Honey as a Functional Food for Apis mellifera.

Although nectar is consumed, primarily as a supplemental food, by a broad range of insects spanning at least five orders, it is processed and stored by only a small number of species, most of which are bees and wasps in the superfamily Apoidea. Within this group, Apis mellifera has evolved remarkable adaptations facilitating nectar processing and storage; in doing so, this species utilizes the end product, honey, for diverse functions with few if any equivalents in other phytophagous insects. Honey and its phytochemical constituents, some of which likely derive from propolis, have functional significance in protecting honey bees against microbial pathogens, toxins, and cold stress, as well as in regulating development and adult longevity. The distinctive properties of A. mellifera honey appear to have arisen in multiple ways, including genome modification; partnerships with microbial symbionts; and evolution of specialized behaviors, including foraging for substances other than nectar. That honey making by A. mellifera involves incorporation of exogenous material other than nectar, as well as endogenous products such as antimicrobial peptides and royal jelly, suggests that regarding honey as little more than a source of carbohydrates for bees is a concept in need of revision.

Laboratory Evaluation of Larvicidal and Oviposition Deterrent Properties of Edible Plant Oils for Potential Management of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) in Drinking Water Containers.

The yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) transmits several devastating arboviruses, including dengue, chikungunya, and Zika virus, making development of inexpensive and eco-friendly strategies for its control an urgent priority. We evaluated the lethality of 13 commonly used plant-derived edible oils against late-third instar Ae. aegypti and then tested the three most lethal oils for stage-specific differences in lethality. We also examined the effects of the most lethal (hempseed), moderately lethal (sunflower and peanut), and least lethal (olive) oils on survival to adulthood and oviposition behavior of gravid females. We hypothesized that the insecticidal activity of edible oils is a function of the content of their linoleic acid, a key fatty acid component with film-forming properties. Among the 13 oils tested, hempseed oil was the most lethal, with an LC50 of 348.25 ppm, followed by sesame (670.44 ppm) and pumpkinseed (826.91 ppm) oils. Oils with higher linoleic acid content were more lethal to larvae than those with low linoleic acid content. Furthermore, pure concentrated linoleic acid was more lethal to larvae compared to any edible oil. In comparison to early instars, late instars were more susceptible to hempseed, sunflower, peanut, and olive oils; these oils also acted as oviposition deterrents, with effective repellency ≥63%. The proportion of larvae surviving to adulthood was significantly reduced in hempseed, sunflower, peanut, and olive oil treatments relative to controls. Our results suggest that some edible plant oils have potential as effective, eco-friendly larvicides, and oviposition deterrents for controlling container-dwelling mosquitoes, especially in resource-limited settings.

Common geriatric illnesses seen at the Manila Doctors Hospital–Department of Family and Community Medicine (MDH-DFCM) Clinic at Barangay 662, Paco, Manila, from June 2011 to December 2016

Introduction@#The global trend of decreasing mortality and decreasing fertility, has brought about “Population Aging”. The steady increase in the number of geriatric patients calls for the need to improve the holistic management of illnesses of this population.@*Objective@#The objective of the study is to identify the common illnesses of geriatric patients seen at the Manila Doctors’ Hospital - Department of Family and Community Medicine Clinic at Barangay 662, Paco, Manila, from June 2011 to December 2016.@*Methods@#This a retrospective-descriptive study. Barangay 662, at Cristobal St., Paco, Manila, has been the adopted community of the MDH-DFCM since June of 2011. All patients aged sixty (60) years old and above seen at the said clinic were included in this study. Baseline demographics were obtained and patients’ charts were used as basis for this study. Frequency of consults and demographic data were tallied at the time of consult. Qualitative variables and percentages were analysed for this study@*Results@#Over a span of 6 years, the most common illness of geriatric patients seen at the MDH-DFCM Clinic were osteoarthritis (n=145), hypertensive cardiovascular disease (n=126) and hypertension stage 2 (n=124). There were more consults by female patients (69% n=458). Purok 4 had the most number of consults (28% n=144). According to the ICD-10, reasons for consult belonged to disease of the circulatory system (n=344). @*Conclusion@#This study concludes that the most common illnesses of geriatric patients seen at the MDH-DFCM Clinic at Barangay 662, Paco, Manila, from June 2011 to December 2016 were non-communicable diseases.

Disruption of quercetin metabolism by fungicide affects energy production in honey bees (Apis mellifera).

