Effects of Desiccation, Water-Stress and Decapitation on Integumentary Water Loss in the Cockroach, Periplaneta Americana

1987 ◽  
Vol 131 (1) ◽  
pp. 289-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN NOBLE-NESBITT ◽  
MARWAN AL-SHUKUR

Cockroaches decapitated in a fully hydrated state at first lose water under desiccation much more rapidly than their intact counterparts. The rate of loss decreases with time of desiccation; this decrease is more marked in decapitated than in intact cockroaches. The initial rate of water loss is lower and less variable in predesiccated cockroaches and continues to fall gradually during further desiccation. Decapitation of predesiccated cockroaches has little effect on the rate of water loss. Similarly, the rate of water loss is low with low variability in water-stressed cockroaches taken from dry culture conditions, and decapitation has no significant effect. The lowering of the rate of water loss is not a simple response to lowering of the body water content, but is a two-stage, time-related physiological response of acclimatization to water-stress or desiccation. The initial phase of rapid response requires the presence of the head, whereas the subsequent gradual phase does not. With the techniques used in this investigation, handling-related effects of the decapitation procedure are not significant. Note: Present address: Department of Biology, College of Education, University of Baghdad, Iraq.

1977 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 363 ◽  
Author(s):  
RK Gupta

Relative water content and photosynthesis were measured after treating two liverworts, the highly drought-resistant Porella platyphylla (L.) Lindb, and the non-resistant Scapania undulata (L.) Dum., at 96.5% RH for various periods., In both species the variation in the relative water content during water stress followed the same pattern, dropping steadily up to 50 hr and then remaining unchanged. Photosynthesis reached a peak during the initial phase of water loss and decreased steadily with further water loss in both species. The maximum photosynthesis occurred after 2 hr of desiccation in Porella and after 6 hr in Scapania.


1965 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 719-724 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E. Greenleaf ◽  
Frederick Sargent

The effects singly and in combination of heat, exercise, and hypohydration upon voluntary dehydration were studied in four acclimated, physically fit, young men. Voluntary dehydration is the delay in complete rehydration following water loss. Hypohydration refers to the state of decreased water content while the osmotic concentration of the body is maintained. Ad libitum drinking during the heat experiments was 146% greater than it was in the cool experiments. Hypohydration increased drinking 109% over the corresponding hydration experiment, exercise increased water intake 41% over resting. Hypohydration and exercise were less effective than heat in stimulating drinking. During the 4-hr experimental periods, the subjects did not or could not drink enough to compensate for the water lost. Regardless of the magnitude of the water deficit at the beginning of the recovery periods, the rates of rehydration were the same. The more stressful the experiment, the greater the water consumption and, in general, the longer it took to regain the lost water. water balance; heat; exercise; drinking; hypohydration Submitted on September 8, 1964


1986 ◽  
Vol 121 (1) ◽  
pp. 339-348
Author(s):  
J. MACHIN ◽  
M. J. O'DONNELL ◽  
P. KESTLER

The effect of decapitation on water loss from adult male cockroaches was studied in order to re-examine the possibility of hormonal modulation of integumental permeability. We found no effect of decapitation on the permeability or water content in measurements made on the pronotum. Although overall weight losses of the decapitated animals always exceeded those of intact animals, loss rates and their rate of decline depended on the apparent severity of handling. There was a small but significant difference between the controls and all decapitated and sham-operated animals, and this difference persisted for at least 96 h. We attribute these results principally to the differential effects of cuticle damage, though increased respiratory water loss may also be a factor. Our results draw attention to the complex practical problems involved in obtaining accurate, representative cuticle permeabilities for Periplaneta, and form a basis for questioning the notion of inhibition of cuticular water loss by hormones from the head.


2017 ◽  
Vol 96 (8) ◽  
pp. 917-923 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Aguayo ◽  
H. Marshall ◽  
J. Pratten ◽  
D. Bradshaw ◽  
J.S. Brown ◽  
...  

