• Title/Summary/Keyword: cockroaches

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Grouping DNA sequences with similarity measure and application

  • Lee, Sanghyuk
    • Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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    • v.4 no.3
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    • pp.35-41
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    • 2013
  • Grouping problem with similarities between DNA sequences are studied. The similaritymeasure and the distance measure showed the complementary characteristics. Distance measure can be obtained by complementing similarity measure, and vice versa. Similarity measure is derived and proved. Usefulness of the proposed similarity measure is applied to grouping problem of 25 cockroach DNA sequences. By calculation of DNA similarity, 25 cockroaches are clustered by four groups, and the results are compared with the previous neighbor-joining method.

Enzymatic Activities of Allergen Extracts from Three Species of Dust Mites and Cockroaches Commonly Found in Korean Home

  • Jeong, Kyoung-Yong;Kim, Chung-Ryul;Yong, Tai-Soon
    • Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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    • v.48 no.2
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    • pp.151-155
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    • 2010
  • Allergen extracts from dust mites and cockroaches commonly found in Korean homes were used to evaluate their enzymatic activity as they are believed to influence allergenicity. Allergen extracts were prepared from 3 dust mite species (Dermatophagoides farinae, D. pteronyssinus, and Tyrophagus putrescentiae) and 3 cockroach species (Blattella germanica, Periplaneta americana, and P. fuliginosa) maintained in the Korea National Arthropods of Medical Importance Resource Bank. Proteins were extracted in PBS after homogenization using liquid nitrogen. The activities of various enzymes were investigated using the API Zym system. No significant difference in phosphatase, lipase, or glycosidase activity was observed among the 6 allergen extracts, but much difference was observed in protease activity. Protease activity was assessed in more detail by gelatin zymography and the EnzChek assay. Extract from T. putrescentiae showed the highest protease activity, followed by those of the cockroach extracts. Extracts from D. farinae and D. pteronyssinus showed only weak protease activity. Gelatinolytic activity was detected mainly in a 30-kDa protein in D. farinae, a 28-kDa protein in D. pteronyssinus, a > 26-kDa protein in T. putrescentiae, a > 20-kDa protein in B. germanica, and a > 23-kDa protein in P. americana and P. fuliginosa. The information on various enzymatic activities obtained in this study may be useful for future studies. In particular, the strong protease activity found in cockroach extracts could contribute to sensitization to cockroach allergens, which is known to be associated with the development of asthma.

Morphological Variations of Male Genitalia in Northeast Asian Wood-eating Cockroaches, Cryptocercus spp. (Insecta: Blattodea)

  • Park, Yung-Chul;Kim, Joo-Pil;Choe, Jae-Chun
    • Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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    • v.22 no.1
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    • pp.23-27
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    • 2006
  • Subsocial woodroaches of Cryptocercus occur in high mountainous forests in temperate regions and they live in a family in complicated galleries of rotten logs. A prominent feature of the geographical distribution of Cryptocercus is the wide disjunction between the eastern and western species in North America, and between West China and Northeast Asia. Recently, five species of the genus were added from Asian areas and two of them are distributed in Northeast Asian areas. We examined morpho-anatomical structures of male genitalia in Manchurian and Korean Cryptocercus, focusing on male genital hooks and subgenital plates.

Insecticidal Effect of Cockroach Baits and their Persistent Efficacy Against the German Cockroach, Blattella germanica (바퀴 독먹이제의 살충 효과 및 지속성 검증)

  • Moon, KyungHwan;Kim, Namjin;Kim, Young Ho
    • Korean journal of applied entomology
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    • v.59 no.1
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    • pp.5-13
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    • 2020
  • Cockroaches are a not only nuisance insects but also have medical importance as they mechanically propagate various pathogens. To date, baits have been widely suggested for use in cockroach control. In this study, we investigated the insecticidal effects of three Korean baits-Korea Combat Ultra Slim (K-CUS), Korea Combat Power (K-CP), and Korea Zaps Dual Bait (K-ZDB)-and three US baits-US Combat Source Kill Max (US-CSKM), US Hot Shot MaxAttrax Roach Bait (US-HSM), and US Raid Double Control Small Roach Bait (US-RDC)-on the German cockroach (Blattella germanica). Among the six baits, three (K-CUS, K-CP, and US-CSKM), the main active ingredients of fipronil, showed rapid and strong insecticidal efficacy. In addition, we compared the persistence of the insecticidal effects of K-CUS and K-CP 6 months and 12 months after initial opening. Insecticidal effects of both baits decreased over time, but the mortality rates of cockroaches exposed to 6-month- and 12-month-aged baits were over 90%, suggesting that these baits can maintain their insecticidal effect for at least one year after indoor installation.

