christophercbabcock

How Bees Convert Nectar and Pollen into Honey

Honey is a food source that bees collect in the form of nectar from flowers in the vicinity of their hive. One colony of up to 60,000 bees can visit as many as 50 million flowers a day. Workers identify the best flowers within a two to three mile radius and communicate their location to other bees through noises, bumps, and what beekeepers call the “waggle dance.”

Honey bees have a proboscis, or straw-like tongue, that extends into the nectary, the flower’s nectar-making organ. They suck up droplets and digest the nectar in the second stomach (known as the “honey stomach”) in a process called inversion. This breaks down the nectar’s complex sugars into simpler sugars that are less liable to turn solid, or crystallize.

When they return to the hive, the worker bees regurgitate this partially digested honey, passing it to younger “house” bees, which are just 12 to 17 days old. The house bees chew on the nectar for around 30 minutes and then pass it on to another house bee, with the water content gradually diminishing.

This process continues until the thickened nectar is packed into hexagonal cells made of beeswax known as honeycomb. At this point, other bees create a warm breeze by flapping their wings. This further dries out and stiffens the honey, to a point where the comb is ready to be capped with fresh beeswax. The purpose of this system is to pack away honey for times when there are no flowering plants available and reserves must be tapped to keep the colony fed.

Nectar is not the only thing that honeybees transfer as they travel from flower to flower. They also carry pollen from one flower to another, enabling pollination and the continued reproduction of plant communities. This is not accidental – honey bees mix regurgitated nectar with pollen particles, which creates portable viscoelastic pellets that they stick to the hind legs. Back at the hive, they carefully scrape these pellets into a cell, employing their other legs.

This pollen, mixed with secretions from house bees, provides a ready source of protein and vitamin C and vitamin B complex. Queens and larvae in particular require larger amounts of protein. As they mature, bees rely more on the lipids, or carbohydrates and sugar in the form of nectar and honey, for their sustenance.

There are times when no nectar is available and honey bees need to seek out alternate sources of food. One such source is honeydew. This is produced as excrement by aphids from the plant sap they suck. Because the sap is 90 to 95 percent sugar, aphids must consume large quantities of sap to extract meaningful quantities of protein. They excrete the excess sweet liquid frequently. Ants go so far as to tickle aphids with their antennae to gain access to the sweet excrete they crave, but bees also have a taste for honeydew and store it in honeycombs. Lacking honeydew, bees will also collect and store dusty animal feed and even plant spores, in the same way they would pollen and nectar. Across the course of its life, a honey bee will only generate around one and a half teaspoons of honey.

Key Beekeeping Safety Tips

Safety is important in beekeeping because it involves working with thousands of stinging insects. Bees are highly protective of their colonies, making it crucial for beekeepers to approach their hobby cautiously and follow essential safety tips.

One safety tip for beekeeping is to wear protective gear. Ensure your protective clothing has no holes, as bees can crawl into tiny openings. Opt for brightly colored clothing, as bees are less likely to react aggressively to light colors than dark ones. Keep your protective gear clean; bees are sensitive to odors like diesel fuel. After finishing work at the apiary, move away from the area before removing your protective clothing.

When conducting hive inspections, choose sunny days for optimal safety. Bees are typically less active and more manageable during warm afternoons, allowing beekeepers to inspect eggs, brood, or honey easily. A less crowded hive on sunny days provides space for thorough inspections and reduces the likelihood of agitated bees.

Maintaining a tidy beehive is essential to prevent attracting wild animals like skunks, raccoons, and bears, which can pose significant dangers to bees and beekeepers. Regularly remove old frames and chunks of combs to keep the hive clean and free from potential threats.

Role of an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon

Oral and maxillofacial surgeons (OMS) are highly specialized healthcare professionals whose role involves the diagnosis, treatment, and management of various conditions affecting the head, neck, face, jaw, and oral cavity. Their expertise includes surgical procedures ranging from complex reconstructive surgeries to routine dental extractions.

Before carrying out surgery OMS conduct assessments, including orthodontic evaluation and three-dimensional imaging to carefully guide the surgical process. After surgery, they offer follow-up care to monitor the healing progress and report the possible outcomes of patients.

These surgeons may apply various methods, such as computer guided surgery and intraoral scanning, for diagnostic and treatment plans related to oral conditions. In addition, they play an important role in collaboration with oncologists and other specialists, which form multidisciplinary teams to provide comprehensive cancer care when needed.