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450) in the honey bee, Apis mellifera, detoxify phytochemicals in honey and pollen. The flavonol quercetin is found ubiquitously and abundantly in pollen and frequently at lower concentrations in honey. Worker jelly consumed during the first 3 d of larval development typically contains flavonols at very low levels, however. RNA-Seq analysis of gene expression in neonates reared for three days on diets with and without quercetin revealed that, in addition to up-regulating multiple detoxifying P450 genes, quercetin is a negative transcriptional regulator of mitochondrion-related nuclear genes and genes encoding subunits of complexes I, III, IV, and V in the oxidative phosphorylation pathway. Thus, a consequence of inefficient metabolism of this phytochemical may be compromised energy production. Several P450s metabolize quercetin in adult workers. Docking in silico of 121 pesticide contaminants of American hives into the active pocket of CYP9Q1, a broadly substrate-specific P450 with high quercetin-metabolizing activity, identified six triazole fungicides, all fungal P450 inhibitors, that dock in the catalytic site. In adults fed combinations of quercetin and the triazole myclobutanil, the expression of five of six mitochondrion-related nuclear genes was down-regulated. Midgut metabolism assays verified that adult bees consuming quercetin with myclobutanil metabolized less quercetin and produced less thoracic ATP, the energy source for flight muscles. Although fungicides lack acute toxicity, they may influence bee health by interfering with quercetin detoxification, thereby compromising mitochondrial regeneration and ATP production. Thus, agricultural use of triazole fungicides may put bees at risk of being unable to extract sufficient energy from their natural food.

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

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.

Quercetin-metabolizing CYP6AS enzymes of the pollinator Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae).

Although the honey bee (Apis mellifera) genome contains far fewer cytochrome P450 genes associated with xenobiotic metabolism than other insect genomes sequenced to date, the CYP6AS subfamily, apparently unique to hymenopterans, has undergone an expansion relative to the genome of the jewel wasp (Nasonia vitripennis). The relative dominance of this family in the honey bee genome is suggestive of a role in processing phytochemicals encountered by honey bees in their relatively unusual diet of honey (comprising concentrated processed nectar of many plant species) and bee bread (a mixture of honey and pollen from many plant species). In this study, quercetin was initially suggested as a shared substrate for CYP6AS1, CYP6AS3, and CYP6AS4, by its presence in honey, extracts of which induce transcription of these three genes, and by in silico substrate predictions based on a molecular model of CYP6AS3. Biochemical assays with heterologously expressed CYP6AS1, CYP6AS3, CYP6AS4 and CYP6AS10 enzymes subsequently confirmed their activity toward this substrate. CYP6AS1, CYP6AS3, CYP6AS4 and CYP6AS10 metabolize quercetin at rates of 0.5+/-0.1, 0.5+/-0.1, 0.2+/-0.1, and 0.2+/-0.1 pmol quercetin/ pmol P450/min, respectively. Substrate dockings and sequence alignments revealed that the positively charged amino acids His107 and Lys217 and the carbonyl group of the backbone between Leu302 and Ala303 are essential for quercetin orientation in the CYP6AS3 catalytic site and its efficient metabolism. Multiple replacements in the catalytic site of CYP6AS4 and CYP6AS10 and repositioning of the quercetin molecule likely account for the lower metabolic activities of CYP6AS4 and CYP6AS10 compared to CYP6AS1 and CYP6AS3.

Geographic variation in alkaloid production in Conium maculatum populations experiencing differential herbivory by Agonopterix alstroemeriana.

Conium maculatum, a Eurasian weed naturalized in North America, contains high concentrations of piperidine alkaloids that act as chemical defenses against herbivores. C. maculatum was largely free from herbivory in the United States, until approximately 30 yr ago, when it was reassociated via accidental introduction with a monophagous European herbivore, the oecophorid caterpillar Agonopterix alstroemeriana. At present, A. alstroemeriana is found in a continuum of reassociation time and intensities with C. maculatum across the continent; in the Pacific Northwest, A. alstroemeriana can cause severe damage, resulting in some cases in complete defoliation. Studies in biological control and invasion biology have yet to determine whether plants reassociated with a significant herbivore from the area of indigeneity increase their chemical defense investment in areas of introduction. In this study, we compared three locations in the United States (New York, Washington, and Illinois) where C. maculatum experiences different levels of herbivory by A. alstroemeriana to determine the association between the intensity of the interaction, as measured by damage, and chemical defense production. Total alkaloid production in C. maculatum was positively correlated with A. alstroemeriana herbivory levels: plants from New York and Washington, with higher herbivory levels, invested two and four times more N to alkaloid synthesis than did plants from Illinois. Individual plants with lower concentrations of alkaloids from a single location in Illinois experienced more damage by A. alstroemeriana, indicative of a preference on the part of the insect for plants with less chemical defense. These results suggest that A. alstroemeriana may act either as a selective agent or inducing agent for C. maculatum and increase its toxicity in its introduced range.