Effective Control in Managing German Cockroach, Blattella germanica (Orthoptera: Blatellidae) Using a Push-Pull Strategy (기피-유인을 이용한 바퀴의 효율적 방제)

  • Yang, Jeong-Oh;Kim, Sang-Woo;Noh, Doo-Jin;Yoon, Chang-Mann;Kang, Shin-Ho;Kim, Gil-Hah
    • The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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    • v.12 no.2
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    • pp.162-167
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    • 2008
  • To enhance the control efficacy against cockroaches in dwelling space, repellent ("Push") was set down on one comer and a poison bait including attractant ("Pull") was on the opposite side. And we tested the control efficacy of Push-Pull strategy by behavior-stimuli of cockroaches. In a mini-field test, German cockroach males primarily chose shelters nearest to the attractant-treated surfaces and farthest from the repellent-treated surfaces. The consumption of food or bait was also highest from food nearest to the preferred shelters by push-pull effect. We evaluated the push-pull insecticidal efficacies of five essential oils belong to Citrus plant, namely, grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange, and petitgrain. The combined push-pull treatments appeared to be faster and higher insecticidal effects than single (pull) treatment, and the repellent efficacy of Citrus oils was in the order of grapefruit > lemon > lime > orange > petitgrain. Therefore, we propose the effective control of the german cockroach using Citrus oils as repellents and push-pull method into a limited area.

The Biological Functionality of Electro-Galvanized Steels Coated with a Hybrid Composite Containing Pyrethroid

  • Jo, Du-Hwan;Kim, Myung-Soo;Kim, Jong-Sang;Oh, Hyun-Woo
    • Corrosion Science and Technology
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    • v.17 no.2
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    • pp.74-80
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    • 2018
  • The electronic industries require environmentally-friendly and highly functional materials to enhance the quality of human life. Home appliances require insect repellent steels that work to protect household microwave ovens from incurring damage by insects such as fire ants and cockroaches in tropical regions. Thus, POSCO has developed new types of functional steels, coated with an array of organic-inorganic hybrid composites on the steel surface, to cover panels in microwave ovens and refrigerators. The composite solution uses a fine dispersion of hybrid solution with polymeric resin, inorganic and a pyrethroid additive in aqueous media. The hybrid composite solution coats the steel surface, by using a roll coater and is cured using an induction curing furnace on both the continuous galvanizing line and the electro-galvanizing line. The new steels were evaluated for quality performances, salt spray test for corrosion resistance and biological performance for both insect repellent and antimicrobial activity. The new steels with organic-inorganic composite coating exhibit extraordinarily biological functionalities, for both insect repellent and antimicrobial activities for short and long term tests. The composite-coating solution and experimental results are discussed and suggest that the molecular level dispersion of insecticide on the coating layer is key to biological functional performances.

Studies about Housing Problems Perceived by Residents in Traditional Houses in Suzhou, China (중국 소주지역 민가 거주가가 지각한 주거문제에 관한 연구)

  • Cui, Erfei;Choi, Byungsook;Jiang, Lili
    • Journal of the Korean housing association
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    • v.25 no.6
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    • pp.11-18
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    • 2014
  • This study is to explore the housing problems and environment conditions perceived by residents in traditional houses in Suzhou, China. The empirical data is based on a questionnaire survey, which were from 100 residents in traditional area in Gusu area of Suzhou. In order to understand the traditional houses, on-the-spot investigation and literature review methods are adapted in this study. The main findings are as follows. Firstly, most of residents are middle-aged or older people, and their income is not high. Secondly, there are almost no cases of organizing independent workroom and storage room in their housing. Moreover, the main problems are mildew, theft, rats and cockroaches, etc. Finally, the satisfaction with the internal housing environment was appeared reasonable, but the external environment is unsatisfactory. Therefore, the external environment should be more considered in the Chinese traditional housing policy.