Orofacial surgeons often partner with speech therapists and pediatricians for the comprehensive treatment of patients who have been born with cleft palate and related conditions. This involves such tertiary procedures as may be needed to achieve the best functional and aesthetic outcome as the patient advances in their recovery.

Oral and maxillofacial surgeons also strengthen the future of the dental profession by training the coming generations and pioneering research. They often carry out and lead research, such as studies on biomaterials, surgical procedures, and patient outcomes, to advance treatment effectiveness and quality of patient care.

Benefits of Dental Implants

A dental implant is a high-tech artificial replacement for the root of a tooth that is screwed into a jawbone to support a crown (fake tooth). Dental implants, placed using a surgical procedure with a local anesthetic, have numerous advantages.

In the absence of a tooth, the jaw bone in the space deteriorates over time due to a lack of stimulation. When an implant is not placed within a year after a tooth is lost, the bone area can lose up to 50 percent of its total volume. A dental implant often replaces both the root and tooth, thus restoring normal chewing capability, which aids in stimulation (muscles/nerves) to facilitate natural bone growth.

Dental implants are fitted into the jaw with a titanium post that replaces the natural tooth root. This allows for sufficient biting force similar to that produced by a natural tooth. Other tooth replacements don’t fully restore the bite force as they rest on the gums and are not strongly secured.

When a tooth is missing, the surrounding teeth tend to move toward the gap and interfere with the ability to bite or chew. Dental implants fill gaps between the teeth, thus securing the position of the surrounding teeth and preventing them from drifting.

Diagnosing Maxillofacial Traumas

Maxillofacial traumas take the form of injuries to the face that are often not identifiable to their full extent at first examination. The first step in any assessment, whether after an incident on the athletic field or in a vehicle, is to make sure that there are no major hemorrhages or internal losses of blood. Another essential is checking for compromised vision and airway obstructions.

Nasal fractures are the most common type of facial fracture and make up more than half of such incidents. They are defined by a break in the cartilage or bone over the nose’s bridge or the sidewall or septum, which divides the two nostrils. Oedema, involving a buildup of fluid and swelling in the nose tissue, may mask nasal bone deformations.

This means the nasal base must be manually palpitated and assessed, with nasal bones checked for mobility and asymmetry and the throat checked for posterior nasal bleeding. A nasal speculum is used to identify areas of hematoma (clotted blood) or hemorrhage, which may reduce blood supply to the septal cartilage and cause abscess and cartilage necrosis.

Mandibular fractures involving the jaw are also relatively common in the face. Because the mandible is a mobile bone, intense pain, and malocclusion often, patients and physicians direct attention to the area of the fracture and make diagnosis easier.

Importance of Getting a Disability Insurance

Disability insurance offers a safety net in the form of a monthly benefit to policyholders who cannot work due to a disability. Typically, this benefit is calculated as a percentage of the policyholder’s regular income. The waiting period for disability insurance can vary, and coverage can extend from a few weeks to the duration of one’s working life, depending on the severity of the disability. There are numerous advantages to having disability insurance.

One of the primary benefits of disability insurance is its role in helping policyholders plan for unforeseen circumstances that can significantly impact their lives. Whether it’s a life-altering disability, a chronic illness, or even a global pandemic, disability insurance safeguards the financial health of both the policyholder and their family. This protection is crucial for achieving long-term financial security and peace of mind.

Furthermore, disability insurance offers superior protection than relying solely on savings, particularly for long-term disabilities. Savings can quickly diminish in the face of substantial medical bills associated with prolonged disabilities. Since disabilities can persist for years, having disability insurance ensures a steady monthly benefit throughout the disability, easing the financial burden on the policyholder.

Moreover, while workers’ compensation typically covers injuries sustained in the workplace, it may not provide coverage for work-related disabilities. Workers ‘ compensation may not cover conditions like cancer, stroke, or injuries sustained outside work. However, disability insurance offers comprehensive coverage, regardless of whether the disability is work-related, ensuring financial stability during challenging times.

Kentucky Dental Association Legislative Priorities for 2024

Committed to advancing the profession of dentistry and promoting oral health, the Kentucky Dental Association (KDA) hosts an annual meeting, provides members with a range of resources and benefits, and advocates for various legislative measures. In 2024, the KDA is working to address increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates, student debt, and insurance reform.

