the reliability of labeled MGO levels in honeys and possibly enable the detection of fraudulent MGO or DHA addition to honey.

Honey quality of Melipona sp. bees in Acre, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcus Augusto Damaceno do Vale

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Honey from stingless bees (Melipona sp. is a nutritious and medicinal product economically valued in the informal Brazilian market, driven by the growing demand for natural products; however, its physicochemical characteristics are still unknown. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate the physicochemical profile of the stingless bee honey produced in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre. Honey samples were analyzed following the methodology recommended by Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento; the following parameters were established: moisture, total sugars, reducing sugars, apparent sucrose, ash, crude protein, diastase activity, Brix degrees, free acidity, lactonic acidity, total acidity, pH, hydroxymethylfurfural, electrical conductivity, color and Lugol, Lund and Fiehe reactions. Results show that these parameters are not suitable for all samples, being incompatible with established standards, indicating that the current legislation on Apis mellifera is not suitable for all characters analyzed, mainly moisture content, corroborating the need to standardize guidelines for honey from stingless bees. Moreover, there was no tampering in the honeys analyzed.

Persistence of echimidine, a hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloid, from honey into mead

Science.gov (United States)

Honey produced by bees foraging on Echium plantagineum is known to contain dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids characteristic of the plant. Following a prolific growth of E. plantagineum in the wake of Australian bushfires, two samples of mead, a fermented drink made from honey, and the honey used to pre...

Analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of honey: the involvement of autonomic receptors.

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Owoyele, Bamidele Victor; Oladejo, Rasheed Olajiire; Ajomale, Kayode; Ahmed, Rasheedat Omotayo; Mustapha, Abdulrasheed

2014-03-01

The use of honey for therapeutic purposes is on the increase and many studies have shown that honey has the ability to influence biological systems including pain transmission. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of honey and the effects of concurrent administration of autonomic nervous system blocking drugs. Studies on analgesic activities was carried out using hotplate and formalin-induced paw licking models while the anti-inflammatory activity was by the carrageenan paw oedema method. Animals were distributed into six groups consisting of five animals each. They were administered saline, honey (600 mg/kg), indomethacin (5 mg/kg), autonomic blockers (3 μg/kg of tamsulosin, 20 mg/kg (intraperitoneally) of propranolol, 2 ml/kg of atropine or 10 mg/kg (intra muscularly) of hexamethonium) or honey (200 and 600 mg/kg) with one of the blockers. The results showed that honey reduced pain perception especially inflammatory pain and the administration of tamsulosin and propranolol spared the effect of honey. Hexamethonium also spared the effects of honey at the early and late phases of the test while atropine only inhibited the early phase of the test. However, atropine and hexamethonium spared the anti-inflammatory effects of honey but tamsulosin abolished the effects while propranolol only abolished the anti-inflammatory effects at the peak of the inflammation. The results suggest the involvement of autonomic receptors in the anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of honey although the level of involvement depends on the different types of the receptors.

Polish Yellow Sweet Clover (Melilotus officinalis L. Honey, Chromatographic Fingerprints, and Chemical Markers

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Izabela Jasicka-Misiak

2017-01-01

Full Text Available A case study of Polish Melilotus officinalis honey was presented for the first time. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS (after steam distillation, Soxhlet extraction, ultrasonic solvent extraction, and solid phase extraction (SPE and targeted high performance liquid chromatography with a photodiode array detector (HPLC-PAD were applied to determine the characteristic components of honey. While ubiquitous in most honeys, carbohydrates, terpene derivatives, and phenylacetic acid dominated in the Soxhlet extracts (25.54% and in the application of SPE (13.04%. In addition, lumichrome (1.85% was found, and may be considered as a marker of this honey. Due to the presence of these compounds, Polish yellow sweet clover honey is similar to French lavender honeys. The major compounds determined in the methanolic extract were (+-catechine (39.7% and gallic acid (up to 30%, which can be regarded as specific chemical markers of the botanical origin of melilot honey. With respect to total phenolic and flavonoid contents, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH assays were determined spectrophotometrically. The honey exhibited a moderate antioxidant activity, typical for light honeys, which correlates well with its phenolic and flavonoid composition.

Volatiles from a rare Acer spp. honey sample from Croatia.

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Jerković, Igor; Marijanović, Zvonimir; Malenica-Staver, Mladenka; Lusić, Drazen

2010-06-24

A rare sample of maple (Acer spp.) honey from Croatia was analysed. Ultrasonic solvent extraction (USE) using: 1) pentane, 2) diethyl ether, 3) a mixture of pentane and diethyl ether (1:2 v/v) and 4) dichloromethane as solvents was applied. All the extracts were analysed by GC and GC/MS. The most representative extracts were 3) and 4). Syringaldehyde was the most striking compound, being dominant in the extracts 2), 3) and 4) with percentages 34.5%, 33.1% and 35.9%, respectively. In comparison to USE results of other single Croatian tree honey samples (Robinia pseudoacacia L. nectar honey, Salix spp. nectar and honeydew honeys, Quercus frainetto Ten. honeydew as well as Abies alba Mill. and Picea abies L. honeydew) and literature data the presence of syringaldehyde, previously identified in maple sap and syrup, can be pointed out as a distinct characteristic of the Acer spp. honey sample. Headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) combined with GC and GC/MS identified benzaldehyde (16.5%), trans-linalool oxide (20.5%) and 2-phenylethanol (14.9%) as the major compounds that are common in different honey headspace compositions.

Honey Antibacterial Effect Boosting Using Origanum vulgare L. Essential Oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Imtara, Hamada; Elamine, Youssef; Lyoussi, Badiâa

2018-01-01

The appearance of new bacterial strains which cause pathogenic diseases and which are resistant to the most used antibiotics requires probing new antibacterial agents sources. Therefore, the main aim of the present work was to follow the antibacterial activity of honey samples from Palestine and Morocco, after the combination with Origanum vulgare L. essential oil, and figure out whether the honey physicochemical parameters and geographic origin influence the final activity. The results of this study showed good geographical discrimination between the Palestinians and Moroccan honey samples. The antioxidant and antimicrobial activities showed a significant correlation with honey color, melanoidins, and phenolic and flavonoids contents. Furthermore, the possible effect of honey physicochemical parameters on the gained antimicrobial activities was assessed using the principal component analysis (PCA). Some parameters showed a promising effect and seem to be important in the process of honey samples selection. Namely, melanoidins content, phenolic content, electrical conductivity, and mineral content were shown to be positively influencing the gained antibacterial activity after the combination with essential oil against the tested strains, although a significant negative correlation was seen with the FIC only in the case of Escherichia coli (ATB: 57).

Honey Antibacterial Effect Boosting Using Origanum vulgare L. Essential Oil

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Hamada Imtara

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The appearance of new bacterial strains which cause pathogenic diseases and which are resistant to the most used antibiotics requires probing new antibacterial agents sources. Therefore, the main aim of the present work was to follow the antibacterial activity of honey samples from Palestine and Morocco, after the combination with Origanum vulgare L. essential oil, and figure out whether the honey physicochemical parameters and geographic origin influence the final activity. The results of this study showed good geographical discrimination between the Palestinians and Moroccan honey samples. The antioxidant and antimicrobial activities showed a significant correlation with honey color, melanoidins, and phenolic and flavonoids contents. Furthermore, the possible effect of honey physicochemical parameters on the gained antimicrobial activities was assessed using the principal component analysis (PCA. Some parameters showed a promising effect and seem to be important in the process of honey samples selection. Namely, melanoidins content, phenolic content, electrical conductivity, and mineral content were shown to be positively influencing the gained antibacterial activity after the combination with essential oil against the tested strains, although a significant negative correlation was seen with the FIC only in the case of Escherichia coli (ATB: 57.

Results of a honey monitoring program in Italy after the Chernobyl accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Omet, C.; Piermattei, S.; Ossola, P.; Tofani, S.; Fabretto, M.; Padovani, R.