Behavioral responses of the parsnip webworm to host plant volatiles.

Sixth instars of the parsnip webworm, Depressaria pastinacella, orient by olfaction to bud, male flowers, and female flowers of their primary host plant, Pastinaca sativa. Because octyl acetate and octyl butyrate are characteristic of tissues consumed by the sixth instar, we investigated the influence of these esters on webworm feeding behavior and chemo-orientation. Although octyl acetate and octyl butyrate are feeding deterrents, and octyl butyrate is an olfactory repellent, octyl acetate serves as an olfactory attractant. In olfactometers, webworms do not show a preference when given a choice between octyl acetate and host plant tissues. These findings suggest that octyl acetate is a sufficient cue for olfactory orientation. Such behavior may explain differences in the relative abundance of these esters observed among populations of wild parsnip under differential selection pressure from these insects.

Response of bone and enamel formation to nutritional supplementation and morbidity among malnourished Guatemalan children.

The effects of changes in nutritional and health status upon bone and enamel development are examined in a sample of 63 rural Guatemalan children (24 females, 39 males). The number of ossified hand-wrist centers at 3 years and the number of linear enamel hypoplasias (LEH) in approximately 0-3 year zones of developing teeth were used to monitor the response of bone mineralization and enamel matrix formation to illness and nutritional supplementation. Numbers of ossified centers and LEH were compared across sex, supplementation, and morbidity groups. Enamel matrix secretion responded positively to increased supplementation. Children who received less than 34.25 kcal/day in supplement had more LEH than those who received more supplement. No differences in ossification status were found between supplementation groups. These data suggest that enamel formation may be more sensitive to changes in nutritional status than is bone mineralization. Disruptions of bone and enamel formation were both associated with frequent illness. Children who were ill more than 3.6% of the time had more LEH and fewer ossified hand-wrist centers than children who were less frequently ill. Conclusions regarding relative environmental sensitivity must take into account the specific aspects of dental and skeletal development examined.

Plasmodium yoelii: comparative antimalarial activities of dietary fish oils and fish oil concentrates in vitamin E-deficient mice.

Feeding vitamin E-deficient diets containing either fish oils such as menhaden, salmon, or anchovy oil or fish oil concentrates based on n-3 ethyl esters or free fatty acids protected mice against Plasmodium yoelii as indicated by decreased parasitemia and improved survival. The fish oil concentrates depressed plasma tocopherol levels more strongly in vitamin E-supplemented mice than the menhaden oil. The free fatty acid concentrate appeared to suppress parasitemia in vitamin E-deficient mice better than the menhaden oil, although ultimate survival was similar in both groups. Dietary manipulation of host antioxidant status offers promise as a possible means of malaria control.

Menhaden-fish oil in a vitamin E-deficient diet: protection against chloroquine-resistant malaria in mice.

Feeding a vitamin E-deficient diet containing 5% menhaden oil to mice affords significant protection against both a chloroquine-sensitive and a chloroquine-resistant line of the malarial parasite. Nutritional manipulation may offer a new approach to the problem of drug-resistant malaria, a rapidly emerging global threat to public health.

Qinghaosu, dietary vitamin E, selenium, and cod-liver oil: effect on the susceptibility of mice to the malarial parasite Plasmodium yoelii.

Young female mice were fed torula-yeast-based diets deficient in vitamin E or selenium or supplemented with cod-liver oil to determine the effect of host antioxidant status on the therapeutic efficacy of the Chinese traditional antimalarial drug qinghaosu (QHS), a sesquiterpene endoperoxide. Vitamin E deficiency enhanced the antimalarial action of QHS against Plasmodium yoelii, both in terms of decreased parasitemia and improved survival but Se deficiency did not. A vitamin E-deficient diet containing 5% cod-liver oil had such strong antimalarial activity in itself that no additional therapeutic benefit of QHS could be demonstrated. Hematocrit values in parasitized mice treated with QHS or fed the cod-liver-oil-supplemented, vitamin E-deficient diet were normal. Nutritional manipulation of host antioxidant status may provide a promising prophylactic and/or therapeutic tool for the control of malaria.

