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Keeping honeybees healthy is essential, as bees are not only important for honey production but also cross-pollination of agricultural and horticultural crops; therefore, bees have a significant economic impact worldwide. Recently, the lethal disease, the American foulbrood (AFB), caused great losses of honeybee and decline of global apiculture. Recent studies have focused on using natural insect-derived antibiotics to overcome recently emerged AFB-resistance to conventional antibiotics. In support of these studies, here we investigate the possibility of producing bee-derived anti-AFB antibiotics from an indigenous honeybee, Apis mellifera jemenitica. The immune responses of the third instar stage were first induced against the standards Micrococcus luteus and Escherichia coli compared with the indigenous Paenibacillus larvae (ksuPL5). Data indicated a strong immune response against M. luteus , E. coli and P. larvae 24 h post- P. larvae- injection as revealed by the detection of lysozyme-like, cecropin-like and prophenoloxidase (PO) activities in the plasma of P. larvae- injected third instars. Nodulation activity against injected P. larvae as early as 4 h and peaking 48 h post- P. larvae injection were observed. Potentially active anti- P. larvae immune peptide fractions purified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) showed significant in vivo therapeutic effects on P. larvae- infected first instars. Mass spectrophotometric analysis and Orbitrap measurements of P. larvae- injected plasma indicated the expression of PO (Mr: 80 kDa), beta-1,3-glucan-binding protein (Mr: 52 kDa) and serine protease 44 isoform X1 (Mr: 46 kDa). This suggests that one or all of these immune peptides contribute to significant survivorship of P. larvae -infected broods, and could be a valuable clue in the search for honeybee-derived anti-AFB natural therapeutic agents. Further molecular characterization and description of the functional roles of these predicted antimicrobial peptides from both broods and adult honeybee may enrich the arsenal of insect-derived antibiotics of therapeutic purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A retrospective study was carried out on 125 homicide victims autopsied from 2006 to 2010 at the Forensic Medicine Center in Dammam Saudi Arabia. Dammam is the largest city in the Eastern Province in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). It is a thriving modern economic hub and hosts the largest oil company in the world. The Forensic Medicine Center in Dammam covers most of the cities in this province, which has a population of around two million. The aim of this study is to provide a database representing injury mortality in Dammam and to establish a system that will record information about homicidal deaths, identify new trends and give priority to violence prevention. Of these cases, 104 (83.2%) were males and 21 (16.8%) were females, and in 97 cases (77.6%) the victims were between the ages of 21 and 50years. Local Saudi nationals comprised the maximum proportion of victims (46.4%), followed by Indian (22.6%) and Bangladeshi (19.8%). Most of the homicides occurred during daytime (80.1%), and summer was the most common season among the homicides. Among this sample, the most common type of injury was caused by blunt force (35.2%), followed by sharp force (34.4%), and firearms (25.6%). Injuries were inflicted to the chest in 29.6% of cases and to the head in 26.4% of cases. Most of the cases (98.3%) were caused by a single offender, whereas multiple offenders were accused in the remainder. Only in 31% of cases was the victim hospitalized. Postmortem blood alcohol was found in 8%, amphetamine in 3%, and opiates in 2.1% of the victims. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Nanocomposite of graphene oxide/hydroxyapatite/cellulose has been facilely prepared. • The prepared graphene oxide/hydroxyapatite/cellulose nanocomposite was immobilized with silver nanoparticles. • Structural and vibrational studies confirm the composite. • SEM study reveal the nanocomposite formation. • A robust biological activity has been carried out using 3 different organisms. In this study, an anti-bacterial hybrid graphene oxide/hydroxyapatite /cellulose composite membrane containing silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was prepared and characterized by FT-IR, Raman spectroscopy, XRD, and SEM. The incorporation of GO (graphene oxide) into HAp (hydroxyapatite) created a functional group that facilitated the deposition of AgNPs. GO improved the deposition of AgNPs on cellulose fibers and prevented leaching of Ag ions resulting in effective antimicrobial activity. The synthesized composite membrane demonstrated strong antibacterial activity against gram-positive (S. aureus) and gram-negative (E. coli and C. albicans) bacteria. The synthesized nanocomposite will be highly applicable as antibacterial agent against the studied bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]