1988-01-01

Honey bees (Apis Mellifera) as bioindicators of environmental pollution have been studied for a long time to analyse their ability to detect air and water pollution. Bees forage over a large area (around 7Km 2 ) and seem to act as biomagnifiers of the contamination of the environment. Honey bees and their products, mainly honey, were used in the U.S.A. during the seventies to monitor potential releases from nuclear waste disposal sites. Honey samples were examined to detect contaminated areas surrounding a nuclear facility at Cattaraugus Country (NY); the presence of radionuclides from fallout of nuclear weapon tests in honey samples was also investigated. As a consequence of the Chernobyl accident, the radioactive contamination spread all over the Italian soil allowed the analysis of the radioactivity transfer from the environment to honey

MICROSCOPIC FUNGI ISOLATED FROM POLISH HONEY

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Soňa Felšöciová

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The characterization of some honey samples from Poland was carried out on the basis of their microbiological (fungi and yeasts analysis. Most of the samples contained less than 20 % water. The amount of fungi found in the honey samples was less than 1 x 102 CFU.g-1 but 19 % of the samples had more yeasts than 1 x 102 CFU.g-1 – up to 5.7 x 102 CFU.g-1. The isolated fungi were Alternaria spp., Aspergillus spp., Cladosporium spp., Fusarium spp., Mycelia sterilia, Rhizopus spp. and Penicillium spp. The last genus was isolated very frequently. A total number of eight fungal Penicillium species were identified namely, Penicillium brevicompactum, P. commune, P. corylophilum, P. crustosum, P. expansum, P. griseofulvum, P. chrysogenum and P. polonicum. They were isolated using dilution plate method. The results showed that honeys produced in this region are of good microbiological quality.

Research of produstion volume and market turnover of honey from 2004. to 2014.

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Ivanović Jelena

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of this work was to investigate the scope of production, export and import of honey in the Republic of Serbia from 2004. to 2014. The results are based on the report of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. The observed period is characterized primarily by the increase in the number of beehives as well as an incresed honey production, followed by honey price growth and minor changes honey yield per hive. In this period, honey production ranged from 2,561 tons (in 2008 to 8,554 tons (in 2013. The largest volume of honey exports was in 2013. (3,367.7 tons, worth 14,881.4 thousand USD, and the largest import of honey into Serbia was in the same year (60.6 tons, worth 240.3 thousand USD. In the monitored period, Germany imported the largest quantities of honey from Serbia, about 4,611.0 tons (worth about 19,546.9 thousand USD, and somewhat smaller amounts of honey were imported by Italy and Montenegro. On the other hand, in the same period, Serbia imported the largest quantities of honey from the Republic of Macedonia, about 40.6 tons, worth 119.5 thousand USD. Beekeeping in Serbia definitely has a great development potential, so accordingly, its production should be encouraged in the future.

Future PMPs Estimation in Korea under AR5 RCP 8.5 Climate Change Scenario: Focus on Dew Point Temperature Change

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Okjeong, Lee; Sangdan, Kim

2016-04-01

According to future climate change scenarios, future temperature is expected to increase gradually. Therefore, it is necessary to reflect the effects of these climate changes to predict Probable Maximum Precipitations (PMPs). In this presentation, PMPs will be estimated with future dew point temperature change. After selecting 174 major storm events from 1981 to 2005, new PMPs will be proposed with respect to storm areas (25, 100, 225, 400, 900, 2,025, 4,900, 10,000 and 19,600 km2) and storm durations (1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 18, 24, 48 and 72 hours) using the Korea hydro-meteorological method. Also, orographic transposition factor will be applied in place of the conventional terrain impact factor which has been used in previous Korean PMPs estimation reports. After estimating dew point temperature using future temperature and representative humidity information under the Korea Meteorological Administration AR5 RCP 8.5, changes in the PMPs under dew point temperature change will be investigated by comparison with present and future PMPs. This research was supported by a grant(14AWMP-B082564-01) from Advanced Water Management Research Program funded by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korean government.

Dew point, internal gas pressure, and chemical composition of the gas within the free volume of DWPF canistered waste forms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harbour, J.R.; Herman, D.T.; Crump, S.; Miller, T.J.; McIntosh, J.

1996-01-01

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) produced 55 canistered waste forms containing simulated waste glass during the four Waste Qualification campaigns of the DWPF Startup Test Program. Testing of the gas within the free volume of these canisters for dew point, internal gas pressure, and chemical composition was performed as part of a continuing effort to demonstrate compliance with the Waste Acceptance Product Specifications. Results are presented for six glass-filled canisters. The dew points within the canisters met the acceptance criterion of < 20 degrees C for all six canisters. Factors influencing the magnitude of the dew point are presented. The chemical composition of the free volume gas was indistinguishable from air for all six canisters. Hence, no foreign materials were present in the gas phase of these canisters. The internal gas pressures within the sealed canisters were < 1 atm at 25 degrees C for all six canisters which readily met the acceptance criterion of an internal gas pressure of less than 1.5 atm at 25 degrees C. These results provided the evidence required to demonstrate compliance with the Waste Acceptance Product Specifications

Quality parameters of Bulgarian’s kinds of bee honey

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Dinko Hristov Dinkov

2014-03-01

Full Text Available In Bulgaria were found more than 3600 kinds of higher plants, which predispose to production of different kinds of bee honey. In the country were registered 11 natural and 3 national parks, in which could found all kinds of plants, some of them unique in the world. Up to now there were harvested and investigated more than 11 kinds of bee honey. The aim of the present work was on the basis of available literature data to sum up the scientific information related to the main kinds of Bulgarian’s bee honeys from 2000 to present. In the study were presented quality parameters from organically produced and commercially processed bee honeys: pollen analysis, proline content, invertase activity, specific optical rotation, electrical conductivity, antioxidant and antibacterial activities.

Effect of heat treatment on antimycotic activity of Sahara honey

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Moussa Ahmed

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Objective: To evaluate the influence of the temperature on honey colour, polyphenol contents and antimycotic capacity and to evaluate the correlation between these parameters. Methods: Sahara honey were heated up to 25, 50, 75 and 100 °C for 15, 30 and 60 min, and their colour intensity, polyphenol contents and antimycotic capacity. The Folin-Ciocalteu test was used to determine the total polyphenol contents (TPC. The antimycotic activity was evaluated both by agar diffusion method and micro wells dilution method against the Candida albicans (C. albicans and Candida glabrata (C. glabrata. Results: Initial values for TPC in Sahara honey ranged from 0.55 to 1.14 mg of gallic acid per kg of honey, with the average value of 0.78 mg of gallic acid per kg of honey. The TPC values after heat-treatment were 0.54 to 1.54 with the average value of 1.49 mg. The minimal inhibitory concentrations before heat-treatment of Sahara honey against C. albicans and C. glabrata ranged from 3.06%-12.5% and 50% respectively. After heat-treatment the minimal inhibitory concentrations between 12.5% and 50% for C. albicans and C. glabrata, respectively. The diameters of inhibition zones of Sahara honey with 50% concentration varied from (12.67-15.00 mm by C. albicans to (14.33-15.67 mm by C. glabrata. The diameters of inhibition zones after heat-treatment at 25 and 50 °C for 15.30 and 60 min ranged from (2.00-18.67 mm by C. albicans to (8.00-16.67 mm by C. glabrata. Statistically significant relations between the TPC and the colour intensity of Sahara honey (r=0.99, P<0.05. Furthermore, the results showed that the TPC and colour is not correlated with the antimycotic capacity. Conclusions: To our knowledge this is the first report on the antimycotic capacity of Sahara honey.

Pollen Contents Of Commercial Honeys Of Opi, Nsukka, Enugu ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Pollen Contents Of Commercial Honeys Of Opi, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria. ... Abstract. Pollen analyses of seven honey samples from Opi-Nsukka Mini market were evaluated for their pollen composition. The results ... HOW TO USE AJOL.

perceptions and adaptations of beekeepers and honey hunters

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Prof. Adipala Ekwamu

honey sector (i.e. honey hunters) to climate change are, however, not adequately explored. The objective of .... The statistical software SPSS Version 16 was used for this purpose. ... content analysis is an effort of interpretation, that balances ... FORM. Discontinue. N o = 0 ; Yes = 1. ±. Creditavability. CRED. Discontinue. N.

