The impact of lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.) and cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) pollination on honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colony health status.

Commercial lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.) and cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) crops benefit from the presence of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) for pollination. Unfortunately, beekeepers are observing negative impacts of pollination services on honey bee colonies. In this study, we investigated three beekeeping management strategies (MS) and measured their impact on honey bee colony health and development. Experimental groups (five colonies/MS) were: A) Control farmland honey producing MS (control MS); B) Blueberry pollination MS (blueberry MS); C) Cranberry pollination MS (cranberry MS) and D) Double pollination MS, blueberry followed by cranberry (double MS). Our goals were to 1) compare floral abundance and attractiveness of foraging areas to honey bees between apiaries using a Geographic Information System, and 2) compare honey bee colony health status and population development between MS during a complete beekeeping season. Our results show significantly lower floral abundance and honey bee attractiveness of foraging areas during cranberry pollination compared to the other environments. The blueberry pollination site seemed to significantly reduce brood population in the colonies who provided those services (blueberry MS and double MS). The cranberry pollination site seemed to significantly reduce colony weight gain (cranberry MS and double MS) and induce a significantly higher winter mortality rate (cranberry MS). We also measured significantly higher levels of Black queen cell virus and Sacbrood virus in the MS providing cranberry pollination (cranberry MS and double MS).

A New Fire Hazard for MR Imaging Systems: Blankets-Case Report.

In this report, a case of fire in a positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance (MR) imaging system due to blanket combustion is discussed. Manufacturing companies routinely use copper fibers for blanket fabrication, and these fibers may remain within the blanket hem. By folding a blanket with these copper fibers within an MR imaging system, one can create an electrical current loop with a major risk of local excessive heating, burn injury, and fire. This hazard applies to all MR imaging systems. Hybrid PET/MR imaging systems may be particularly vulnerable to this situation, because blankets are commonly used for fluorodeoxyglucose PET to maintain a normal body temperature and to avoid fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in brown adipose tissue. © RSNA, 2017.

Definition and Time Evolution of Correlations in Classical Statistical Mechanics.

The study of dense gases and liquids requires consideration of the interactions between the particles and the correlations created by these interactions. In this article, the N-variable distribution function which maximizes the Uncertainty (Shannon's information entropy) and admits as marginals a set of (N-1)-variable distribution functions, is, by definition, free of N-order correlations. This way to define correlations is valid for stochastic systems described by discrete variables or continuous variables, for equilibrium or non-equilibrium states and correlations of the different orders can be defined and measured. This allows building the grand-canonical expressions of the uncertainty valid for either a dilute gas system or a dense gas system. At equilibrium, for both kinds of systems, the uncertainty becomes identical to the expression of the thermodynamic entropy. Two interesting by-products are also provided by the method: (i) The Kirkwood superposition approximation (ii) A series of generalized superposition approximations. A theorem on the temporal evolution of the relevant uncertainty for molecular systems governed by two-body forces is proved and a conjecture closely related to this theorem sheds new light on the origin of the irreversibility of molecular systems. In this respect, the irreplaceable role played by the three-body interactions is highlighted.