Denture-associated stomatitis is a common candidal infection that may give rise to painful oral symptoms, as well as be a reservoir for infection at other sites of the body. As poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) remains the main material employed in the fabrication of dentures, the aim of this research was to evaluate the adhesion of Candida albicans cells onto PMMA surfaces by employing an atomic force microscopy (AFM) single-cell force spectroscopy (SCFS) technique. For experiments, tipless AFM cantilevers were functionalized with PMMA microspheres and probed against C. albicans cells immobilized onto biopolymer-coated substrates. Both a laboratory strain and a clinical isolate of C. albicans were used for SCFS experiments. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and AFM imaging of C. albicans confirmed the polymorphic behavior of both strains, which was dependent on growth culture conditions. AFM force-spectroscopy results showed that the adhesion of C. albicans to PMMA is morphology dependent, as hyphal tubes had increased adhesion compared with yeast cells ( P < 0.05). C. albicans budding mother cells were found to be nonadherent, which contrasts with the increased adhesion observed in the tube region. Comparison between strains demonstrated increased adhesion forces for a clinical isolate compared with the lab strain. The clinical isolate also had increased survival in blood and reduced sensitivity to complement opsonization, providing additional evidence of strain-dependent differences in Candida-host interactions that may affect virulence. In conclusion, PMMA-modified AFM probes have shown to be a reliable technique to characterize the adhesion of C. albicans to acrylic surfaces.


1951 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 399-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Pradhan ◽  
S. C. Bhatia

The relationship was studied between susceptibility of a number of different species of insects to HCN fumigation and the recovery of HCN from them immediately after fumigation.The test insects used were Tribolium castaneum, seventh stage caterpillars of Corcyra cephalonica, first-and second-instar nymphs of Drosicha sp., third-and fourthinstar nymphs of Drosicha sp. and adult females of Drosicha sp.The apparatus and methods used in the fumigation and in the recovery of HCN from the fumigated insects are fully described.Preliminary expsriments showed that the processes of distillation and redistillation did not affect the recovery of HCN but that the result obtained for recovery from distillation could be affected if some volatile reducing substance were produced and carried over to the distillate. It was found that this did actually take place in the case of one of the test insects—T. castaneum—but that redistillation got rid of the impurity.In the main experiments it was shown that, on the assumption that the concentration of HCN to which insects are exposed is the effective dosage, the susceptibility of the test insects varied in the following descending order : firstand second-stage nymphs of Drosicha sp. > third- and fourth-stage nymphs of Drosicha sp.>C. cephalonica> T. castaneum>the adult females of Drosicha sp.When the same insects were arranged in descending order of the quantities of HCN recovered per 100 gm. of body weight, the order was identical except for the nymphs of Drosicha sp. which occupied a different relative position. The two categories of nymphs of Drosicha sp. were found to occupy a different relative position again with regard to the other three test insects when exposed to a superlethal concentration and assessed for recovery of HCN per 100 gr. body weight.Parallel batches of T. castaneum and C. cephalonica were fumigated and the HCN was recovered from the dead and survivors. More HCN was recovered from the dead insects than from those that survived.Both recovery and sorption of HCN were estimated separately in parallel batches of insects (adult females of Drosicha sp. and C. cephalonica). Recovery was found to be less than sorption showing that a part of the HCN absorbed is converted into a non-recoverable state. Further, that the weight of HCN sorbed per gram body weight of adult females of Drosicha sp. is much less than in the case of C. cephalonica under similar conditions of fumigation and that the amount of HCN converted into non-recoverable products is less in Drosicha adults than in C. cephalonica.A comparison of the water content of T. castaneum, C. cephalonica and Drosicha sp. (adults) showed that there was a positive correlation between water content and higher susceptibility to HCN and greater recovery of HCN was also indicated. It is suggested that this may be a factor in the “ Surface Resistance ” of an insec to a fumigant.The observations of previous workers that larger amounts are sorbed by or recovered (after fumigation) from more susceptible species than for those less susceptible was corroborated by the results obtained with C. cephalonica, T. castaneum and adult females of Drosicha sp. but not with those from nymphs of Drosicha sp.When dosage-mortality graphs were prepared by taking the amount of HCN recovered per gram body weight as an index of internal dose, the order of resistance of different test insects based on this new criterion was found to be entirely different from that based on the usual criterion of the concentration of HCN in the fumatorium being the index of effective dosage.These apparently anomalous observations may be explained by assuming that the resistance shown by an insect in an actual fumigation operation, i.e., to the concentration of HCN to which it is exposed (external dose) is what may be called the total “ Effective Resistance ” and that this “ Effective Resistance ” is the resultant of (a) “ Surface Resistance ” to the entry of fumigant and (b) “ Internal Resistance ” to the amount of HCN which actually gains entry into the body in some way or other. Thus the “Effective Resistance ” of an insect may be due to a combination either of low “ Surface Resistance ” and high “ Internal Resistance ”, giving a very low “ Effective Resistance ” as in the case of C. cephalonica, or vice versa giving the maximum “ Effective Resistance ” as in adult females of Drosicha sp. The lower recovery of HCN from the nymphs of Drosicha sp., although they were more susceptible to fumigation than C. cephalonica, is explained by their higher “ Surface Resistance ” combined with a very much lower “ Internal Resistance ”, leading to a lower “ Effective Resistance ”.