Honey bee hemocyte profiling by flow cytometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Marringa, William J; Krueger, Michael J; Burritt, Nancy L; Burritt, James B

2014-01-01

Multiple stress factors in honey bees are causing loss of bee colonies worldwide. Several infectious agents of bees are believed to contribute to this problem. The mechanisms of honey bee immunity are not completely understood, in part due to limited information about the types and abundances of hemocytes that help bees resist disease. Our study utilized flow cytometry and microscopy to examine populations of hemolymph particulates in honey bees. We found bee hemolymph includes permeabilized cells, plasmatocytes, and acellular objects that resemble microparticles, listed in order of increasing abundance. The permeabilized cells and plasmatocytes showed unexpected differences with respect to properties of the plasma membrane and labeling with annexin V. Both permeabilized cells and plasmatocytes failed to show measurable mitochondrial membrane potential by flow cytometry using the JC-1 probe. Our results suggest hemolymph particulate populations are dynamic, revealing significant differences when comparing individual hive members, and when comparing colonies exposed to diverse conditions. Shifts in hemocyte populations in bees likely represent changing conditions or metabolic differences of colony members. A better understanding of hemocyte profiles may provide insight into physiological responses of honey bees to stress factors, some of which may be related to colony failure.

Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids from Echium vulgare in Honey Originate Primarily from Floral Nectar.

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Lucchetti, Matteo A; Glauser, Gaetan; Kilchenmann, Verena; Dübecke, Arne; Beckh, Gudrun; Praz, Christophe; Kast, Christina

2016-06-29

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in honey can be a potential human health risk. So far, it has remained unclear whether PAs in honey originate from pollen or floral nectar. We obtained honey, nectar, and plant pollen from two observation sites where Echium vulgare L. was naturally abundant. The PA concentration of honey was determined by targeted analysis using a high pressure liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry system (HPLC-MS/MS), allowing the quantification of six different PAs and PA-N-oxides present in E. vulgare. Echium-type PAs were detected up to 0.153 μg/g in honey. Nectar and plant pollen were analyzed by nontargeted analysis using ultrahigh pressure liquid chromatography-high resolution-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HR-MS), allowing the detection of 10 alkaloids in small size samples. Echium-type PAs were detected between 0.3-95.1 μg/g in nectar and 500-35000 μg/g in plant pollen. The PA composition in nectar and plant pollen was compared to the composition in honey. Echimidine (+N-oxide) was the main alkaloid detected in honey and nectar samples, while echivulgarine (+N-oxide) was the main PA found in plant pollen. These results suggest that nectar contributes more significantly to PA contamination in honey than plant pollen.

Chernobyl fallout radionuclides in soil, plant and honey of a mountain region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Djuric, G.; Todorovic, D.; Popovic, D.

1997-01-01

Honey bee and the products (honey, pollen, wax, propolis) are generally considered as efficient bioindicators of the environmental pollution. Honey bee activity upon a territory is well defined both in space and time and honey bee itself is easier to control than other animal bioindicators (birds, fish, wild animals). Networks of bee hives near nuclear and industrial installations are therefore often used for, environment pollution research and control. The investigations started in 1983/84. Gamma exposure and Cs-137 activity measurements provided information on ''zero status'' of the radioecological situation in the region. During the nuclear plant accident at Chernobyl in April 1986 and afterworks through the year, over two hundred samples of honey, grass and meadow flora have been examined. Investigations of the radioactivity in soils, meadow flora and honey in the region continued up to 1991 and afterwards. The vertical distribution of Cs-134 and Cs-137 in different soils provided data on the migration rate through soil and on concentration factors for different phases of the ''soil-plant-honey'' ecosystem

Honey improves lipid profile of diet-induced hypercholesterolemic rats

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Titis Nurmasitoh

2016-04-01

Honey supplementation was able to reduce the blood levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL. Honey supplementation accompanied by non-cholesterol feeds could more effectively lower total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL serum levels in Wistar rats.

Enhanced electroscalpel incisional wound healing potential of honey in wistar rats

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David O. Eyarefe

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Electrosurgery reduces surgical bleeding, and delayed wound healing. This study evaluated comparative incisional wound healing potential of honey in wound created with electroscalpel and cold scalpel. The study used twelve (12 adult male albino rats (130 ± 20 g, randomly grouped into Electro-cautery (n = 6 and Cold scalpel (n = 6. Each rat had three full thickness (6 mm diameter skin wounds (a, b and c created on its dorsum with either Electroscalpel (ES or Cold blade scalpel (CS, and treated topically with Silver sulphadiazine (SSD, wound a, untreated (control, wound b and Bee honey (H, wound c. The wounds were evaluated for gross (exudation, edema, hyperemia, contraction, histologic (granulation, angiogenesis, fibroplasia, epithelialization and immunologic healing indices using standard techniques. Data were analyzed with Chi-square, Two-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA and Duncan Multiple Range tests (DMRT at α = 0.05. Wound hyperemia and edge edema were prominent in the ES group from day 4 to 6 (P = .000. Percentage wound contraction was higher in the CS than ES group from days 5 to 7 (P = .006 and in the CS treated with honey than ES treated with honey from days 7 to 14 (P = .000. Granulation tissue reduced in ES group treated with SSD than in honey and control wounds. Fibroelastic tissue increased in SSD and honey treated wounds of ES group, and higher in honey treated wounds of CS group (P < .05. Fibroplasia was sustained in honey and SSD treated wounds than control. Honey can be applied to electroscalpel surgical wound to facilitate rapid healing during surgical management of tumours having vascular network. Keywords: Incisional methods, Honey, Silver sulphadiazide, Wound management

Genetic stock identification of Russian honey bees.

Science.gov (United States)

Bourgeois, Lelania; Sheppard, Walter S; Sylvester, H Allen; Rinderer, Thomas E

2010-06-01

A genetic stock certification assay was developed to distinguish Russian honey bees from other European (Apis mellifera L.) stocks that are commercially produced in the United States. In total, 11 microsatellite and five single-nucleotide polymorphism loci were used. Loci were selected for relatively high levels of homogeneity within each group and for differences in allele frequencies between groups. A baseline sample consisted of the 18 lines of Russian honey bees released to the Russian Bee Breeders Association and bees from 34 queen breeders representing commercially produced European honey bee stocks. Suitability tests of the baseline sample pool showed high levels of accuracy. The probability of correct assignment was 94.2% for non-Russian bees and 93.3% for Russian bees. A neighbor-joining phenogram representing genetic distance data showed clear distinction of Russian and non-Russian honey bee stocks. Furthermore, a test of appropriate sample size showed a sample of eight bees per colony maximizes accuracy and consistency of the results. An additional 34 samples were tested as blind samples (origin unknown to those collecting data) to determine accuracy of individual assignment tests. Only one of these samples was incorrectly assigned. The 18 current breeding lines were represented among the 2009 blind sampling, demonstrating temporal stability of the genetic stock identification assay. The certification assay will be used through services provided by a service laboratory, by the Russian Bee Breeders Association to genetically certify their stock. The genetic certification will be used in conjunction with continued selection for favorable traits, such as honey production and varroa and tracheal mite resistance.

Honey As A Bioindicator Of Environmental Radioactive Contamination In Croatia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franic, Z.; Petrinec, B.; Marovic, G.

2015-01-01

Radioecological investigations regarding fission products in foodstuffs in Croatia are implemented as part of an extended and still ongoing radioactive contamination monitoring programme of the human environment. The programme has been designed and endorsed by the Croatian State Office for Radiological and Nuclear Security and fully harmonized with European legislation, i.e. the European Commission's recommendation of June 2000 on the application of Article 36 of the Euratom Treaty. For describing the overall possible impact the contaminants have on the entire region, the most efficient sampler would be one that covers the largest area possible. In this sense, honey has been shown to be an excellent biological indicator for detecting radionuclides but also other pollutants such as heavy metals. In Croatia, radiocaesium nuclides like 137Cs and 134Cs in honey were first investigated after the Chernobyl accident in 1986. For both radionuclides, the activity concentrations in honey, which peaked in May 1986, decreased exponentially and the estimated ecological residence time, corrected for radioactive decay, was found to be 1.23 y for 137Cs and 1.07 y for 134Cs. In the early 1990s, activity concentrations in honey for both radionuclides were under the detection limit, but again rose after the Fukushima Daiichi accident. Effective radiation doses due to radiocaesium, received by the Croatian population by honey consumption, even in the year of the Chernobyl accident were estimated to be very small, the per caput dose being less than 1 micro Sv. Based on radioecological investigations of honey, we argue that the mobility of honey bees and their ability to integrate all exposure pathways could add another level of confidence to the present monitoring program if honey and other bee-farming products are included in the routine radioecological monitoring programme for the Croatian environment. (author).