Analogs of Periplanetasin-4 Exhibit Deteriorated Membrane-Targeted Action

  • Lee, Heejeong;Hwang, Jae Sam;Lee, Dong Gun
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.30 no.3
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    • pp.382-390
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    • 2020
  • Periplanetasin-4 is an antimicrobial peptide with 13 amino acids identified in cockroaches. It has been reported to induce fungal cell death by apoptosis and membrane-targeted action. Analogs were designed by substituting arginine residues to modify the electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions accordingly and explore the effect of periplanetasin-4 through the increase of net charge and the decrease of hydrophobicity. The analogs showed lower activity than periplanetasin-4 against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Similar to periplanetasin-4, the analogs exhibited slight hemolytic activity against human erythrocytes. Membrane studies, including determination of changes in membrane potential and permeability, and fluidity assays, revealed that the analogs disrupt less membrane integrity compared to periplanetasin-4. Likewise, when the analogs were treated to the artificial membrane model, the passage of molecules bigger than FD4 was difficult. In conclusion, arginine substitution could not maintain the membrane disruption ability of periplanetasin-4. The results indicated that the attenuation of hydrophobic interactions with the plasma membrane caused a reduction in the accumulation of the analogs on the membrane before the formation of electrostatic interactions. Our findings will assist in the further development of antimicrobial peptides for clinical use.

Research on Consciousness for General Infectious Disease Prevention and Sterilization Mediated by Vermin (전염병의 매개체인 해충의 피해 예방 및 소독에 대한 의식 조사 연구 - 위생 관련 산업체 종사자와 일반업체 종사자를 대상으로 의식 차이 비교 분석 -)

  • Kim, Hae-Ja;Bae, Ci-Ae;Rha, Young-Ah
    • Culinary science and hospitality research
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    • v.12 no.2 s.29
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    • pp.151-167
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    • 2006
  • This study shows the differences among residents’ consciousness for general infectious disease and sterilization mediated by vermin. We categorized both industry-related people who work in restaurants, hygiene service shops, whole sales, government organizations, PC shops, factories, department stores and non-industry-related people who work in schools, general offices into two groups for this study. The discovery of vermin held 86% of total exam cases. The vermin included mosquitoes, cockroaches, ants, flies, and so on. People thought these vermin might mediate bacteria infection to human. 80.3% of persons thought mite might exist in blankets, beds and couches. Among 66.6% of total experience of vermin damage, the main damage came from mosquitoes. Frequently used methods of prevention from vermin damage were as follows: "spray of effective chemicals", "install traps" and " report to a prevention company" in order. It indicated that people did not take special actions to repel vermin in spite of their knowing seriousness of damage. Furthermore, just half cases were executed regular sanitization.

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Prevalence of arthropod antibodies in Korean patients with allergic rhinitis

  • Hwang, Kyu-Yoon;Park, Joon-Soo;Ahn, Hyun-Cheol;Nam, Hae-Seon
    • Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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    • v.39 no.2
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    • pp.197-199
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    • 2001
  • Arthropod antigens are main causative agents which induce allergic reponses in humans. However. little information is known about the prevalence of specific arthropod allergens in Koreans with allergic diseases. The current study was designed to determine the positive rates of arthropod antibodies by the Korean inhalant panel of MAST-CLA. One hundred sixty patients, who were diagnosed with allergic rhinitis from an out-patient center at the Soonchunhyang University Chunan Hospital, were studied between August 1998 to July 2000. The overall positive rate, at least more than one specific antibody of arthropods such as Dermatophagoides farinae (Df), Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dp), and cockroach mix (Cm) , was 46.9%. Each positive rate of Df, Dp, and Cm was 45.0%, 43.1%, and 8.8%, respectively. A significant agreement among arthropod allergens was observed (Df and Dp: 95.6%, Kappa : 0.911, P < 0.001). Our data supported the fact that arthropods were the most common allergens in Korean patients with allergic rhinitis; however, the MAST-CLA should be modified to increase specificity of arthropod allergens .

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