Alkaline phosphatase activity in the brain of the American cockroach Periplaneta americana L.

The supra- and suboesophageal ganglia of the American cockroach contain material which catalyses the alkaline hydrolysis (pH 9.5) of 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl phosphate in the presence of Nitro blue tetrazolium. Histochemical studies on unfixed cryostat sections indicate that this type of alkaline phosphatase is restricted to discrete regions in the cockroach brain.

Molt staging in artemia adapted to drach's system.

The molting cycle of Artemia is described and subdivided in stages A-D3 according to the system of Drach. Determination of the stages is done in living animals by light microscopic observation of changes in the texture of the setal matrix of the exopodites. A parallel ultrastructural investigation of the integument was carried out to control the proposed staging scheme.