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

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Abdulaziz S. Alqarni

2016-01-01

Full Text Available 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.

Non-Specific dsRNA-Mediated Antiviral Response in the Honey Bee

Science.gov (United States)

Flenniken, Michelle L.; Andino, Raul

2013-01-01

Honey bees are essential pollinators of numerous agricultural crops. Since 2006, honey bee populations have suffered considerable annual losses that are partially attributed to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). CCD is an unexplained phenomenon that correlates with elevated incidence of pathogens, including RNA viruses. Honey bees are eusocial insects that live in colonies of genetically related individuals that work in concert to gather and store nutrients. Their social organization provides numerous benefits, but also facilitates pathogen transmission between individuals. To investigate honey bee antiviral defense mechanisms, we developed an RNA virus infection model and discovered that administration of dsRNA, regardless of sequence, reduced virus infection. Our results suggest that dsRNA, a viral pathogen associated molecular pattern (PAMP), triggers an antiviral response that controls virus infection in honey bees. PMID:24130869

Geographical and Botanical Origin of Apis mellifera (Apidae) Honey in four Colombian Departments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nates Parra, Guiomar; Montoya, Paula Maria; Chamorro, Fermin J; Ramirez, Nedy; Giraldo, Catalina; Obregon, Diana

2013-01-01

The aim of this work was to find palynological markers which permit differentiate honeys from the departments of Boyaca, Cundinamarca, Santander and Magdalena, by its geographical and botanical origin. Melissopalynological analyses were made of 184 honey samples obtained from 131 localities. A discriminant analysis and comparisons between the species composition of honey samples were made to find geo-graphical and botanical origin differences. A total of 297 pollen species distributed in 69 families was found, being Mimosa sp., Cecropia sp., Eucalyptus sp., Piper sp. and Quercus humboldtii the most representatives. The major families were Fabaceae, Asteraceae, Myrtaceae, Rubiaceae, Fagaceae and Melastomataceae. Six honey groups differentiated by its geographical origin were found: Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Medio Chicamocha, Sumapaz, Bajo Chicamocha, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and Comunera Province. In a broader scale, honeys from the Andean and sub-Andean regions could be differentiated as well. Between the honey types differentiated by its botanical origin, the most important were monofloral honeys of Trifolium pratense, Coffea arabica, Eucalyptus sp., Inga sp. and Heliocarpus americanus, Asteraceae oligofloral honeys and mixtures of Q. humboldtii honeydew and floral nectar (Eucalyptussp., Brassicaceae Type, Asteraceae). This information in addition to the obtained by physico-chemical and sensorial analysis, may be the basis to acquire honeys' origin denomination.

Utilisatiion of topical honey In Burns wounds contaminated with ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

personal

suitable for bacterial infection as a result of low tissue perfusion and high protein content. ... Conclusion:The topical use of honey in deep burn wounds contaminated with pseudomonas ... voiced to Honey bee to lodge in mountains and.

Trace elements determination in Syrian honey using x-ray fluorescence technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khuder, A.; Ahmad, M.; Saour, G.

2009-05-01

Major and trace elements of S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Rb, Sr in 27 Syrian honey samples, which collected from different areas in the country, in addition to 3 imported honey samples, were determined by dry ashing method for XRF analysis. The samples were diluted and homogenized with a binder made from cellulose powder. The analyzed elements were divided into three groups, relating to the secondary targets used for X-ray excitation. The internal standard method for XRF analysis with a Mo secondary target was used for the determination of the first group of elements: Sr, Rb, Se, As, Zn, Cu, Ni, and Fe. While, the external standard method for XRF analysis with Cu and Ti secondary targets was used for the determination of the second: Mn, Cr, Ti, Ca, K, and third: Cl, and S group of elements, respectively. The results were accurate with a relative standard error less than 4.2 %. The problem of element loss was overcome by the complete drying of honey samples before their ashing. The moisture content was obtained using mass loss and refractive index methods. As a result, the lower limits of detection (LLD) obtained by Mo-XRF was in the range from 0.011 μg Sr/g to 0.064 μg Fe/g, resulting for samples containing 0.1 % ash and collecting live time 1000 s; while, LLD obtained by Cu-XRF was in the range 0.014 μg Mn/g to 0.057 μg K/g. LLD for S and Cl using Ti secondary target was with values of 0.503 μg/g and 1.96 μg/g, respectively. The enhancement factor obtained by drying method for XRF was in the range from 147 to 1667. Normal concentration of elements in Syrian honey was obtained. The concentration of elements was comparable to those obtained by other workers for honeys in different countries. Elements of K, Ca, and Cl were predominantly distributed in all Syrian honey samples. Elements of Sr, Zn, Cu, Fe, Ti, and S were well distributed in all honey samples. While, the concentrations of Rb, Ni, Mn, Cr elements in some honey samples were below the

Physico - chemical characterization of gamma irradiated PVP-honey-glycerine hydrogel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Darmawan Darwis; Lely Hardiningsih; Farah Nurlidar

2010-01-01

Research to investigate physico-chemical characterizatics of hydrogel wound dressing containing 6% (b/v) of honey and various concentrations of glycerine from 0-5% (b/v) has been done. Nine series of hydrogel formulas with various composition of PVP hydrogel were irradiated using gamma rays at a dose of 25 kGy. The results showed that addition of honey 6% and glycerine up to 5% lead to the formation of hydrogel with following properties: sterile, transparence, browning color, improved flexibility, conformability to skin and resistance against mould. The PVP-honey-glycerine hydrogel also showed lower water favor evaporation at 37 o C and higher water absorption properties compared to basic formula (without additional of honey and glycerine). (author)

Study of gamma radiation in honey from the Zacatecas State

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saucedo A, S. A.; Zapata V, M. C.; Pinedo V, J. L.; Davila R, J. I.; Rios M, C.; Mireles G, F.

2017-09-01

Radioactivity of honey samples from 10 municipalities of the Zacatecas State in Mexico was investigated by gamma spectrometry. The honey corresponds to the prosopis laevigata flowering. The purpose of the study was to estimate the background levels of natural radioactivity and to discard a possible contamination with the artificial 137 Cs in honey. Any naturally occurring radionuclide could be determined except for 40 K, which was quantified in 8 of the 10 samples, with an average in specific activity of 9.75 ± 1.8 Bq/kg. No signal for the energy of the anthropogenic radionuclide 137 Cs was observed, corroborating that the radiation levels are in good agreement with those reported for another honeys in the world. (Author)

Dew point of gases with low sulfuric acid content

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fieg, J.

1981-07-01

Discusses control of air pollution caused by sulfur compounds in solid fuels during combustion. Excessive amount of oxygen during combustion leads to formation of sulfur trioxide. Sulfur trioxide reacts with water vapor and forms sulfuric acid. Chemical reactions which lead to formation of sulfuric acid are described. Conditions for sulfuric acid condensation are analyzed. Several methods for determining dew point of flue gases with low sulfuric acid content are reviewed: methods based on determination of electric conductivity of condensed sulfuric acid (Francis, Cheney, Kiyoure), method based on determination of sulfuric acid concentration in the gaseous phase and in the liquid phase after cooling (Lee, Lisle and Sensenbaugh, Ross and Goksoyr). (26 refs.) (In Polish)

Environmental radioactivity and chemical composition of different types of bee honeys produced at in-house area, egypt

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramadan, A.B.

