It was shown by means of current and voltage clamp measurements in combination with the intracellular perfusion method that the isolated motoneuron nerve cell bodies of the cockroach Periplaneta americana show overshoot action potentials. A regenerative Na current was found to be responsible for the excitability of these membranes; however, the results are not in agreement with a de novo synthe...

Analysis of electron autoradiographs from the nerve cord of the insect, Periplaneta americana (L.) shows a significant incorporation of 3H-labelled protein in the axons. The axonal activity is greatly reduced after treatment of the cord with the glial toxin ethidium bromide. This is interpreted as substantiating the possibility that adaxonal glia can transfer proteins to the axons.

We examined the diversity of a marker gene for homoacetogens in two cockroach gut microbial communities. Formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase (FTHFS or fhs) libraries prepared from a wood-feeding cockroach, Cryptocercus punctulatus, were dominated by sequences that affiliated with termite gut treponemes. No spirochete-like sequences were recovered from the omnivorous roach Periplaneta americana, w...

Since the incidence of cancer has been on the rise due to increasing exposure to various carcinogenic factors in recent years, cancer has gradually become the first killer to the health of human beings. A growing attention has been paid to anti-cancer effects of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with low toxicity and good efficacy. As a kind of TCM, Periplaneta americana (P. americana) has a g...

Blood and extracts of gut of the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana, powerfully stimulate contractions of the isolated rat uterus. The contractions are characterized by long latency and a prolonged relaxation phase having superimposed rhythmic contractions. Evidence indicates that the stimulating factor is not acetylcholine, 5-hydroxytryptamine, histamine, or substance P. The active fact...

Periplaneta americana were subjected to unilateral transection of the ventral nerve cord, and the levels of soluble and total proteins and total carbohydrates were determined 30 days postoperatively. Total proteins showed a decrease while soluble proteins and total carbohydrates showed an elevation. These changes were correlated with the generation of giant fibers in the ventral nerve cord.

Studies on the population and infestation rates of domestic cockroaches were conducted from September 1999 to October 2000 in 154 residences in 21 districts (dong) in Busan and 170 residences in 12 districts in Seoul, Republic of Korea, using sticky traps. Blattella germanica, Periplaneta americana and Periplaneta fuliginosa were collected from three different types of houses, apartments, singl...