BACKGROUND Cockroaches have been recognized as a powerful indoor allergen. Cockroach allergy can be a major factor in serious asthma and nasal allergy. Bioinformatics tools have been developed to identify potential allergens. The present study was conducted to identify potential allergens in Periplaneta americana (Linnaeus). METHODS The study focused on the identification of potential allerge...

Determining the location of a particular stimulus is often crucial to an animal’s survival. One way to determine the local distribution of an odor is to make simultaneous comparisons acrossmultiple sensors. If the sensors detect differences in the distribution of an odor in space, the animal can then steer toward the source. American cockroaches, Periplaneta americana, have 4 cm long antennae a...

Many insects possess two or three dorsal ocelli in addition to the paired compound eyes. The dorsal ocellus is characterized by a high convergent ratio of many retinular axons upon several thick second-order neurones in the posterior region of the ocellus. The thick second-order neurones extend towards the brain as an ocellar nerve together with other thin processes, and their central projectio...

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...

The German cockroach, Blattella germanica, is a major structural pest, and cockroach allergens have been linked to the development and exacerbation of allergic disease and asthma in cockroach sensitive individuals. The inner-city residential environment often supports large cockroach infestations, which expose residents to high levels of allergens. This review summarizes information on the publ...

background : cockroaches are of vital importance medically and hygienically. they are able to contaminate foods and act as vectors of pathogenic agents such as bacteria, protozoa, and parasites to human environment either mechanically or through their digestive system. cockroaches belong to the phylum arthropoda, class insecta, and order blattodea or blattaria. to date, over 4,500 cockroach spe...

background: baits have become popular and effective formulations against urban insect pests. compared with re­sidual sprays toxic gel baits are used more and more frequently to control urban cockroach populations. the aim of this study was to investigate the usage of two commercially available fipronil and imidacloprid gel bait formulations against blattella germanica field infested in iran. me...

Field studies were conducted to compare the performance of Goliath® Cockroach Gel (fipronil) and a spray treatment of Cislin Residual Insecticide (deltamethrin). These were carried out in Sydney, NSW, Australia against Blattella germanica (L), and Townsville, Queensland, against a mixed population of Periplaneta americana (L.) and Periplaneta australasiae (L). In both studies fipronil (0.05% AI...

background: asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood. exposure to allergens plays an important role in asthma. recently, cockroach has attracted attentions as an important allergen.   objective: to evaluate cockroach allergy in iranian children with asthma.   methods: 100 children with asthma were studied. after determination of asthma severity, serum total ige and blood eosinophi...

Insect gut microbes have been shown to provide nutrients such as essential amino acids (EAAs) to their hosts. How this symbiotic nutrient provisioning tracks with the host's demand is not well understood. In this study, we investigated microbial essential amino acid (EAA) provisioning in omnivorous American cockroaches (Periplaneta americana), fed low-quality (LQD) and comparatively higher-qual...