2005-01-01

Environmental radioactivity and chemical composition of bee honey varies with the surrounding environment (major floral and soil contamination), which reflects the nutritional value of honey. 23SU, 232Th, 40K, >37Cs, major elements Na, K, Mg and Cl and trace elements Mn, Fe, Zn, F, I, Cu, Co, Ni and Sr as well as toxic elements Cd and Pb -were all determined in different types of bee honey, which include non-floral honey with artificial feeding (syrup-feed honey) and mono-floral honeys (clover honey or sesame honey or orange honey). These elements were also determined in the bee feeds, which include flowers (clover, sesame and orange) and syrup. The results revealed that of all types of honeys and syrup-feed honey exhibited higher natural radioactivity and higher concentrations ofNa, K, Mg, Cl, oMn, Fe, Co, Cd and Pb than in the other honeys. Orange honey contained the lowest natural radioactivity and element concentrations. Clover honey had the lowest toxic element Cd and Pb concentrations (0.02 and 4.2/xg/g, respectively) while sesame honey contained the highest levels of Cd and F (0.7 and 12.9 /ig/g, respectively). Statistical analysis revealed significant correlation between honey and the feed (R= 0.745 to 0.921). Environmental radioactivity and element concentrations in the honey under study were in the safety baseline levels for human consumption

An insight into the antibiofilm properties of Costa Rican stingless bee honeys.

Science.gov (United States)

Zamora, L G; Beukelman, C J; van den Berg, A J J; Aerts, P C; Quarles van Ufford, H C; Nijland, R; Arias, M L

2017-04-02

There is an increasing search for antibiofilm agents that either have specific activity against biofilms or may act in synergy with antimicrobials. Our objective is to examine the the antibiofilm properties of stingless bee honeys. Meliponini honeys from Costa Rica were examined along with Medihoney as a reference. All honeys were submitted to a screening composed of minimum inhibitory concentration, inhibition of biofilm formation and biofilm destruction microplate-based assays against a Staphylococcus aureus biofilm forming strain. Dialysis led to the isolation of an antibiofilm fraction in Tetragonisca angustula honeys. The honey antibiofilm fraction was evaluated for protease activity and for any synergistic effect with antibiotics on a Staphylococcus aureus biofilm. The active fraction was then separated through activity guided isolation techniques involving SDS-PAGEs, anion exchange and size exclusion fast protein liquid chromatographies. The fractions obtained and the isolated antibiofilm constituents were tested for amylase and DNase activity. A total of 57 Meliponini honeys from Costa Rica were studied in this research. The honeys studied belonged to the Tetragonisca angustula (n=36) and Melipona beecheii (n=21) species. Costa Rican Tetragonisca angustula honeys can inhibit the planktonic growth, biofilm formation, and are capable of destroying a Staphylococcus aureus biofilm. The antibiofilm effect was observed in the protein fraction of Tetragonisca angustula honeys. The biofilm destruction proteins allowed ampicillin and vancomycin to recover their antimicrobial activity over a Staphylococcus aureus biofilm. The antibiofilm proteins are of bee origin, and their activity was not due to serine, cysteine or metalloproteases. There were 2 proteins causing the antibiofilm action; these were named the Tetragonisca angustula biofilm destruction factors (TABDFs). TABDF-1 is a monomeric protein of approximately 50kDa that is responsible of the amylase activity

Systematic review of the use of honey as a wound dressing

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Owen A; Smith, Lesley A; Campbell, Fiona; Seers, Kate; McQuay, Henry J; Moore, R Andrew

2001-01-01

Objective To investigate topical honey in superficial burns and wounds though a systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Data sources Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, reference lists and databases were used to seek randomised controlled trials. Seven randomised trials involved superficial burns, partial thickness burns, moderate to severe burns that included full thickness injury, and infected postoperative wounds. Review methods Studies were randomised trials using honey, published papers, with a comparator. Main outcomes were relative benefit and number-needed-to-treat to prevent an outcome relating to wound healing time or infection rate. Results One study in infected postoperative wounds compared honey with antiseptics plus systemic antibiotics. The number needed to treat with honey for good wound healing compared with antiseptic was 2.9 (95% confidence interval 1.7 to 9.7). Five studies in patients with partial thickness or superficial burns involved less than 40% of the body surface. Comparators were polyurethane film, amniotic membrane, potato peel and silver sulphadiazine. The number needed to treat for seven days with honey to produce one patient with a healed burn was 2.6 (2.1 to 3.4) compared with any other treatment and 2.7 (2.0 to 4.1) compared with potato and amniotic membrane. For some or all outcomes honey was superior to all these treatments. Time for healing was significantly shorter for honey than all these treatments. The quality of studies was low. Conclusion Confidence in a conclusion that honey is a useful treatment for superficial wounds or burns is low. There is biological plausibility. PMID:11405898

Systematic review of the use of honey as a wound dressing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

McQuay Henry J

2001-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Objective To investigate topical honey in superficial burns and wounds though a systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Data sources Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, reference lists and databases were used to seek randomised controlled trials. Seven randomised trials involved superficial burns, partial thickness burns, moderate to severe burns that included full thickness injury, and infected postoperative wounds. Review methods Studies were randomised trials using honey, published papers, with a comparator. Main outcomes were relative benefit and number-needed-to-treat to prevent an outcome relating to wound healing time or infection rate. Results One study in infected postoperative wounds compared honey with antiseptics plus systemic antibiotics. The number needed to treat with honey for good wound healing compared with antiseptic was 2.9 (95% confidence interval 1.7 to 9.7. Five studies in patients with partial thickness or superficial burns involved less than 40% of the body surface. Comparators were polyurethane film, amniotic membrane, potato peel and silver sulphadiazine. The number needed to treat for seven days with honey to produce one patient with a healed burn was 2.6 (2.1 to 3.4 compared with any other treatment and 2.7 (2.0 to 4.1 compared with potato and amniotic membrane. For some or all outcomes honey was superior to all these treatments. Time for healing was significantly shorter for honey than all these treatments. The quality of studies was low. Conclusion Confidence in a conclusion that honey is a useful treatment for superficial wounds or burns is low. There is biological plausibility.

Authentication of monofloral Yemeni Sidr honey using ultraviolet spectroscopy and chemometric analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Roshan, Abdul-Rahman A; Gad, Haidy A; El-Ahmady, Sherweit H; Khanbash, Mohamed S; Abou-Shoer, Mohamed I; Al-Azizi, Mohamed M

2013-08-14

This work describes a simple model developed for the authentication of monofloral Yemeni Sidr honey using UV spectroscopy together with chemometric techniques of hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), principal component analysis (PCA), and soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA). The model was constructed using 13 genuine Sidr honey samples and challenged with 25 honey samples of different botanical origins. HCA and PCA were successfully able to present a preliminary clustering pattern to segregate the genuine Sidr samples from the lower priced local polyfloral and non-Sidr samples. The SIMCA model presented a clear demarcation of the samples and was used to identify genuine Sidr honey samples as well as detect admixture with lower priced polyfloral honey by detection limits >10%. The constructed model presents a simple and efficient method of analysis and may serve as a basis for the authentication of other honey types worldwide.

Differential diagnosis of the honey bee trypanosomatids Crithidia mellificae and Lotmaria passim.

Science.gov (United States)

Ravoet, Jorgen; Schwarz, Ryan S; Descamps, Tine; Yañez, Orlando; Tozkar, Cansu Ozge; Martin-Hernandez, Raquel; Bartolomé, Carolina; De Smet, Lina; Higes, Mariano; Wenseleers, Tom; Schmid-Hempel, Regula; Neumann, Peter; Kadowaki, Tatsuhiko; Evans, Jay D; de Graaf, Dirk C

