Body Size Influences Stingless Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Communities Across a Range of Deforestation Levels in Rondônia, Brazil.

Developments in understanding bee responses to habitat loss indicate that body size is a trait with important consequences for conservation. Stingless bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini) are a diverse group of eusocial bees providing pollination services in tropical landscapes, exhibiting a large range in body size across species. We tested the effects of deforestation on the body sizes of stingless bee communities by using museum specimens and revisiting a previous effort that sampled stingless bee communities across varying levels of deforestation at 183 sites in Rondônia, Brazil, in 1996-1997. Body size measurements (intertegular distance) from 72 species collected were included as dependent variables in response to forest area, forest edge, and connectivity of forest patches at several spatial scales. We find that stingless bee body size is negatively related to forest cover: mean community body size was larger in areas with greater amounts of deforestation, and smaller in areas with less deforestation. Second, stingless bee species richness was positively associated with forest edge regardless of body size. Lastly, we find that as forest patch isolation increased, the stingless bee community body size also increased. These findings support hypotheses that small stingless bee species might be more negatively affected by deforestation, adding to the growing body of evidence that stingless bees require areas of intact forest in near proximity to other forest patches to conserve these diverse pollinator communities.

Diagnosis of tubercular lymphadenopathy by fine needle aspiration cytology, acid-fast staining and mantoux test.

INTRODUCTION: This study was undertaken to evaluate the role of Ziehl-Neelsen stain (for acid-fas bacilli), and Mantoux test in diagnosing tubercular lymphadenopathy on FNAC. METHODS: FNAC was performed on patient with superficial lymphadenopathy. Ziehl-Neelsen stain for acid fast bacilli was done in all cases where cheesy or purulent material was aspirated and smear showed granulomatous lymphadenitis. A Mantoux test was also done in these patients. A Mantoux test was further done in patients of reactive lymphadenopathy where the lymph node size was more than 1 cm. If the result was positive, a repeat FNAC was performed. When the repeat FNAC showed ill-defined granulomas, excision biopsy was done. RESULTS: Tubercular lymphadenopathy was seen in 122 (48.2%) cases. Acid- fast bacilli were found in 71 (58.1%) cases. Mantoux test was positive in 112 (91.8%) cases. A repeat FNAC was done in seven of 11 patients where the cytologic features of tuberculosis were not seen but the lymph node size was more than 1 cm and Mantoux test was positive. The repeat FNAC showed ill-defined granulomas without necrosis. Excision biopsy done in these patients diagnosed them as tubercular lymphadenitis in five of the seven cases, the remaining two cases being diagnosed as reactive lymphadenitis. CONCLUSIONS: FNAC coupled with Ziehl - Neelsen staining for AFB and Mantoux test improves the diagnostic efficiency for tubercular lymphadenopathy.

Minimization of sludge production and stable operational condition of a submerged membrane activated sludge process.

Modification of conventional activated sludge process by adding microfiltration type hollow fiber membrane module offers various advantages. The membrane module is immersed directly in the bioreactor to separate the treated water from the sludge and the modified process is called submerged membrane activated sludge process (SMASP). Bench scale SMASP units were operated at constant flux to study the possibility of minimizing the excess sludge production and stable operation at different SRT and BOD loading. The long SRT developed high stabilized MLSS concentration in the bioreactor and decreased the sludge loading rate [kg-BOD/kg-MLSS-d]. In SMASP, very low sludge yield coefficients (0.04-0.09 kg-MLSS/kg-BOD) were obtained at long SRT (500 d) and small BOD loading (< or =0.5 kg/(m3 x d)) as compared to conventional activated sludge process and these coefficients showed considerable minimization in excess activated sludge production. At the same operation conditions, suction pressure was also maintained low (<25 kPa), and then SMASP was operated stably for long time (approximately 200 d).

Seroprevalence of hepatitis "B" in Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital (KMCTH).

A retrospective study conducted in patients attending Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital (KMCTH) Sinamangal Kathmandu over a nine months period from April 2001 to December 2001. The aim of present study is to assess the seroprevalence of viral Hepatitis B in patients attending KMCTH. A total of 200 patients blood were examined for the presence of Hepatitis B virus infection, out of that 5 (2.5%) were found to be positive for Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) tested by immuno-chromatographic method. All the positive cases were found to be male age between 21 to 80 years and most of them 3 (60%) are young and productive age group (21-40 years).