with respect to the physical and mechanical limited qualities of bitumen, it benefits from certain specificability in application and its life service. polymers as the most important modifiers of bitumen are applied to it in order to improve its functional efficiency. among various polymers, styrene-butadiene- styrene (sbs) is the best modifier of the bitumen. in this work, sbs polymer as one o...

Monodontomerus aeneus (Fonscolombe) is a parasitic wasp that oviposits on the prepupae and pupae of Osmia cornuta (Latreille) and other solitary bee species. A two-armed olfactometer was used to test the olfactory attractiveness of O. cornuta prepupae, cocoon, and larval frass to female M. aeneus. Both cocoon and frass attracted the female parasitoids, but frass alone was more attractive than t...

BACKGROUND Cockroach exposure is a major risk factor for the development of asthma. Inhalation of fecal remnants (frass) is the likely sensitizing agent; however isolated frass has not been tested for its ability to induce experimental asthma in mice. METHODS Mice (Balb/c or C57Bl/6) were sensitized and challenged with GC frass or GC frass devoid of proteases and measurements of airway inflam...

Allergen exposure can induce an early innate immune response; however, the mechanism by which this occurs has not been addressed. In this report, we demonstrate a role for the active serine proteases in German cockroach (GC) feces (frass) and protease-activated receptor (PAR)-2 in modulating the innate immune response. A single exposure of GC frass induced inflammatory cytokine production and c...

BACKGROUND Allergic asthma is on the rise in developed countries. A common characteristic of allergens is that they contain intrinsic protease activity, and many have been shown to activate protease-activated receptor (PAR)-2 in vitro. The role for PAR-2 in mediating allergic airway inflammation has not been assessed using a real world allergen. METHODS Mice (wild type or PAR-2-deficient) wer...

Concentrations of 22 elements in pinewood were compared with that in frass produced by insects representing the following taxa: Reticulitermes spp. (Rhinotermitidae), Zootermopsis nevadensis (Termopsidae), Incisitermes snyderi (Kalotermitidae), Hylotrupes spp. (Cerambycidae), Heterobostrychus spp. (Bostrichidae), Lyctus spp. (Bostrichidae), and representatives of the family Ptinidae (formerly A...

In most terrestrial ecosystems, nitrogen (N) is the most limiting nutrient for plant growth. Honey bees may help alleviate this limitation because their feces (frass) have high concentration of organic nitrogen that may decompose in soil and provide inorganic N to plants. However, information on soil N processes associated with bee frass is not available. The objectives of this work were to 1) ...

BACKGROUND A common characteristic of allergens is that they contain proteases that can activate protease-activated receptor (PAR-2); however the mechanism by which PAR-2 regulates allergic airway inflammation is unclear. METHODS Mice (wild type and PAR-2-deficient) were sensitized using German cockroach (GC) feces (frass), the isolated protease from GC frass, or through adoptive transfer of ...