2015-09-01

Trypanosomatids infecting honey bees have been poorly studied with molecular methods until recently. After the description of Crithidia mellificae (Langridge and McGhee, 1967) it took about forty years until molecular data for honey bee trypanosomatids became available and were used to identify and describe a new trypanosomatid species from honey bees, Lotmaria passim (Evans and Schwarz, 2014). However, an easy method to distinguish them without sequencing is not yet available. Research on the related bumble bee parasites Crithidia bombi and Crithidia expoeki revealed a fragment length polymorphism in the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1), which enabled species discrimination. In search of fragment length polymorphisms for differential diagnostics in honey bee trypanosomatids, we studied honey bee trypanosomatid cell cultures of C. mellificae and L. passim. This research resulted in the identification of fragment length polymorphisms in ITS1 and ITS1-2 markers, which enabled us to develop a diagnostic method to differentiate both honey bee trypanosomatid species without the need for sequencing. However, the amplification success of the ITS1 marker depends probably on the trypanosomatid infection level. Further investigation confirmed that L. passim is the dominant species in Belgium, Japan and Switzerland. We found C. mellificae only rarely in Belgian honey bee samples, but not in honey bee samples from other countries. C. mellificae was also detected in mason bees (Osmia bicornis and Osmia cornuta) besides in honey bees. Further, the characterization and comparison of additional markers from L. passim strain SF (published as C. mellificae strain SF) and a Belgian honey bee sample revealed very low divergence in the 18S rRNA, ITS1-2, 28S rRNA and cytochrome b sequences. Nevertheless, a variable stretch was observed in the gp63 virulence factor. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Iodine deficiency in children: A comparative study in two districts of south-interior Karnataka, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Mansoor; Zama, Syed Y; Nagarajarao, Vadiraja; Khan, Mudassir A

2014-01-01

Iodine is an essential component of the hormones produced by the thyroid gland that are essential for mammalian life. Although goiter is the most visible sequelae of iodine deficiency, the major impact of hypothyroidism as a result of iodine deficiency is impaired neurodevelopment, particularly early in life. According to the World Health Organization, it is the single most preventable cause of mental retardation and brain damage. The simplest, most effective and inexpensive preventive method is the consumption of iodized salt. The objective of the following study is to estimate the prevalence of goiter in children in the rural areas of Mysore and Coorg districts in India and estimate iodine levels in salt samples. A cross-sectional study in the age group of 6-12 years, using population proportionate to size systematic sampling method. The total sample size was 10,082: out of which 5337 was from Mysore and the rest from Coorg district. Clinical examination of the thyroid gland was done and salt samples collected for the estimation of Iodine. The total prevalence of goiter was 19.01% in children of 6-12 years in Coorg district and 8.77% in Mysore district and it was more in females than in males. It was observed that iodine deficiency disorders is endemic in both districts, with a prevalence of 19.01% in children aged 6-12 years in Coorg district and 8.77% in Mysore district. Analysis of salt samples suggested that most of the samples were inadequately iodised (73.92% in Coorg and 45.92% in Mysore).

Honey-dew honey as a long term indicator of 137Cs pollution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kezic, N.; Hus, M.; Seletkovic, Z.; Kraljevic, P.; Pechhacker, H.; Barisic, D.; Lulic, S.; Vertacnik, A.

1997-01-01

137 Cs, produced as a by-product of the atmospheric testing of thermonuclear weapons during the period extending from the 1950s to the 1970s, was distributed globally within the stratosphere and deposited as wet and/or dry fallout. The last great amount of radioactive caesium was deposited on the earth surface after Chernobyl accident. Significant variations in caesium activity levels in soils are caused by Chernobyl-derived fallout with relatively short period of contamination and great variabilities in activity and/or quantity of rainfall. However, total weapon testing-derived caesium pollution can be treated as generally uniform, i.e., numerous events over an extended period that minimise any local variation. Meanwhile, caesium, as well as the other radionuclides that behave like cations, can be moved upward by plant's uptake depending on various factors: plant species, sorption and desorption processes in soil, mineral soil composition, grain size and soil types, lateral caesium migration, etc. Certain plant species are known as caesium pollution indicators, but the uptake by an individual plant can be very different

Dietary honey and ginseng protect against carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatonephrotoxicity in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

El Denshary, Ezzeldeen S; Al-Gahazali, Mohammad A; Mannaa, Fathia A; Salem, Hesham A; Hassan, Nabila S; Abdel-Wahhab, Mosaad A

2012-11-01

Liver diseases are amongst the most serious health problems in the world today and hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the world's deadliest cancers. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the protective effect of sider honey and/or Korean ginseng extract (KGE) against carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4))-induced hepato-nephrotoxicity in rat. Eighty male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were allocated into different groups and over a 4-week period, they orally received honey and/or KGE or were treated either with CCl(4) alone (100 mg/kg b.w) or with CCl(4) after a pretreatment period with honey, KGE or a combination of both. Clinical, clinico-pathological and histopathological evaluations were done and CCl(4)-treated groups were compared with rats receiving no treatment and with rats given honey, KGE or a combination of these substances. The results indicated that oral administration of CCl(4) induced severe hepatic and kidney injury associated with oxidative stress. The combined treatment with CCl(4) plus honey and/or KGE resulted in a significant improvement in all evaluated parameters. This improvement was prominent in the group receiving CCl(4) after combined pretreatment with honey and KGE. Animals receiving honey and/or KGE (without CCl(4)-treatment) were comparable to the control untreated group. It could be concluded that honey and KGE protect SD rats against the severe CCl(4)-induced hepatic and renal toxic effects. Our results suggest that the protective activity of honey and KGE may have been related to their antioxidant properties. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Comparison of the Antimicrobial Activities of Four Honeys From Three Countries (New Zealand, Cuba, and Kenya

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Gianluca Morroni

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Skin and chronic wound infections are an increasing and urgent health problem worldwide. Their management is difficult and the development of antibiotic resistance by both planktonic and biofilm-associated bacteria necessitates the use of alternative treatments. The purpose of this study was to compare the antimicrobial activity of four honeys from different floral and geographical origins: Melipona beecheii honey (Cuba and three Apis mellifera honeys [Manuka honey (New Zealand, A. mellifera honey (Cuba, and African honey (Kenya]. The physicochemical parameters were within the ranges reported for these honeys and M. beecheii honey stood out due to its acidic character. An agar incorporation technique was used to determine the minimum active dilution of each honey against 52 clinical isolates (34 Gram-positive, 17 Gram-negative, and 1 Candida albicans. The antibiofilm activity of honeys was tested by assessing their ability to inhibit biofilm formation and to disrupt preformed biofilms. Overall, M. beecheii honey had the highest antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity, although a marked disruption in preformed biofilms was shared by all tested honeys. Structural changes induced by M. beecheii honey on Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells were observed by transmission electron microscopy suggesting that this honey has a potent antimicrobial action and may be an excellent candidate for the development of topical preparations for the treatment of infected wounds.

CATEGORIZATION OF GELAM, ACACIA AND TUALANG HONEY ODORPROFILE USING K-NEAREST NEIGHBORS

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Nurdiyana Zahed

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Honey authenticity refer to honey types is of great importance issue and interest in agriculture. In current research, several documents of specific types of honey have their own usage in medical field. However, it is quite challenging task to classify different types of honey by simply using our naked eye. This work demostrated a successful an electronic nose (E-nose application as an instrument for identifying odor profile pattern of three common honey in Malaysia (Gelam, Acacia and Tualang honey. The applied E-nose has produced signal for odor measurement in form of numeric resistance (Ω. The data reading have been pre-processed using normalization technique for standardized scale of unique features. Mean features is extracted and boxplot used as the statistical tool to present the data pattern according to three types of honey. Mean features that have been extracted were employed into K-Nearest Neighbors classifier as an input features and evaluated using several splitting ratio. Excellent results were obtained by showing 100% rate of accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of classification from KNN using weigh (k=1, ratio 90:10 and Euclidean distance. The findings confirmed the ability of KNN classifier as intelligent classification to classify different honey types from E-nose calibration. Outperform of other classifier, KNN required less parameter optimization and achieved promising result.

Erythromycin residue in honey from the Southern Marmara region of Turkey.

Science.gov (United States)

Gunes, Nazmiye; Cibik, Recep; Gunes, Mesut Ertan; Aydin, Levent

2008-11-01

Honey samples, collected from the Southern Marmara region of Turkey, were analysed for erythromycin residues by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry using electrospray ionization in the positive ion mode (LC-ESI-MS). Fifty samples, comprising chestnut, pine, linden and multi-flower honeys, were collected directly from hives and analyzed. The limit of detection and quantification were 6 and 20 ng g(-1), respectively, and recovery ranged from 85 to 89%. Four of the honey samples (8%) were found to be contaminated with erythromycin residues at concentrations ranging from 50 to 1776 ng g(-1). An erythromycin-fortified cake feeding assay was also performed in a defined hive to test the transfer of erythromycin residue to the honey matrix. In this test hive, the residue level in the honey, 3 months after dosing, was approximately 28 ng g(-1).

