AIMS To evaluate the relationship between the genomospecies, phenotypic profile and pathogenicity for carp of 37 motile Aeromonas strains. METHODS AND RESULTS Aeromonas strains were identified to genomospecies level by the 16S rDNA restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method and characterized phenotypically by the API 20E and API Zym systems and by conventional tube or plate method...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to determine the occurrence and antimicrobial profile of AmpC β-lactamase producing bacteria. METHODS The study was conducted at The Children's Hospital and The Institute of Child Health Lahore, Pakistan, during September 2011 to June 2012. A total number of 1,914 blood samples of suspected neonatal septicemia were processed. Isolates were identified ...

Successful insect development is achieved via appropriate fluctuation of ecdysteroid levels. When an insect's ecdysteroid level is disrupted, physiological and developmental defects occur. In the pupa of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, the rectal sac is an essential organ that operates as a repository for degraded ecdysteroids, and it can be distended by administration of 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E). O...

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) transmit extracellular signals across the cell membrane. GPCR kinases (GRKs) desensitize GPCR signals in the cell membrane. However, the role and mechanism of GRKs in the desensitization of steroid hormone signaling are unclear. In this study, we propose that GRK2 is phosphorylated by protein kinase C (PKC) in response to induction by the steroid hormone 20-h...

We studied the effects of the molting hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) on leg sensory-motor networks of the red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii. The hormone was injected in isolated crayfish and network activity was analyzed 3 days after injection using electrophysiology on an in vitro preparation of the leg locomotor network. This 20E treatment deeply reduced motor activity, by affecting b...

The insect hormone 20-hydroxy-ecdysone (20E) peaks at different stages during the life cycle. The hormone signal is commonly transmitted by a nuclear receptor consisting of the ecdysone receptor (EcR) and Ultraspiracle (Usp, orthologous to vertebrate RXR). EcR:Usp then initiate the expression of a series of gene regulators that help mediate biological responses to the hormone. Here, we investig...

Olfactory information mediating sexual behavior is crucial for reproduction in many animals, including insects. In male moths, the macroglomerular complex (MGC) of the primary olfactory center, the antennal lobe (AL) is specialized in the treatment of information on the female-emitted sex pheromone. Evidence is accumulating that modulation of behavioral pheromone responses occurs through neuron...

Reproducibility of capsular serotypes of 55 consecutive clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae was evaluated by an indirect immunofluorescent-antibody technique previously described by Riser et al. (J. Clin. Pathol. 29: 296-304, 1976) Five colonies per specimen were examined for colony-to-colony variation, day-to-day variation, and reader-to-reader variation. Seventy-two reference strains w...