The ecosystem significance of crayfishes (Orconectes nais (Faxon) and O. neglectus (Faxon)) and central stoneroller minnows (Campostoma anomalum (Rafinesque)), was examined in a tallgrass prairie stream by estimating the trophic basis of production and consumption for each species. Annual ash-free dry mass production and production to biomass ratios of C. anomalum (260 mg m22 y21, 1.3) were low...

OBJECTIVES To examine the effect of neuraminidase (NA) mutations on the NA inhibitor (NAI) resistance phenotype, the recombinant influenza A/Chungbuk/4448/2008(H1N1) virus isolated in South Korea during the 2008-2009 season was generated by reverse genetics. METHODS Site-directed mutagenesis was introduced on the NA gene of A/Chungbuk/4448/2008(H1N1) virus, and a total of 23 single, double, a...

Genotoxicity of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), etoposide (ET) and cadmium chloride (CdCl2) was evaluated in Limnodrilus udekemianus, cosmopolitan tubificid species, by alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay). Groups of 50 individuals were exposed in vivo in water-only short-term (96 h) tests to 5-FU (0.004, 0.04, 0.4, 4 and 40 μM), ET (0.004. 0.04, 0.4 and 4 μM) and CdCl2 (0.004, 0.04, 0...

BACKGROUND Many nations maintain stockpiles of neuraminidase inhibitor (NAI) antiviral agents for use in influenza pandemics to reduce transmission and mitigate the course of clinical infection. Pandemic preparedness plans include the use of these stockpiles to deliver proportionate responses, informed by emerging evidence of clinical impact. Recent uncertainty about the effectiveness of NAIs h...

The genus Zygocystis Stein 1848 comprises acepha line gregarines with pyriform gamonts, always found in frontal syzygy, and navicular oocysts. Levine (1988) listed 14 species in this genus and 3 more species have been added since (Segun, 1978; Pradhan and Dasgupta, 1983, Bandyopadhyay and Mitra, 2004). Two of them, Zygocystis indicus Pradhan and Dasgupta 1983 and Z. levinei Bandyopadhyay and Mi...

ALMOST ALL LUMBRICID EARTHWORMS (OLIGOCHAETA Lumbricidae) harbor extracellular species-specific bacterial symbionts of the genus Verminephrobacter (Betaproteobacteria) in their nephridia. The symbionts have a beneficial effect on host reproduction and likely live on their host's waste products. They are vertically transmitted and presumably associated with earthworms already at the origin of Lu...

TO THE EDITOR—We appreciate Dr Kadhiravan's comments [1], which reflect the current debate on the efficacy of the neuraminidase inhibitor (NAI) antiviral drugs in the context of limited data from randomized controlled trials, including no trials conducted among hospitalized adults. We reviewed records of adults requiring intensive care for influenza A(H1N1) pdm09 illness during a period when al...

The tropical earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus (Rhinodrilidae, Oligochaeta) presents a broad distribution (e.g., 56 countries from four continents). It is generally assumed that temperature appears to limit the success of tropical exotic species in temperate climates. However, the distribution range of this species could advance towards higher elevations (with lower temperatures) where no tropi...

Lake Hazar is an alkaline oligotrophic lake of tectonic origin, located in the Eastern Anatolia region in Turkey, 1248 a a.s.l. Its surface area is 80 km2, the average depth 93 m and maximum depth 205 m. The lake and its surroundings an under protection as a region of historical value. During the present study (2007-2012), samples were taken from 15 stations located at a depth of 2-200 m. Oligo...

Species of oligochaetes inhabiting other freshwater animals have been cited by Brinkhurst & Jamieson, 1980; Righi, 1984; Brinkhurst & Marchese, 1991. However, there are few published studies about the Brazilian species (Righi, 1984). Here, we report oligochaeta species inhabiting freshwater sponges, as well as on bryozoans and hydrozoans from some Brazilian aquatic ecosystems. The material was ...