Indonesian honey protein isolation Apis dorsata dorsata and Tetragonula sp. as antibacterial and antioxidant agent

Science.gov (United States)

Sahlan, Muhamad; Damayanti, Vina; Azizah, Nurul; Hakamada, Kazuaki; Yohda, Masafumi; Hermansyah, Heri; Wijanarko, Anondho; Rohmatin, Etin

2018-02-01

Honey is a natural product that has many properties and been widely used for many theurapeutic purposes. Research on honey has been very rapid but not yet for Indonesia. Like local Indonesian honey Apis dorsata dorsata and Tetragonula sp. which has been widely consumed by the public but not yet known for certain efficacy of each content. The function of honey as antibacterial and antioxidant has not been specifically explained by the components contained in honey. Protein is one of the content of honey that turned out to have activity as an antibacterial and antioxidant in certain types of honey because of it antimicrobial peptide. Testing of honey activity as antibacterial and antioxidant through several stages including isolation, SDS-PAGE analysis, Bradford test, antibacterial activity test with well diffusion method and antioxidant activity test by DPPH method. Bacteria used were gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and gram negative Escherichia coli. After some experiment finally got protein isolation method that is in the form of further concentration using Millipore membrane for honey Tetragonula sp. and membrane filtration dot blot for honey Apis dorsata dorsata. The Bradford assay showed that Apis dorsata dorsata honey contains protein <5 µg / ml, while honey Tetragonula sp. has a protein content of 97 µg / ml. The characteristic profile of molecular weight of the protein showed honey Tetragonula sp. has 3 protein bands composed of 52, 96 - 61,9 kDa, 63,35 - 65,92 kDa and 86,16 - 91,4 kDa, whereas Apis dorsata dorsata honey has 5 protein bands consisting of 45,2 - 46,6 kDa, 50,2 - 50,9 kDa, 62,5 - 62,9 kDa, 73,1 - 73,9 kDa, 83,9 - 86,9 kDa. Isolate honey protein Apis dorsata dorsata has no antioxidant and antibacterial activity (Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli), whereas honey protein isolates Tetragonula sp. has antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli.

How honey bees carry pollen

Science.gov (United States)

Matherne, Marguerite E.; Anyanwu, Gabriel; Leavey, Jennifer K.; Hu, David L.

2017-11-01

Honey bees are the tanker of the skies, carrying thirty percent of their weight in pollen per foraging trip using specialized orifices on their body. How do they manage to hang onto those pesky pollen grains? In this experimental study, we investigate the adhesion force of pollen to the honeybee. To affix pollen to themselves, honey bees form a suspension of pollen in nectar, creating a putty-like pollen basket that is skewered by leg hairs. We use tensile tests to show that the viscous force of the pollen basket is more than ten times the honeybee's flight force. This work may provide inspiration for the design of robotic flying pollinators.

Spectroscopic study of honey from Apis mellifera from different regions in Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Frausto-Reyes, C.; Casillas-Peñuelas, R.; Quintanar-Stephano, JL; Macías-López, E.; Bujdud-Pérez, JM; Medina-Ramírez, I.

2017-05-01

The objective of this study was to analyze by Raman and UV-Vis-NIR Spectroscopic techniques, Mexican honey from Apis Mellífera, using representative samples with different botanic origins (unifloral and multifloral) and diverse climates. Using Raman spectroscopy together with principal components analysis, the results obtained represent the possibility to use them for determination of floral origin of honey, independently of the region of sampling. For this, the effect of heat up the honey was analyzed in relation that it was possible to greatly reduce the fluorescence background in Raman spectra, which allowed the visualization of fructose and glucose peaks. Using UV-Vis-NIR, spectroscopy, a characteristic spectrum profile of transmittance was obtained for each honey type. In addition, to have an objective characterization of color, a CIE Yxy and CIE L*a*b* colorimetric register was realized for each honey type. Applying the principal component analysis and their correlation with chromaticity coordinates allowed classifying the honey samples in one plot as: cutoff wavelength, maximum transmittance, tones and lightness. The results show that it is possible to obtain a spectroscopic record of honeys with specific characteristics by reducing the effects of fluorescence.

The pollen spectrum of honeys of Lipnik Gmina (Świętokrzyskie Province

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Ernest Stawiarz

2012-12-01

Full Text Available During 2003 and 2004 apicultural seasons, 25 samples of honeys were collected in 10 localities of Lipnik (świętokrzyskie Province countryside. Pollen analysis was made according to the requirements of the International Commission for Bee Botany IUSB (Louveaux et al., 1978. There were identified pollen of 85 taxa in the examined samples of honeys: pollen of 62 nectariferous and 23 non-nectariferous plants. Participation of non-nectariferous plant pollen in particular samples ranged between 0.3 and 28.4%. Among the nectariferous plant pollen, the highest pollen frequency (above 50% have been stated for Brassicaceae (with Brassica napus, Prunus type, Trifolium repens, Anthriscus type, Salix, Aesculus, Rubus type, Tilia, Taraxacum type, Galeopsis and Heracleum type, among non-nectariferous plans: Poaceae, Papaver and Fragaria. On average, a particular honey contained 16 pollen types of nectariferous plants (range 7-26 and 7 of non-nectariferous (range 1-13. Among the examined samples, there were 11 specific honeys: 7 compatible with the Polish Standard - 4 samples of Brassica napus honeys, 2 Robinia pseudacacia, 1 Tilia, and 4 samples of honeys out of his this standard. There were 3 Galeopsis honeys and 1 honey from Phacelia. The remaining 14 samples were classified as multifloral honeys compatible with the Polish Standard. The woods and scrubs as well as meadows and pastures supplied main sources of honeybee flow in the examined area.

76 FR 77480 - Honey From the People's Republic of China: Initiation of Anticircumvention Inquiry

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-13

... percent honey content have identical fructose/glucose contents of approximately 70 percent and water... syrup blends in its discussion of artificial honey, while it did list refined sugar and high-fructose... high fructose corn syrup were known to be mixed with honey, making them ``honey adulterants,'' and that...

Study of gamma radiation in honey from the Zacatecas State

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saucedo A, S. A.; Zapata V, M. C.; Pinedo V, J. L.; Davila R, J. I.; Rios M, C.; Mireles G, F., E-mail: ssaucedo@uaz.edu.mx [Universidad Autonoma de Zacatecas, Unidad Academica de Estudios Nucleares, Cipres No. 10, Fracc. La Penuela, 98060 Zacatecas, Zac. (Mexico)

2017-09-15

Radioactivity of honey samples from 10 municipalities of the Zacatecas State in Mexico was investigated by gamma spectrometry. The honey corresponds to the prosopis laevigata flowering. The purpose of the study was to estimate the background levels of natural radioactivity and to discard a possible contamination with the artificial {sup 137}Cs in honey. Any naturally occurring radionuclide could be determined except for {sup 40}K, which was quantified in 8 of the 10 samples, with an average in specific activity of 9.75 ± 1.8 Bq/kg. No signal for the energy of the anthropogenic radionuclide {sup 137}Cs was observed, corroborating that the radiation levels are in good agreement with those reported for another honeys in the world. (Author)

Invasion of Varroa mites into honey bee brood cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boot, W.J.

1995-01-01

The parasitic mite Varroa-jacobsoni is one of the most serious pests of Western honey bees, Apis mellifera. The mites parasitize adult bees, but reproduction only occurs while parasitizing on honey bee brood. Invasion into a

Use of Bee Honey as Alternative Medicine in Protein Energy Deficiency

OpenAIRE

Prasetyo, R. Heru; Sandhika, Willy; Susanto, Djoni

2013-01-01

The protein energy deficiency cause intestinal villus atrophy and epithel mucous damage. The effect of bee honey on histostructure of intestine was studied in the experimental mice as model of proteinenergy deficiency. The use bee honey in protein-energy deficiency shown to improve intestinal villus atrophy and epithel damage. In conclusion that bee honey can use as alternative medicine in protein energydeficiency

Honey physicochemical properties of three species of the brazilian Melipona

OpenAIRE

Lage, Lorena G.A.; Coelho, Lívia L.; Resende, Helder C.; Tavares, Mara G.; Campos, Lucio A.O.; Fernandes-Salomão, Tânia M.