2013 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 407-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. SAMPATHKUMAR ◽  
B. J. PANDIAN ◽  
P. JEYAKUMAR ◽  
P. MANICKASUNDARAM

SUMMARYWater stress induces some physiological changes in plants and has cumulative effects on crop growth and yield. Field experiments were conducted to study the effect of deficit irrigation (DI) on yield and some physiological parameters in cotton and maize in a sequential cropping system. Creation of soil moisture gradient is indispensable to explore the beneficial effects of partial root zone drying (PRD) irrigation and it could be possible only through alternate deficit irrigation (ADI) practice in paired row system of drip layout that is commonly practiced in India. In the present study, PRD and DI concepts (creation of soil moisture gradient) were implemented through ADI at two levels of irrigation using drip system. Maize was sown after cotton under no till condition without disturbing the raised bed and drip layout. Relative leaf water content (RLWC) and chlorophyll stability index (CSI) of cotton and maize were reduced under water stress. A higher level of leaf proline content was observed under severe water-stressed treatments in cotton and maize. RLWC and CSI were highest and leaf proline content was lowest in mild water deficit (ADI at 100% crop evapotranspiration once in three days) irrigation in cotton and maize. The same treatments registered higher values for crop yields, net income and benefit cost ratio for both the crops.


Author(s):  
MUHAMMAD ASLAM ALI ◽  
SANJIT CHANDRA BARMAN ◽  
MD. ASHRAFUL ISLAM KHAN ◽  
MD. BADIUZZAMAN KHAN ◽  
HAFSA JAHAN HIYA

Climate change and water scarcity may badly affect existing rice production system in Bangladesh. With a view to sustain rice productivity and mitigate yield scaled CH4 emission in the changing climatic conditions, a pot experiment was conducted under different soil water contents, biochar and silicate amendments with inorganic fertilization (NPKS). In this regard, 12 treatments combinations of biochar, silicate and NPKS fertilizer along with continuous standing water (CSW), soil saturation water content and field capacity (100% and 50%) moisture levels were arranged into rice planted potted soils. Gas samples were collected from rice planted pots through Closed Chamber technique and analyzed by Gas Chromatograph. This study revealed that seasonal CH4 emissions were suppressed through integrated biochar and silicate amendments with NPKS fertilizer (50–75% of the recommended doze), while increased rice yield significantly at different soil water contents. Biochar and silicate amendments with NPKS fertilizer (50% of the recommended doze) increased rice grain yield by 10.9%, 18.1%, 13.0% and 14.2%, while decreased seasonal CH4 emissions by 22.8%, 20.9%, 23.3% and 24.3% at continuous standing water level (CSW) (T9), at saturated soil water content (T10), at 100% field capacity soil water content (T11) and at 50% field capacity soil water content (T12), respectively. Soil porosity, soil redox status, SOC and free iron oxide contents were improved with biochar and silicate amendments. Furthermore, rice root oxidation activity (ROA) was found more dominant in water stress condition compared to flooded and saturated soil water contents, which ultimately reduced seasonal CH4 emissions as well as yield scaled CH4 emission. Conclusively, soil amendments with biochar and silicate fertilizer may be a rational practice to reduce the demand for inorganic fertilization and mitigate CH4 emissions during rice cultivation under water stress drought conditions.


