The motor outputs of the isolated opisthosomal ventral nerve cord in Limulus polyphemus are modulated by light. We have identified the photosensitive neurons and examined their physiological and morphological properties using intracellular recording and staining techniques. We found that photosensitive neurons are present in each ganglion of the opisthosomal ventral nerve cord. These neurons of...

The aim of this study was to develop an in vitro test system for pyrogenic substances. Three clones derived from human monocytoid cell lines, which were selected by their high sensitivity to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), were assessed for tumor necrosis factor (TNF) production. Their response to pyrogen-containing samples was compared with that in a Limulus amoebocyte lysate assay and the rabbit py...

Moraxella (Branhamella) catarrhalis is an important cause of otitis media and sinusitis in children and of lower respiratory tract infections in adults. Lipooligosaccharide (LOS) is a major surface antigen of the bacterium and elicits bactericidal antibodies. Treatment of the LOS from strain ATCC 25238 with anhydrous hydrazine reduced its toxicity 20,000-fold, as assayed in the Limulus amebocyt...

Numerous complete mitochondrial DNA sequences have been determined for species within two arthropod groups, insects and crustaceans, but there are none for a third, the chelicerates. Most mitochondrial gene arrangements reported for crustaceans and insect species are identical or nearly identical to that of Drosophila yakuba. Sequences across 36 of the gene boundaries in the mitochondrial DNA (...

Objectives: Endotoxin (ET) is a structural molecule of the Gram-negative bacilli extracellular membrance, which activates targeted cells including macrophages and neutrophils, and causes septic shock. But it is known that the conventional ET measurement method has many problems; for example, a discrepancy between plasma ET concentration and clinical manifestration in the septic patients has bee...

Legionella pneumophila (L. pneumophila) is the causative agent of Legionnaires’ disease and Pontiac fever, collectively known as legionellosis. L. infection occurs through inhalation contaminated aerosols from water systems in workplaces institutions. The development disinfectants that can eliminate such without evacuating people needed to prevent spread pneumophila. Photocatalysts are attracti...

Each spring adult horseshoe crabs migrate from deep bay waters and the Atlantic continental shelf to intertidal sandy beaches to spawn. Horseshoe crabs are an important food source for migrating shorebirds that feed on the eggs, for migrating fish that feed on the eggs and larvae and for Atlantic loggerhead turtles that feed on horseshoe crabs while using the Chesapeake Bay as a summer nursery ...

A pilot study was conducted to determine the feasibility of using the Limulus endotoxin assay to detect endotoxins in potable waters and from reclaimed advanced waste treatment (AWT) plant effluents. Water samples were tested using both Limulus lysates prepared in our laboratory and a commercial product, Difco Pyrotest. The Limulus assay procedure was easily adapted to the testing of water samp...

Wood processing is usually performed in environments with large amounts of endotoxin-rich bioaerosols that are associated with a variety of health effects. The aim of this preliminary study was to assess the relation between endotoxin levels in settled and airborne dust in wood-processing industry. Ten pairs of airborne and settled dust samples were collected in a sawmill and parquet manufactur...