2012-01-01

Physicochemical analyses were carried out to evaluate 27 samples of honeys from three species of the Brazilian genus Melipona (M. capixaba, M. rufiventris and M. mondury) from Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais States. The parameters water activity (Aw), percentage of soluble solids (Brix %), pH, acidity (meq/Kg) and moisture (%) were evaluated. The honey characteristics obtained from these samples were very similar to the ones from other Melipona species. However, regarding the honey from Apis ...

Potential protective effect of honey against paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity.

Science.gov (United States)

Galal, Reem M; Zaki, Hala F; Seif El-Nasr, Mona M; Agha, Azza M

2012-11-01

Paracetamol overdose causes severe hepatotoxicity that leads to liver failure in both humans and experimental animals. The present study investigates the protective effect of honey against paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity in Wistar albino rats. We have used silymarin as a standard reference hepatoprotective drug. Hepatoprotective activity was assessed by measuring biochemical parameters such as the liver function enzymes, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Equally, comparative effects of honey on oxidative stress biomarkers such as malondialdyhyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were also evaluated in the rat liver homogenates.  We estimated the effect of honey on serum levels and hepatic content of interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) because the initial event in paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity has been shown to be a toxic-metabolic injury that leads to hepatocyte death, activation of the innate immune response and upregulation of inflammatory cytokines. Paracetamol caused marked liver damage as noted by significant increased activities of serum AST and ALT as well as the level of Il-1β. Paracetamol also resulted in a significant decrease in liver GSH content and GPx activity which paralleled an increase in Il-1β and MDA levels. Pretreatment with honey and silymarin prior to the administration of paracetamol significantly prevented the increase in the serum levels of hepatic enzyme markers, and reduced both oxidative stress and inflammatory cytokines. Histopathological evaluation of the livers also revealed that honey reduced the incidence of paracetamol-induced liver lesions. Honey can be used as an effective hepatoprotective agent against paracetamol-induced liver damage.

Compostos voláteis em méis florais Volatile compounds in floral honeys

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Carlos Alberto Bastos De Maria

2003-01-01

Full Text Available A review about origin, composition and importance of volatile compounds in floral honeys is presented. Hydrocarbons, aromatic components, acids, diacids, terpenoids, ketones, aldehydes, esters and alcohols have been found in honey aroma of different botanical origin. Cis-rose oxide has been proposed as an indicator for Tilia cordata honey. Citrus honeys are known to contain methyl anthranilate, a compound which other honeys virtually lack. Linalool, phenylethylalcohol, phenylacetaldehyde, p-anisaldehyde and benzaldehyde are important contributors for the aroma of different unifloral honeys. Both isovaleric acid, gama-decalactone and benzoic acid appears to be important odourants for Anarcadium occidentale and Croton sp. honeys from Brazil. The furfurylmercaptan, benzyl alcohol, delta-octalactone, eugenol, phenylethylalcohol and guaiacol appear to be only relevant compounds for Anarcadium occidentale. The vanillin was considered an important odourant only for Croton sp..

Imidacloprid decreases honey bee survival but does not affect the gut microbiome.

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Raymann, Kasie; Motta, Erick V S; Girard, Catherine; Riddington, Ian M; Dinser, Jordan A; Moran, Nancy A

2018-04-20

Accumulating evidence suggests that pesticides have played a role in the increased rate of honeybee colony loss. One of the most commonly used pesticides in the US is the neonicotinoid imidacloprid. Although the primary mode of action of imidacloprid is the insect nervous system, it has also been shown to cause changes insects' digestive physiology, and alter the microbiota of Drosophila melanogaster larvae. The honey bee gut microbiome plays a major role in bee health. Although many studies have shown that imidacloprid affects honey bee behavior, its impact on the microbiome has not been fully elucidated. Here we investigated the impact of imidacloprid on the gut microbiome composition, survivorship of honey bees, and susceptibility to pathogens. Consistent with other studies, we show that imidacloprid exposure results in elevated mortality of honey bees in the hive and increases susceptibility to infection by pathogens. However, we did not find evidence that imidacloprid affects the gut bacterial community of honey bees. Our in vitro experiments demonstrated that honey bee gut bacteria can grow in the presence of imidacloprid, and we found some evidence that imidacloprid can be metabolized in the bee gut environment. However, none of the individual bee gut bacterial species tested could metabolize imidacloprid, suggesting that the observed metabolism of imidacloprid in vitro bee gut cultures is not caused by the gut bacteria. Overall, our results indicate that imidacloprid causes increased mortality in honey bees, but this mortality does not appear to be linked to the microbiome. Importance Growing evidence suggests that the extensive use of pesticides has played a large role in the increased rate of honey bee colony loss. Despite extensive research on the effects of imidacloprid on honey bees, it is still unknown whether it impacts the community structure of the gut microbiome. Here we investigated the impact of imidacloprid on the gut microbiome composition

Comparison of efficacy of unheated and heat-treated Sahara honey on wound healing in rabbits

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Baghdad Khiati

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Objective: To investigate the efficacy of unheated and heat-treated Sahara honey on wound healing in rabbits on the basis of macroscopic observation changes. Methods: Eight female rabbits were used. Using aseptic surgical technique, a 3 cm incision was made on the back of each rabbit and two rabbits with injuries in each group were treated daily with a topical application of unheated and heated honey, sulfadiazine and sterile saline, respectively. Results: The unheated honey demonstrated the highest activity on the wound compared to reference ointment silver sulfadiazine, heat-treated honey and sterile saline respectively. Further the present investigation proves that unheated honey is possessing superior wound healing activity than that of heat-treated honey. Conclusions: The result of this study confirms that unheated honey had the best wound healing effect even better than heat-treated honey.

Flavonoids patterns of French honeys with different floral origin

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Soler, C.; Gil, M.I.; Garcia-Viguera, C.; Tomás-Barberán, F.A.

1995-01-01

The flavonoid profiles of 12 different unifloral French honey samples were analysed by HPLC to evaluate if these substances could be used as markers of the floral origin of honey. In this analysis, the characteristic flavonoids from propolis and/or beeswax (chrysin, galangin, tectochrysin,

Nosema ceranae escapes fumagillin control in honey bees.

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Wei-Fone Huang

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Fumagillin is the only antibiotic approved for control of nosema disease in honey bees and has been extensively used in United States apiculture for more than 50 years for control of Nosema apis. It is toxic to mammals and must be applied seasonally and with caution to avoid residues in honey. Fumagillin degrades or is diluted in hives over the foraging season, exposing bees and the microsporidia to declining concentrations of the drug. We showed that spore production by Nosema ceranae, an emerging microsporidian pathogen in honey bees, increased in response to declining fumagillin concentrations, up to 100% higher than that of infected bees that have not been exposed to fumagillin. N. apis spore production was also higher, although not significantly so. Fumagillin inhibits the enzyme methionine aminopeptidase2 (MetAP2 in eukaryotic cells and interferes with protein modifications necessary for normal cell function. We sequenced the MetAP2 gene for apid Nosema species and determined that, although susceptibility to fumagillin differs among species, there are no apparent differences in fumagillin binding sites. Protein assays of uninfected bees showed that fumagillin altered structural and metabolic proteins in honey bee midgut tissues at concentrations that do not suppress microsporidia reproduction. The microsporidia, particularly N. ceranae, are apparently released from the suppressive effects of fumagillin at concentrations that continue to impact honey bee physiology. The current application protocol for fumagillin may exacerbate N. ceranae infection rather than suppress it.

[An automatic dew-point hygrometer making use of beta-ray backscattering (author's transl)].

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Matsumoto, S; Kobayashi, H

1981-04-01

A proportional control system was employed on this hygrometer. The hygrometer was used in a box in which the temperature and the humidity were constantly regulated. The range of measured dew-point was from -26 degrees C to 60 degrees C in the atmospheric temperature of 0 degree C to 60 degrees C, that was the relative humidity of 12% to 100%, and the accuracy of the measurement was +/- 1 degree C.

Interactions between Cooccurring Lactic Acid Bacteria in Honey Bee Hives.