1977 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-66
Author(s):  
LOIS E. TUCKER

Changes in live weight and in the water, Na+ and K+ content of the tissues and faeces have been examined in adult male Periplaneta americana in various states of hydration. During dehydration the haemolymph volume decreases markedly, but the Na+ and K+ concentrations rise only slightly. Less than 25% of the Na+ removed from the haemolymph during dehydration was found to be excreted, but the K+ excreted during dehydration was in excess of that removed from the haemolymph alone. It seems likely that the major tissue for regulating the haemolymph Na+ during dehydration and rehydration is the fat body, in which dehydration causes an increase, and rehydration a decrease, in the Na:K ratio. The Na+ and K+ content of the fat body was found to be variable in both hydrated and dehydrated animals and absolute changes in the ion content of the tissue could not be estimated because of unknown changes in the amount of food reserves and excretory products.


1991 ◽  
Vol 161 (1) ◽  
pp. 439-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. MACHIN ◽  
P. KESTLER ◽  
G. J. LAMPERT

Spiracular and cutaneous water loss through the cuticle and spiracles of Periplaneta americana was measured in animals of differing initial water contents under controlled temperature, humidity and airflow conditions, by continuous weighing (resolution ±10μg). Stable water loss rates (2.09×10−8 to 3.47×10−8gh−1cm−2Pa−1) were as much as an order of magnitude less than those reported in earlier studies employing intermittent weighing techniques. We suggest that increased water loss caused by substantial increases in ventilatory water loss during the episodic disturbances required by intermittent weighing is the principal contributor to this discrepancy. Water losses, as well as the interval between spiracular ventilations, decreased with water content. However, greater variation was primarily due to interruptions of the regular cyclic pattern of ventilation by highly variable, activity-related bouts of increased ventilatory loss. Variations in water loss appear to be too large and too rapid to be convincingly explained in terms of cuticular conductance. Our results suggest that previous experiments using 5% CO2 anaesthesia, linking changes in total water loss to the conducting properties of the cuticle, were not valid. There seems to be no adaptive value for the proposed voluntary increases in cuticular permeability in an animal where ventilatory water losses can be so high.


1999 ◽  
Vol 202 (8) ◽  
pp. 957-964 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Weisel-Eichler ◽  
G. Haspel ◽  
F. Libersat

The parasitoid wasp Ampulex compressa hunts cockroaches Periplaneta americana, stinging them first in the thorax and then in the head, the sting penetrating towards the subesophageal ganglion. After being stung the cockroach grooms almost continuously for approximately 30 min, performing all the normal components of grooming behavior. This excessive grooming is only seen after the head sting and cannot be attributed to stress, to contamination of the body surface or to systemic or peripheral effects. This suggests that the venom is activating a neural network for grooming. We suggest that the venom induces prolonged grooming by stimulating dopamine receptors in the cockroach, for the following reasons. (1) Reserpine, which causes massive release of monoamines, induces excessive grooming. (2) Dopamine injected into the hemocoel also induces excessive grooming and is significantly more effective than octopamine or serotonin. In addition, the dopamine agonist SKF 82958 induces excessive grooming when injected directly into the subesophageal ganglion. (3) Injection of the dopamine antagonist flupenthixol greatly reduces venom-induced grooming. (4) Dopamine, or a dopamine-like substance, is present in the venom.


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