The KDA believes that the current Medicaid rate structure is unsuitable for residents and doesn’t provide sufficient access to care. Member dentists support earning less than usual to help community members in the greatest need of dental services. Moreover, the KDA Executive Board hopes to work with the state legislature and the Department of Medicaid Services to increase reimbursement rates.

Regarding student debt, the KDA advocates for loan forgiveness programs and encourages legislators to boost state funding to higher-learning institutions. Dentists in Kentucky have an average of $350,000 in student loan debt upon graduating. Therefore, graduates are less likely to start their practice in rural and underserved areas. Student loan forgiveness could help address this issue.

The KDA supports legislation promoting transparency in dental care benefits for insurance reform. It supports direct payment to providers via dental benefit plans and limits how long dental insurers can request refunds for mistakes in paid claims.

The KDA’s other legislative priorities for 2024 include advancing workforce sustainability, tax reform, and improving access to telehealth services.

How Queen Bees Create and Sustain Colonies

One of the critical elements for the survival of a bee colony is the queen bee. Large and heavy, she flies only twice. One is to mate with drone bees from other colonies. During this flight, she collects around five million sperm and then returns to the hive. She stores the sperm and uses them to fertilize eggs. Over her lifetime, the queen bee lays many eggs. She arranges these in cells, which are situated inside a honeycomb.

At her peak, the queen bee can lay 3,000 eggs within a single day, with those that are fertilized potentially becoming worker or queen bees, and those left unfertilized becoming drones. Each egg, laid in just a few seconds, is about the size of a grain of rice. The queen bee starts in center and works in a circular fashion outward. This enables workers to feed larvae at the outer edges foods such as royal jelly, a protein-rich secretion from worker bee glands. Eggs hatch around three days after being laid.

While queen bees can live as long as seven years, peak productivity is limited to one to two years. Commercial beekeepers may replace queens as often as two times a year to maintain optimal productivity.

The queen does sometimes take one additional flight during her lifetime. This is when swarming. Accompanied by around half of the workers in the colony, she and her companions seek out a new setting to live and create a colony. In preparing for this event, workers develop a new queen, while preparing the existing queen to fly. Because she is generally too heavy to fly at that point, they must place the queen on a calorie-restricted diet.

ADA Takes Firm Stance Against Direct-to-Consumer Dentistry

In response to developments involving a direct-to-consumer (DTC) company specializing in teeth aligners, the nation’s largest dental organization, the American Dental Association (ADA), has reasserted its opposition to DTC dentistry. The ADA discourages providing dental treatments directly to consumers, expressing concerns over potential irreversible harm and risks to individuals treated as customers rather than patients.

By advocating against DTC dentistry, the ADA aims to safeguard individuals from the potential risks of teeth alignment without a comprehensive understanding of their oral conditions. The ADA warns that unmonitored teeth movement could lead to severe and permanent issues such as bone loss, bite problems, receding gums, and jaw pain.

Highlighting the fundamental responsibility of licensed dentists in overseeing patient care, the ADA reiterates that dentists are uniquely qualified to accept accountability for a patient’s treatment. The absence of a dentist’s involvement in such treatments eliminates a crucial quality control aspect, potentially compromising patient safety and overall oral health.

The ADA urges individuals considering DTC dental products or services to consult a licensed dentist. It notes that regular dental check-ups with qualified professionals are crucial for maintaining good oral health and overall wellness.

Providing the Right Balance of Exercise for Foals

Daily exercise is an integral part of young horses’ healthy growth, with fresh air reducing the risks of respiratory infection. Having ready access to turnout (pasture to run) also helps strengthen the musculoskeletal system. In the first year, an exercise program focusing on building muscle mass can be counterproductive.

This has to do with the foal’s still-developing skeletal system. The physis (growth plates) are susceptible to damage if worked too hard. Placing too much muscle weight on the immature frame can result in a lifetime of angular limb and flexural deformities and arthritis.

The best approach is to allow the foal to exercise at its own pace while guiding light groundwork and halter breaking. The latter training helps get the young horse accustomed to a halter and reigns and should be conducted relatively sparingly, with days off sprinkled in to prevent biting (a sign of stress). Also, be aware that younger dams (mothers) may tend to run at full speed, and foals may try to keep up, which can result in injury. Turn out these active dams with their foals in smaller enclosures if necessary.