5-Aminosalicylic acid enemas in refractory distal ulcerative colitis: a randomized, controlled trial.

5-Aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA), the presumed active moiety of sulfasalazine, has shown clinical efficacy when administered per rectum as initial therapy to patients with distal ulcerative colitis. We report the results of a randomized double-blind trial comparing nightly retention of a 4-g 5-ASA enema with continued administration of hydrocortisone enemas in 18 patients with persistent active distal ulcerative colitis after at least a 3-wk course of treatment with 100-mg hydrocortisone enemas with or without oral sulfasalazine. Continuation of hydrocortisone enemas rather than placebo was used in the control group to reflect the realistic alternative therapy likely to be employed in current practice. Response to therapy was assessed after 3 wk by comparing pretreatment and posttreatment point scores of clinical, sigmoidoscopic, and histological severity. Improvement in clinical score was achieved in seven of nine 5-ASA enema-treated patients versus one of nine hydrocortisone enema-treated patients (p less than 0.05). Sigmoidoscopic and histological improvement generally paralleled clinical improvement. We conclude that in patients with distal ulcerative colitis unresponsive to standard therapy, treatment with 5-ASA enemas results in significant short-term clinical and sigmoidoscopic improvement in a majority of cases. Moreover, a significantly greater number of refractory patients improve when switched to 5-ASA enemas than when continued on standard therapy.

The suprachiasmatic nuclei and retinohypothalamic tract in the western spotted skunk.

The western spotted skunk has a well-developed retinohypothalamic tract projecting to the middle and caudal parts of the suprachiasmatic nuclei. The nuclei have a complex 3-dimensional shape and contain small neuronal somas.

A comparison of bifonazole (BAY H 4502) with clotrimazole in vitro.

The antifungal activity of a new topical imidazole, bifonazole (BAY h 4502, Bayer AG Institute for Chemotherapy), was compared in vitro with that of clotrimazole (BAY b 5097, Schering Corporation) in tests with 67 pathogenic and commensal yeasts, 45 dermatophytes and 14 miscellaneous pathogenic fungi by an agar dilution method. Three media, Kimmig's agar, Sabouraud's agar, and casein-yeast extract-glucose agar were used. Bifonazole was inhibitory for nearly all the yeasts tested including Candida albicans, C. parapsilosis, and Torulopsis glabrata with geometric mean minimal inhibitory concentrations (G-MIC) averaging 5 micrograms ml-1 on all three media. Clotrimazole was the more active drug against these same species with G-MIC's ranging from 0 . 25 to 2 . 10 micrograms ml-1. Results with bifonazole were affected by choice of medium with Kimmig's agar generally giving the lowest MIC's; results with clotrimazole were also affected by choice of medium but to a lesser degree. In nearly all instances, both bifonazole and clotrimazole were inhibitory for the dermatophytic fungi at concentrations of 0 . 50 micrograms ml-1 or less and clotrimazole was the more active drug. Choice of medium was, in general, not a factor with these latter fungi which included Epidermophyton, Trichophyton, and Microsporum species. Both drugs were active against species of Aspergillus (G-MIC's of 3 . 18 micrograms ml-1), Fusarium (G-MIC's ranging from 1 . 59 to 12 . 70 micrograms ml-1) and Scopulariopsis (G-MIC's of 1 . 78 micrograms ml-1); clotrimazole was the more active drug by factors of 2- to 4-fold on all three media. Bifonazole MICs were shown to vary with pH (maximal activity at pH 6 . 5) with selected yeasts when tested on Kimmig's agar. Differences in results obtained with varying inoculum sizes for these same yeasts generally were unremarkable. With selected species of yeasts and dermatophytes, it was determined that the ratio of minimal fungicidal to inhibitory concentrations (MFC/MIC) was much lower for bifonazole than for clotrimazole.

Autologous blood retrieval in thoracic, cardiovascular, and orthopedic surgery.

A significant amount of red blood cells were conserved with use of the Cell Saver in cardiac surgery patients and in some orthopedic and vascular surgery patients. No major complications have been associated with its use in our cases. Our results are similar to those of others who have reported on the use of this device. In the cardiac surgery patients we observed significant serum protein losses which had to be replaced. We recommend the use of intraoperative albumin to help maintain adequate urinary output and hemodynamic stability.